Title: A Stray Child
Rating: R
Pairings: Yuffie-Leon, AerithxCloud, eventually LeonxCloud
A/N: First flashback. ^_^ 'Ay. First of all, to those who have seen Battle Royale, please don't kill me for stealing the occasional Utsuki line. It just fit the scene so well!
Also, this flashback takes place when Squall and co are around nine or ten.
Chapter 2 - Deep In An Awesome Story
----------------
"Well?"
"Well what?"
Squall frowned, having a seat next to Yuffie on the ledge. "Well, what did you call me out here for anyway? You said you wanted to talk about something."
Yuffie shrugged, adjusting a little to let her legs dangle over the edge. "Maybe I did."
Squall rolled his eyes, nudging her a little. "Come on! You dragged me all the way out here to tell me something, didn't you? So go on, say it!"
Yuffie giggled in response. "Don't wanna."
"Yuffie!"
Yuffie shook her cute, little head. "I don't think you wanna hear it!"
"Come on!" Squall said irritably. "Out with it already!"
"Hmm… well, oh-kaaaaay…" She said finally, swinging her legs back over the ledge, so she could stand up again. She clasped her hands behind her back, and turned to look at him. "Do you know, Squall?"
"Do I know WHAT?"
"I know everything about you, Squall. Do you know?"
Squall tilted his head to the side, and he leaned back to get a better look at her. What was she trying to say? "Uh, yeah, Yuffie. We've known each other since we were babies, so of course you would. What's the big deal?"
"Do you know what that means?"
He blinked. … Okay, so he didn't. Did he? Yuffie was his best (okay, next to Aerith, his only) friend, practically the sister he never had. But she knew that he knew that, so there wasn't really any point in asking about it, right? So what did she mean by it? "I dunno. What's it mean?"
Yuffie frowned a little. "Wow, Squall. You're slow!"
Squall, being the older and more mature of the two of them, couldn't help but take offense. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
The other just giggled, and turned around, running back towards the Hollow Bastion. "Come on! We need to go meet Aerith, remember?"
"H-hey!" Squall called after her as he swung his legs back over the side, and ran to join his friend. "What did you mean by that? Come on, tell me!"
He asked the same question many times that afternoon, greeted only by Yuffie's laughter. But Squall thought nothing of it at the time. After all, this was really no different than the other childish games they played in their youth…
-----------
… but the games would continue long into their adulthood, and Squall, now Leon, still had to wonder what she meant by those words.
Yeah. He was probably just slow, just as Yuffie herself had said.
And now, as a grown man of twenty five, he walked down the same halls where he'd chased Yuffie that day, when he was just a boy of ten. The nostalgia of this place was overwhelming, indeed. But it HAD been nine years, after all.
He pushed open the heavy door to the outside, the slight evening chill catching him as he stepped into the open.
It was freezing outside at this time of year, but Leon still needed the fresh air. And besides… he just needed to get away from the castle.
He slipped his hands in his pockets, before walking down towards the falls. At the very least, that should have been able to relax him, right?
He grew nearer to the crystal at the end of the walkway, raising a gloved hand to touch the smooth texture. The crystal reacted to the gun blade wielder's touch, and soon Leon could see the platform floating towards the ledge.
Leon stepped on, boots clacking softly on the marble. These platforms had been created by Ansem many years ago, long before his own birth. Despite his hatred of the man, he still couldn't help but be amazed at his genius, when looking at such ingenious pieces of work. He frowned, reaching a hand up to briefly run over the jagged scar on his forehead. That was one thing he was slowly growing to hate about this place, now.
Hollow Bastion may have been his home, but it brought back a lot of painful memories. Of Ansem. Of the Heartless. Of that SCAR…
Leon's reflecting was interrupted by something a short distance away. An agonizing scream rang out, echoed by the falls, catching his attention quickly. He ran to the edge of the platform for a better look, but saw that he was still too far to get a decent look.
It had definitely been a man's voice. And it did sound quite familiar, but Leon couldn't exactly place where it was from. But there was no time to concern himself with that now.
Once the platform got close enough, he leapt off, running and jumping down each ledge with little effort. He'd been doing this since he was a child, so he had gotten used to it, it seemed.
He could make out the victim now, who was huddled up in a little ball on the ledge, wrapped in his own cape. But that was all he could see…
… A bit closer and he could make out a bit more. Blonde hair, black shirt and boots--… oh, it couldn't be…
"Cloud?!" Leon finally got close enough to the injured man, kneeling by his side, rolling him over on his back.
Unconscious. And after catching a glimpse of the wound he'd received, he could see why. Leon was surprised he'd managed that long with brutal injuries. As he started to remove the other's cape, so as to stop the bleeding, he heard the other let out a low groan, and stirring a bit as he started to awaken.
"Nnn…" Cloud cocked an eye open weakly. The image was fuzzy at first, but once his eyes went into focus, he gave a sigh of relief. "Squall."
Leon's eyes narrowed into a scowl, as he abruptly ripped off the tattered cape. "That's Leon."
Cloud couldn't help but wince. Squall--no, Leon had been distrustful of him since they met again at the Coliseum. Of course, he had good reason to be. He had sided with their enemy. Even if he wasn't anymore, it must have been hard for Leon to forgive something like that. "Right." He replied, giving a weak nod of the head. "Leon."
"Your wounds are pretty severe." He said nonchalantly, as he pulled up the other's shirt slightly, to wrap the cape about the other's torso, tying it, ensuring that it was neither too tight, nor too loose. "This should stop the bleeding though. Try to lay still, or you'll just make it worse."
Cloud's head tilted to the side slightly, as he looked out on the castle. "Aerith… okay?" He murmured, as the unconsciousness began to seize him again.
A sigh was the other's only answer at first. But as he knelt down to put the blonde on his back to carry him home, he decided he at least owed him a response to THAT. "Yeah. She's okay."
"Good." Cloud let out a sigh of relief, adjusting a little as Leon carefully moved him, arms draped loosely around his shoulders, head against his back, legs supported by the other's hands.
"There." He started towards the ledge again, glancing back at the injured man out of the corner of his eye, once his arms went limp around him, signaling that he'd already passed out.
He leaned forward a little, and kept going. It wouldn't be that much further to the castle, and Aerith could take care of him from there. Then he wouldn't have anything more to do with him.
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Wow, I made Leon sound like a jerk this time round, didn't I? 0_o But still, he never seemed like the trusting type anyway.
Whatever the case, I'm glad how this chapter turned out. I hope you did too. X_x And even if you didn't, review! I can take it!
… no wait. No I can't! WAAAAAAAAH! (Cowers under her desk)
Rating: R
Pairings: Yuffie-Leon, AerithxCloud, eventually LeonxCloud
A/N: First flashback. ^_^ 'Ay. First of all, to those who have seen Battle Royale, please don't kill me for stealing the occasional Utsuki line. It just fit the scene so well!
Also, this flashback takes place when Squall and co are around nine or ten.
Chapter 2 - Deep In An Awesome Story
----------------
"Well?"
"Well what?"
Squall frowned, having a seat next to Yuffie on the ledge. "Well, what did you call me out here for anyway? You said you wanted to talk about something."
Yuffie shrugged, adjusting a little to let her legs dangle over the edge. "Maybe I did."
Squall rolled his eyes, nudging her a little. "Come on! You dragged me all the way out here to tell me something, didn't you? So go on, say it!"
Yuffie giggled in response. "Don't wanna."
"Yuffie!"
Yuffie shook her cute, little head. "I don't think you wanna hear it!"
"Come on!" Squall said irritably. "Out with it already!"
"Hmm… well, oh-kaaaaay…" She said finally, swinging her legs back over the ledge, so she could stand up again. She clasped her hands behind her back, and turned to look at him. "Do you know, Squall?"
"Do I know WHAT?"
"I know everything about you, Squall. Do you know?"
Squall tilted his head to the side, and he leaned back to get a better look at her. What was she trying to say? "Uh, yeah, Yuffie. We've known each other since we were babies, so of course you would. What's the big deal?"
"Do you know what that means?"
He blinked. … Okay, so he didn't. Did he? Yuffie was his best (okay, next to Aerith, his only) friend, practically the sister he never had. But she knew that he knew that, so there wasn't really any point in asking about it, right? So what did she mean by it? "I dunno. What's it mean?"
Yuffie frowned a little. "Wow, Squall. You're slow!"
Squall, being the older and more mature of the two of them, couldn't help but take offense. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
The other just giggled, and turned around, running back towards the Hollow Bastion. "Come on! We need to go meet Aerith, remember?"
"H-hey!" Squall called after her as he swung his legs back over the side, and ran to join his friend. "What did you mean by that? Come on, tell me!"
He asked the same question many times that afternoon, greeted only by Yuffie's laughter. But Squall thought nothing of it at the time. After all, this was really no different than the other childish games they played in their youth…
-----------
… but the games would continue long into their adulthood, and Squall, now Leon, still had to wonder what she meant by those words.
Yeah. He was probably just slow, just as Yuffie herself had said.
And now, as a grown man of twenty five, he walked down the same halls where he'd chased Yuffie that day, when he was just a boy of ten. The nostalgia of this place was overwhelming, indeed. But it HAD been nine years, after all.
He pushed open the heavy door to the outside, the slight evening chill catching him as he stepped into the open.
It was freezing outside at this time of year, but Leon still needed the fresh air. And besides… he just needed to get away from the castle.
He slipped his hands in his pockets, before walking down towards the falls. At the very least, that should have been able to relax him, right?
He grew nearer to the crystal at the end of the walkway, raising a gloved hand to touch the smooth texture. The crystal reacted to the gun blade wielder's touch, and soon Leon could see the platform floating towards the ledge.
Leon stepped on, boots clacking softly on the marble. These platforms had been created by Ansem many years ago, long before his own birth. Despite his hatred of the man, he still couldn't help but be amazed at his genius, when looking at such ingenious pieces of work. He frowned, reaching a hand up to briefly run over the jagged scar on his forehead. That was one thing he was slowly growing to hate about this place, now.
Hollow Bastion may have been his home, but it brought back a lot of painful memories. Of Ansem. Of the Heartless. Of that SCAR…
Leon's reflecting was interrupted by something a short distance away. An agonizing scream rang out, echoed by the falls, catching his attention quickly. He ran to the edge of the platform for a better look, but saw that he was still too far to get a decent look.
It had definitely been a man's voice. And it did sound quite familiar, but Leon couldn't exactly place where it was from. But there was no time to concern himself with that now.
Once the platform got close enough, he leapt off, running and jumping down each ledge with little effort. He'd been doing this since he was a child, so he had gotten used to it, it seemed.
He could make out the victim now, who was huddled up in a little ball on the ledge, wrapped in his own cape. But that was all he could see…
… A bit closer and he could make out a bit more. Blonde hair, black shirt and boots--… oh, it couldn't be…
"Cloud?!" Leon finally got close enough to the injured man, kneeling by his side, rolling him over on his back.
Unconscious. And after catching a glimpse of the wound he'd received, he could see why. Leon was surprised he'd managed that long with brutal injuries. As he started to remove the other's cape, so as to stop the bleeding, he heard the other let out a low groan, and stirring a bit as he started to awaken.
"Nnn…" Cloud cocked an eye open weakly. The image was fuzzy at first, but once his eyes went into focus, he gave a sigh of relief. "Squall."
Leon's eyes narrowed into a scowl, as he abruptly ripped off the tattered cape. "That's Leon."
Cloud couldn't help but wince. Squall--no, Leon had been distrustful of him since they met again at the Coliseum. Of course, he had good reason to be. He had sided with their enemy. Even if he wasn't anymore, it must have been hard for Leon to forgive something like that. "Right." He replied, giving a weak nod of the head. "Leon."
"Your wounds are pretty severe." He said nonchalantly, as he pulled up the other's shirt slightly, to wrap the cape about the other's torso, tying it, ensuring that it was neither too tight, nor too loose. "This should stop the bleeding though. Try to lay still, or you'll just make it worse."
Cloud's head tilted to the side slightly, as he looked out on the castle. "Aerith… okay?" He murmured, as the unconsciousness began to seize him again.
A sigh was the other's only answer at first. But as he knelt down to put the blonde on his back to carry him home, he decided he at least owed him a response to THAT. "Yeah. She's okay."
"Good." Cloud let out a sigh of relief, adjusting a little as Leon carefully moved him, arms draped loosely around his shoulders, head against his back, legs supported by the other's hands.
"There." He started towards the ledge again, glancing back at the injured man out of the corner of his eye, once his arms went limp around him, signaling that he'd already passed out.
He leaned forward a little, and kept going. It wouldn't be that much further to the castle, and Aerith could take care of him from there. Then he wouldn't have anything more to do with him.
----------
Wow, I made Leon sound like a jerk this time round, didn't I? 0_o But still, he never seemed like the trusting type anyway.
Whatever the case, I'm glad how this chapter turned out. I hope you did too. X_x And even if you didn't, review! I can take it!
… no wait. No I can't! WAAAAAAAAH! (Cowers under her desk)