Destroyed
~
~Chapter 14: Destiny
~
~
"What... would I do.. Lonely as you?
Pleasure or Pain I can't choose.."
~Foo Fighters, Lonely as You.
~
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
She opened her eyes, and looked out at the world.
Yuffie, who had fallen asleep beside her, suddenly snapped awake at the quick movement of Aeris sitting up, then putting a hand to her head.
The little brat had survived, more annoying than ever as she chirped her good morning's to Aeris, asked her if she wanted a drink, if she needed to wash because she had been sweating a lot whilst she slept, if she needed a change of clothes and how she would let her be once she had checked her temperature.
Aeris endured it all with good grace, her emerald eyes shaded and looking mildly dazed, her voice cracked and warbling as she asked for a glass of water.
The faint scent of clean air hung about the place they were half camped in, the Library. Stacks and rows of shelves all lined with heavy volumes reached up as far as she could see when she tilted her head from her makeshift bed under the stairs, the fringes of floppy and lank brown hair catching across her vision. It wasn't the same, she mused as she brushed the hair from her eyes and Yuffie dashed away.
Hollow Bastion.. it made sense now that Ansem would take such a place of learning as the well of his thoughts and contemplation.
"You're awake."
She looked down from studying the books to land green eyes upon the tall and muscular form of Leon, decked out in leathers and denim and half smiling at her. Did the boy know it made him look nervous and weak, the smile that cracked his icy facade? Her mouth lifted as if fighting something and smiled with hidden sourness back.
"I find that is what being sat up and talking entails.."
He blinked those smoky eyes a moment, as if unsure and hurt by the quick comment, then a swift shrug of his shoulders and it was like a veil being pulled between them and she almost laughed. How predictable.
Just like him.
~But.. I can see now why, Aeris. ~
The spark of light beat against the inside of her skull, screaming in frustration. Laughing softly under her breath, she took the glass of water which the ninja gave to her with steady hands, and her glowing green eyes considered her next big move..
~ Just like him.. how.. predictable of you, my light.. ~
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Her hands slid down the glassy black wall where the images faded with a squeak of sweaty skin and lowering her head she fought the strange impulse to cry.
"I can't believe this," she whispered helplessly, and looked about her at the endless darkness punctuated only by the faint glow of light which she conciously emitted. Like a safety light, a night light to stave off madness and shadows that she knew would eventually try to swallow her whole. There had to be some kind of way out.
Aeris Gainsborough refused to sit down and let this defeat her.
Helpless, she beat her hand again against the dark and tried ignoring the vicious howls of glee about her. She had no way of knowing how time passed here, but she felt no weaker nor no stronger, tiredness did not even seem to wear on her here. So she kept fighting.
"I refuse!" she yelled, her voice cracked.
"I hate you! I hate this! Not again!"
Her hands were getting painful along the outside line where she was hammering the wall.
"I'll get out of here, someone will know that it's not me, Sephiroth! Get out of my body! Why can't you just leave me alone.. why?!"
"Because he craves attention.."
Something was glowing a faint blue over her shoulder and turning away from the slickened walls she let her eyes fall fully upon the glowing figure before her. It was a young girl, the young girl she had spoken with a few times before in less than words, in emotive ideals. She knew this girl, her soul sparked with recognition and with a couple of steps she moved closer to the indistinct figure. It was hard to tell that it was a girl with the eyes, for the outline was faintly androgynous, wearing no clothes and the hair was cut short to slim shoulders.
The girl's eyes however, gave her away. Large, bright blue and lashed long.
Eyes of purity.
In those eyes was the innocence she had lost so long ago, so many cold dark days in her past when she had been called to arms by the Planet.
"But the danger had come, too quickly. Your people had moved too slow.."
"Princess, what are you doing here?"
The blue eyes blinked, but did not leave the ancient's face, searching through her as if for some kind of answer which lay hidden under layers of protection. "I have come with a warning."
Aeris stopped short of the aura which the princess of Heart emitted, stopping short of Kairi and the softened look across her face. It was a look of such pity it almost made the Cetra girl want to scream, and beat her fists against the walls of her prison, but also it contained a mantra of hope which she found herself clinging to.
~ Never give up.. find a way... ~
"Tell me," she whispered, rubbing dirtied hands down her pink dress' skirt. It was strange, how those eyes seemed to read her thoughts, read her like she was an open book.
"Once the door opens, it opens another lock.. there is your destiny awaiting you, Ancient. The key to this, is you. Do not fail, do not fail yourself, the trust your friends have placed in you, the trust the planet gave to you and the trust of all futures."
"I am no-"
"Destiny, Aeris, calls you. And it will find you, one way or another."
Aeris brought her hands up to her neck in her age old defensive manouver, the soft fingers curling in fright about the thread necklace and feeling the small strands that were tightened at the nape of her neck, the hollows of skin, blood and tendon. For that moment she was far too aware of the silence growing in her ears and the deafening sound of her heartbeat inside her chest, she was sure she shook and swayed with every loud drumroll of blood, her own face growing hot.
One way, or another.
How many roads? She had chosen her own path a long time ago when no other option had been available to them, the knowledge implanted into her by the Temple Guardian, the sure courage that had fueled her every step and pushed her down the available ways towards victory.
It had been the hardest journey of her life, leaving behind the comfortable security of her friends and all the things she knew, some she had barely had the time to know or get to know better, some faces stuck forever in her memory like a film set on pause, flickering with static and caught between words.
But, she had not cried once.
Aeris Gainsborough was made of sterner stuff.
Never had she felt so helpless and alone as she did now, never. Reaching into the light inside herself, she sought to draw herself closer, and as she did the shadows about her gained strength, pulsing towards her.
In fright she let go and looked back towards Kairi who smiled.
"You'll figure it out.. like I did. Like Sora is doing.. like Riku will do." The head tilted, "you are, after all, the Power of Light."
"I'm what..?"
But the figure was gone, dissipated into the shadows like some strange and fey breeze that just caught at the attention.
Circling on the spot, Aeris tried looking into the shadows, her eyes soft and distracted. The Power of Light? No, all she had ever been or wanted to be was a flower girl, left alone with her blooms and daylight dreams of romance. Not some powerful warrior or hero, just someone with a job to do no matter what the consequences were.
She doubted she could be so callous now towards herself, towards how others felt. Because..
~ Because back then, you had always thought you would come back. ~
She turned, half expecting to see Tifa behind her in the white robes.. but instead there stood a girl, about her height wearing blue. A blue overcoat, a short skirt with blue shorts hidden under it, a blue shirt half buttoned up, and blue arm warmers. From her back, there hung strange things, like wings but on fire.. gleaming and glittering with pale red power.
"Who are you?"
~ I am one who passed on. ~
"You.." Aeris frowned, "You're not from my world, are you?"
~ No. I am the Sorceress Rinoa.. ~
That caught the Ancient's attention, and she backed off a little, much to the dark haired Sorceress' amusement, for she slid a hand about her own waist, the other covering her mouth as she laughed.
"I..I.."
~ It's alright, I won't bite you. I know about .. Squall. He will always be there for you, you know. I was lucky enough to have him as my Knight, and now, he is yours. ~
"But.."
~ I am passed on, now Aeris. Passed on as much as I can, for I too linger in the shadows until someone can end the madness Sephiroth is manhandling.. until both he and Ansem are destroyed along with the Heartless. ~
Release them.
She thought she understood now..
Find a Way.. to set them free.
Bending her head, she no longer fought the tears. It all came down to this again.. to the destruction.
"I am, only a flower girl.." she sighed softly, sugar brown hair about her.. as wings of fire closed about her in an embrace of sisterhood, of care and love.. and of hope.
"Save us all," was the whisper, as the ghost passed soundlessly through Aeris.
"I will find a way," she promised.
This time, she knew that it was all the same.. and instead of going blindly to her own funeral.. she saw with eyes, unclouded.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
He had clawed his way here slowly, but surely.
His distant and winding path had taken him across many worlds, some inhabited by Heartless and some not, all with people who waited for the resolution, waited for the final door to swing open and bring either the holy judgement of Kingdom Hearts, or the shadows of eternal fear, death and corruption.
He didn't know how long it took him, perhaps weeks.
All that burned in him was the terrible desire to be by her side again, knowing the danger.
Alive!
After so long...
Long since the shock had worn off, Cloud had sat himself on the steps of Coliseum, and with tears tracking stripes down his flustered cheeks, he had cried his relief into the night, and also his newfound anguish.
She was alive. Aeris was alive. The cries of happiness at knowing his love lived on, was marred by the strange fear and horror that Sephiroth too knew, no matter what his state.
She was so delicate and gentle, she needed his protection, especially from a monster in the league that Sephiroth was.. unlike anything else, even the Gods trod lightly about the form and feeling that Sephiroth had become. Expulsion from the throes of death, had left him bodiless unlike Aeris.. and now he was free to torment her.
Or kill her.
Painfully, he stood up from the grassy knoll he had been taking a small rest upon, then shaded his eyes and looked out over the night-lit world of Hallow'een Town, and all the heartless he had fought off, much to the townspeople's delight. Somewhere on this world was the next step, towards Hollow Bastion.
Towards his Love.
And, towards his Hate.
His hand tightened on the large sword's handle, and with a stubborn edge to his half hidden jaw, Cloud Strife set off down the hill.. and towards his own destiny.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Yuffie?"
She looked up from tying together the packs for the day, they were making their way today towards the topmost tower and where the door to the end of all darkness or all light would open. Leon stood over her, his silhouette blocking the strained light from the picturesque stained glass window.
"Yeah?"
"Can I have a word.. it's about Aeris."
The young ninja let her brow furrow, and glaced across at Aeris who seemed wholly absorbed in the books that drew the eyes, from the top of the room to the very bottom in long bookshelves, each and every one full to bursting. A vault of knowledge, Cid had called it. Then she looked back up at Leon and noticed that he kept his attention firmly on her.
"Sure.." she straightened, leaving the packs by the water canteens and unwrapped food which lay waiting on the table, dusting her hands off and moving over to Leon by the long windows. "What's wrong?"
"Does she seem, different?"
"Aeris?" Yuffie turned and leant against the glass, shadows of red making her hair a sweet soft brown and flustering her pale skin and yellow scarf to shades of orange.
Leon nodded, his longish hair moving with him as he did so.
The girl noticed how he kept trying to squint at her, as if looking for something else than what he saw. She could see no reason why he should, but then, after her experience with Cloud, or to be more specific, the male loner type, she guessed they all were like this. She gave a small lift of one shoulder, "she seems pretty much the same to me."
"You think?"
"Of course.. why shouldn't she?"
"Yuffie..?"
"Yes, Leon?"
He paused, then looked down, "I'm in love with Aeris."
She stayed silent for a while. It wasn't anything she didn't really expect, but she was the tomboyish kind herself, more interested right now in fighting and playing, than men or love. It all seemed a bit too involved for her, so she left it at that. But over time she had seen how the lone wolf had melted towards Aeris, had given into his love and become helpless against whatever the Ancient wished. Cloud had been something like that.
Shades... Cloud!
What would he say? Well, do... more like. Tifa had given up on him, more than happy for Cloud to be with Aeris so long as their friendship always remained strong, and it had done.. she had even supported him in all his crazy quests for the dead flower girl. After so long, did Aeris feel more for Leon than Cloud? Did Cloud feel less for Aeris?
Feeling like piggy in the middle she nodded and pushed off the glass window, her fingers making the glass shiver lightly. "I kinda guessed."
"You..You did?"
Yuffie nodded and moved to the food to start wrapping it up carefully in handkerchiefs, to be placed away in the pack. Dried fruit, bread that still remained soft somehow. Shortcake, mint cake, sweet water from the fountain. A few pieces of dried meat were also divided evenly up between the meal sets.
"Are you alright with it?"
"Leon," she said slowly, then looked up at him. "I don't pretend to understand love, not fully. I'm a bit too young right now. One day I'm sure I'll be sighing into my pillow every night over some guy who may or may not love me. What I do know, is.. Aeris' heart is divided, in one half lies her past, lies Cloud and everything she knew. And in the other half, there's you. Leon, aka Squall, some strange guy from a foreign world whom she grew to know and possibly love as much if not more than Cloud. If you're expecting me to have some wild and easy solution then I'm afraid I can't give it to you.. only my re-assurances that no matter, we'll all, always be friends."
Leon frowned, but nodded.
"And in answer to the other question.. I'm alright with it." Yuffie pushed one parcel into his hands, "I feel sorry for you, Leon."
"Why?"
"What happens if she dies.. again? Two men both helplessly broken and looking for her? I don't know.. I don't.. never mind."
Turning away she heard him mumble something, but too scared to keep thinking along those same lines, Yuffie Kisaragi bent to do her chores willingly and without grudge or grumble. She hated thinking like that.. hated herself for the thoughts.. and for how real they seemed to her...
What if..
Yuffie shut her eyes and shoved the food blindly into her own rucksack.
One way or another, someone would end up destroyed.. and she would be, as ever, left to pick up the pieces..
~
~Chapter 14: Destiny
~
~
"What... would I do.. Lonely as you?
Pleasure or Pain I can't choose.."
~Foo Fighters, Lonely as You.
~
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
She opened her eyes, and looked out at the world.
Yuffie, who had fallen asleep beside her, suddenly snapped awake at the quick movement of Aeris sitting up, then putting a hand to her head.
The little brat had survived, more annoying than ever as she chirped her good morning's to Aeris, asked her if she wanted a drink, if she needed to wash because she had been sweating a lot whilst she slept, if she needed a change of clothes and how she would let her be once she had checked her temperature.
Aeris endured it all with good grace, her emerald eyes shaded and looking mildly dazed, her voice cracked and warbling as she asked for a glass of water.
The faint scent of clean air hung about the place they were half camped in, the Library. Stacks and rows of shelves all lined with heavy volumes reached up as far as she could see when she tilted her head from her makeshift bed under the stairs, the fringes of floppy and lank brown hair catching across her vision. It wasn't the same, she mused as she brushed the hair from her eyes and Yuffie dashed away.
Hollow Bastion.. it made sense now that Ansem would take such a place of learning as the well of his thoughts and contemplation.
"You're awake."
She looked down from studying the books to land green eyes upon the tall and muscular form of Leon, decked out in leathers and denim and half smiling at her. Did the boy know it made him look nervous and weak, the smile that cracked his icy facade? Her mouth lifted as if fighting something and smiled with hidden sourness back.
"I find that is what being sat up and talking entails.."
He blinked those smoky eyes a moment, as if unsure and hurt by the quick comment, then a swift shrug of his shoulders and it was like a veil being pulled between them and she almost laughed. How predictable.
Just like him.
~But.. I can see now why, Aeris. ~
The spark of light beat against the inside of her skull, screaming in frustration. Laughing softly under her breath, she took the glass of water which the ninja gave to her with steady hands, and her glowing green eyes considered her next big move..
~ Just like him.. how.. predictable of you, my light.. ~
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Her hands slid down the glassy black wall where the images faded with a squeak of sweaty skin and lowering her head she fought the strange impulse to cry.
"I can't believe this," she whispered helplessly, and looked about her at the endless darkness punctuated only by the faint glow of light which she conciously emitted. Like a safety light, a night light to stave off madness and shadows that she knew would eventually try to swallow her whole. There had to be some kind of way out.
Aeris Gainsborough refused to sit down and let this defeat her.
Helpless, she beat her hand again against the dark and tried ignoring the vicious howls of glee about her. She had no way of knowing how time passed here, but she felt no weaker nor no stronger, tiredness did not even seem to wear on her here. So she kept fighting.
"I refuse!" she yelled, her voice cracked.
"I hate you! I hate this! Not again!"
Her hands were getting painful along the outside line where she was hammering the wall.
"I'll get out of here, someone will know that it's not me, Sephiroth! Get out of my body! Why can't you just leave me alone.. why?!"
"Because he craves attention.."
Something was glowing a faint blue over her shoulder and turning away from the slickened walls she let her eyes fall fully upon the glowing figure before her. It was a young girl, the young girl she had spoken with a few times before in less than words, in emotive ideals. She knew this girl, her soul sparked with recognition and with a couple of steps she moved closer to the indistinct figure. It was hard to tell that it was a girl with the eyes, for the outline was faintly androgynous, wearing no clothes and the hair was cut short to slim shoulders.
The girl's eyes however, gave her away. Large, bright blue and lashed long.
Eyes of purity.
In those eyes was the innocence she had lost so long ago, so many cold dark days in her past when she had been called to arms by the Planet.
"But the danger had come, too quickly. Your people had moved too slow.."
"Princess, what are you doing here?"
The blue eyes blinked, but did not leave the ancient's face, searching through her as if for some kind of answer which lay hidden under layers of protection. "I have come with a warning."
Aeris stopped short of the aura which the princess of Heart emitted, stopping short of Kairi and the softened look across her face. It was a look of such pity it almost made the Cetra girl want to scream, and beat her fists against the walls of her prison, but also it contained a mantra of hope which she found herself clinging to.
~ Never give up.. find a way... ~
"Tell me," she whispered, rubbing dirtied hands down her pink dress' skirt. It was strange, how those eyes seemed to read her thoughts, read her like she was an open book.
"Once the door opens, it opens another lock.. there is your destiny awaiting you, Ancient. The key to this, is you. Do not fail, do not fail yourself, the trust your friends have placed in you, the trust the planet gave to you and the trust of all futures."
"I am no-"
"Destiny, Aeris, calls you. And it will find you, one way or another."
Aeris brought her hands up to her neck in her age old defensive manouver, the soft fingers curling in fright about the thread necklace and feeling the small strands that were tightened at the nape of her neck, the hollows of skin, blood and tendon. For that moment she was far too aware of the silence growing in her ears and the deafening sound of her heartbeat inside her chest, she was sure she shook and swayed with every loud drumroll of blood, her own face growing hot.
One way, or another.
How many roads? She had chosen her own path a long time ago when no other option had been available to them, the knowledge implanted into her by the Temple Guardian, the sure courage that had fueled her every step and pushed her down the available ways towards victory.
It had been the hardest journey of her life, leaving behind the comfortable security of her friends and all the things she knew, some she had barely had the time to know or get to know better, some faces stuck forever in her memory like a film set on pause, flickering with static and caught between words.
But, she had not cried once.
Aeris Gainsborough was made of sterner stuff.
Never had she felt so helpless and alone as she did now, never. Reaching into the light inside herself, she sought to draw herself closer, and as she did the shadows about her gained strength, pulsing towards her.
In fright she let go and looked back towards Kairi who smiled.
"You'll figure it out.. like I did. Like Sora is doing.. like Riku will do." The head tilted, "you are, after all, the Power of Light."
"I'm what..?"
But the figure was gone, dissipated into the shadows like some strange and fey breeze that just caught at the attention.
Circling on the spot, Aeris tried looking into the shadows, her eyes soft and distracted. The Power of Light? No, all she had ever been or wanted to be was a flower girl, left alone with her blooms and daylight dreams of romance. Not some powerful warrior or hero, just someone with a job to do no matter what the consequences were.
She doubted she could be so callous now towards herself, towards how others felt. Because..
~ Because back then, you had always thought you would come back. ~
She turned, half expecting to see Tifa behind her in the white robes.. but instead there stood a girl, about her height wearing blue. A blue overcoat, a short skirt with blue shorts hidden under it, a blue shirt half buttoned up, and blue arm warmers. From her back, there hung strange things, like wings but on fire.. gleaming and glittering with pale red power.
"Who are you?"
~ I am one who passed on. ~
"You.." Aeris frowned, "You're not from my world, are you?"
~ No. I am the Sorceress Rinoa.. ~
That caught the Ancient's attention, and she backed off a little, much to the dark haired Sorceress' amusement, for she slid a hand about her own waist, the other covering her mouth as she laughed.
"I..I.."
~ It's alright, I won't bite you. I know about .. Squall. He will always be there for you, you know. I was lucky enough to have him as my Knight, and now, he is yours. ~
"But.."
~ I am passed on, now Aeris. Passed on as much as I can, for I too linger in the shadows until someone can end the madness Sephiroth is manhandling.. until both he and Ansem are destroyed along with the Heartless. ~
Release them.
She thought she understood now..
Find a Way.. to set them free.
Bending her head, she no longer fought the tears. It all came down to this again.. to the destruction.
"I am, only a flower girl.." she sighed softly, sugar brown hair about her.. as wings of fire closed about her in an embrace of sisterhood, of care and love.. and of hope.
"Save us all," was the whisper, as the ghost passed soundlessly through Aeris.
"I will find a way," she promised.
This time, she knew that it was all the same.. and instead of going blindly to her own funeral.. she saw with eyes, unclouded.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
He had clawed his way here slowly, but surely.
His distant and winding path had taken him across many worlds, some inhabited by Heartless and some not, all with people who waited for the resolution, waited for the final door to swing open and bring either the holy judgement of Kingdom Hearts, or the shadows of eternal fear, death and corruption.
He didn't know how long it took him, perhaps weeks.
All that burned in him was the terrible desire to be by her side again, knowing the danger.
Alive!
After so long...
Long since the shock had worn off, Cloud had sat himself on the steps of Coliseum, and with tears tracking stripes down his flustered cheeks, he had cried his relief into the night, and also his newfound anguish.
She was alive. Aeris was alive. The cries of happiness at knowing his love lived on, was marred by the strange fear and horror that Sephiroth too knew, no matter what his state.
She was so delicate and gentle, she needed his protection, especially from a monster in the league that Sephiroth was.. unlike anything else, even the Gods trod lightly about the form and feeling that Sephiroth had become. Expulsion from the throes of death, had left him bodiless unlike Aeris.. and now he was free to torment her.
Or kill her.
Painfully, he stood up from the grassy knoll he had been taking a small rest upon, then shaded his eyes and looked out over the night-lit world of Hallow'een Town, and all the heartless he had fought off, much to the townspeople's delight. Somewhere on this world was the next step, towards Hollow Bastion.
Towards his Love.
And, towards his Hate.
His hand tightened on the large sword's handle, and with a stubborn edge to his half hidden jaw, Cloud Strife set off down the hill.. and towards his own destiny.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Yuffie?"
She looked up from tying together the packs for the day, they were making their way today towards the topmost tower and where the door to the end of all darkness or all light would open. Leon stood over her, his silhouette blocking the strained light from the picturesque stained glass window.
"Yeah?"
"Can I have a word.. it's about Aeris."
The young ninja let her brow furrow, and glaced across at Aeris who seemed wholly absorbed in the books that drew the eyes, from the top of the room to the very bottom in long bookshelves, each and every one full to bursting. A vault of knowledge, Cid had called it. Then she looked back up at Leon and noticed that he kept his attention firmly on her.
"Sure.." she straightened, leaving the packs by the water canteens and unwrapped food which lay waiting on the table, dusting her hands off and moving over to Leon by the long windows. "What's wrong?"
"Does she seem, different?"
"Aeris?" Yuffie turned and leant against the glass, shadows of red making her hair a sweet soft brown and flustering her pale skin and yellow scarf to shades of orange.
Leon nodded, his longish hair moving with him as he did so.
The girl noticed how he kept trying to squint at her, as if looking for something else than what he saw. She could see no reason why he should, but then, after her experience with Cloud, or to be more specific, the male loner type, she guessed they all were like this. She gave a small lift of one shoulder, "she seems pretty much the same to me."
"You think?"
"Of course.. why shouldn't she?"
"Yuffie..?"
"Yes, Leon?"
He paused, then looked down, "I'm in love with Aeris."
She stayed silent for a while. It wasn't anything she didn't really expect, but she was the tomboyish kind herself, more interested right now in fighting and playing, than men or love. It all seemed a bit too involved for her, so she left it at that. But over time she had seen how the lone wolf had melted towards Aeris, had given into his love and become helpless against whatever the Ancient wished. Cloud had been something like that.
Shades... Cloud!
What would he say? Well, do... more like. Tifa had given up on him, more than happy for Cloud to be with Aeris so long as their friendship always remained strong, and it had done.. she had even supported him in all his crazy quests for the dead flower girl. After so long, did Aeris feel more for Leon than Cloud? Did Cloud feel less for Aeris?
Feeling like piggy in the middle she nodded and pushed off the glass window, her fingers making the glass shiver lightly. "I kinda guessed."
"You..You did?"
Yuffie nodded and moved to the food to start wrapping it up carefully in handkerchiefs, to be placed away in the pack. Dried fruit, bread that still remained soft somehow. Shortcake, mint cake, sweet water from the fountain. A few pieces of dried meat were also divided evenly up between the meal sets.
"Are you alright with it?"
"Leon," she said slowly, then looked up at him. "I don't pretend to understand love, not fully. I'm a bit too young right now. One day I'm sure I'll be sighing into my pillow every night over some guy who may or may not love me. What I do know, is.. Aeris' heart is divided, in one half lies her past, lies Cloud and everything she knew. And in the other half, there's you. Leon, aka Squall, some strange guy from a foreign world whom she grew to know and possibly love as much if not more than Cloud. If you're expecting me to have some wild and easy solution then I'm afraid I can't give it to you.. only my re-assurances that no matter, we'll all, always be friends."
Leon frowned, but nodded.
"And in answer to the other question.. I'm alright with it." Yuffie pushed one parcel into his hands, "I feel sorry for you, Leon."
"Why?"
"What happens if she dies.. again? Two men both helplessly broken and looking for her? I don't know.. I don't.. never mind."
Turning away she heard him mumble something, but too scared to keep thinking along those same lines, Yuffie Kisaragi bent to do her chores willingly and without grudge or grumble. She hated thinking like that.. hated herself for the thoughts.. and for how real they seemed to her...
What if..
Yuffie shut her eyes and shoved the food blindly into her own rucksack.
One way or another, someone would end up destroyed.. and she would be, as ever, left to pick up the pieces..