Love is Like a Rose - Chapter 6: Mirror Mirror Lie to Me

Yuffie's head was throbbing painfully. She had been jolted out of a peaceful slumber by an old woman who had decided that poking at the wound and prodding it would make it heal. Yuffie sat in a stony silence as the old woman bandaged her up.

"There! Finished," said the nurse. "You ought to be more grateful, girl." She shook her head. "Kids these days, no manners whatsoever..."

"Grateful for causing me more pain?" Yuffie retorted.

"See if I'll ever come to your aid again!" the nurse yelled over her shoulder as she left the castle in a huff, her long dress swishing out behind her.

"See if I go to your funeral!" Yuffie yelled back as the Infirmary door slammed shut.

Aerith carefully approached her, followed by a timid Leon and Cloud. "How are you feeling?" Aerith asked brightly.

Yuffie fell back on her pillows and winced. Moving around didn't seem like a good idea just yet. "Like shit," was her spiteful answer.

"I'm sorry, Yuffie," Cloud apologized. "I was just so caught up in fighting, I didn't see you coming."

"It's okay. Don't beat yourself up over it. I should know better than to go charging into battle like that," Yuffie replied.

Leon remained silent. Aerith's words echoed in his head. So he tried not to give her any special attention. If Yuffie was as perceptive Aerith made her out to be, hopefully Yuffie would get the hint and back off.

"Oh Silent One, would you grace us with the honor of a word of wisdom?" Yuffie said to Leon, who hadn't said a word to her.

Leon shrugged lazily. "You're okay."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Would you like to state the obvious for another twenty points?"

Leon cringed inwardly. It wasn't like Yuffie to be so sarcastic. "What am I supposed to say?"

"Why don't you try, 'Yuffie, feeling better?', or, 'You'll be back on your feet in no time, Yuffie', or, 'Thanks for taking the hit for me, otherwise I'd be the one in the hospital, not you'."

So she had taken the hit for him. Well, that confirmed his suspicions of Yuffie's behavior. "Or maybe, 'You really ought to shut that huge mouth of yours. The nurse said too much excitement won't allow your injury to heal properly'," Leon shot back, a bit annoyed. She wanted sarcasm? Fine.

Yuffie was taken aback for a moment before narrowing her eyes at him. "It wouldn't kill you to show a bit of human emotion from time to time."

"Emotion? Jumping around like a hormone-crazed teenage brat is emotion?" Leon scoffed. "I think I'd rather be emotionless, then."

Yuffie looked as if she had just been slapped across the face. Without thinking, her hand lashed out and smacked him across the face.

Leon hadn't realized that he'd been hit until Aerith gasped and Cloud scolded Yuffie for hitting Leon, launching into a lecture about hitting people. Leon lifted a hand to his burning cheek. Yep, Yuffie wasn't the same annoying seven-year-old girl he'd known all those years ago. He glared daggers at Yuffie, and he was surprised to see her glowering back at him with just as much anger.

Leon turned his back on her and stormed out of the Infirmary. He didn't notice the tears well up in Yuffie's eyes.

Yuffie watched him go, only half listening to Cloud berate her for acting like a nine-year old. She didn't care. Leon had pissed her off. He had gone too far this time. She wasn't going to sit around and let her feelings get trampled on. She winced as the door slammed shut, causing the walls to shudder. Yuffie rolled over so that she was no longer facing Cloud and Aerith. She buried her head in her pillow and allowed a single tear to fall down her cheek. I wake up after nearly being shis-kabobbed by Cloud to Leon insulting me, she thought cynically. I just can't catch a break.

Hours later, Yuffie roamed the halls aimlessly. She wore a button down teal shirt, a pair of navy shorts, and her treasured headband again, deciding that it was a part of her past that couldn't be forgotten. Due to her injury, Aerith thought it best if Yuffie wore a shirt that didn't require much movement to put on. Her left arm was set in a sling to keep her from moving her injured shoulder too much.

She hadn't seen Leon since earlier that morning. She knew she was being unfair, but she couldn't help but throw a few insults his way. Truthfully, she hadn't meant to snap at him like that, but she had had enough. She was sick of the games. She wanted to know if Leon returned her feelings or not. She was tired of living in suspense.

"Hey kid. How're you feelin'?"

Yuffie snapped out of her thoughts. Cid stood a few feet away from her. She smiled. "A lot better, thanks."

Cid nodded and walked closer. "Cloud told me what happened."

Yuffie sighed. She didn't want to relive the memories of what happened earlier that day. "Yeah, well, I was stupid, jumping into the middle of a fight--"

"About you and Leon," Cid interrupted.

Her heart sank. "Oh."

Cid took the cigarette from his mouth and threw it on the floor, snuffing it out with the toe of his booted foot. "Somethin' you wanna tell me?"

Yuffie shook her head. "No, not really."

Cid shrugged. "If you say so," he replied in a I-know-something-you-don't-know tone.

"Dammit, Cid, what is it?" Yuffie demanded. "Obviously there's somethin going on that you don't want to tell me?"

Cid shrugged, a smile playing on his lips. "Nothin'."

"Nothing? Nothing!" Yuffie's voice came out shrilly.

"Yep, that's right." Cid patted her shoulder.

"OW!" Yuffie hissed. "That's my bad shoulder!"

Cid withdrew his hand sharply and smiled sheepishly. "Whoops."

Yuffie clenched her teeth and willed the pain away. "Old fart..." she muttered angrily.

"Hey, don't go bitchin' at me just because you were stupid enough to jump in the way of Cloud's blade," Cid said warningly.

Yuffie glared at him. "Shut up," she said bitterly, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I don't wanna talk about it, okay?"

"Whatever. Anyways, Cloud was lookin' for you. He needs your help to renovate the library roof."

"How does he expect me to do that with a fucked up shoulder?" Yuffie demanded.

"Language!" Cid said sharply.

"Language? You're not one to talk about language, Cid," Yuffie laughed.

"Shut up."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, I guess I'll go find Cloud, or something," Yuffie sighed.

"You do that."

"See you around, old man" said Yuffie as she walked away, heading for the staircase. As she made her way to the library, she let her thoughts wander. She had changed a lot since the sealing of Kingdom Hearts. Before they had returned to Traverse Town, when it had just been her, Cid, Aerith, and Leon, she never let anything--even Squall--spoil her perky moods. And even when she was annoyed with Leon, Yuffie would just annoy him back.

The day they had returned to Hollow Bastion for the first time in years, Yuffie saw a different side of Leon. His eyes shone with regret as they saw the remains of their home, their past. The castle was destroyed, and so were their memories, or what was left of them, anyway. It seemed almost impossible to rebuild their lives and restore Hollow Bastion to its former glory. But they still took on the challenge; the four simply couldn't let go of their pasts.

Yuffie's thoughts came to a crashing halt as she rammed into what felt like a concrete wall. She tumbled backwards and landed with a thud on her back. Her shoulder throbbed with pain, and a piercing twinge shot down her spine. She moaned softly, biting the inside of her cheek to stifle her cries. "Ow..."

"When I say that you're hard headed, I never realized just how hard headed you really were," said a deep, male voice that echoed her pain.

Yuffie struggled into a sitting position. Leon sat sprawled across the tiled floor a few feet away from her. He was rubbing the back of his head gingerly. He tried to catch her gaze, but Yuffie looked away. She scrambled to her feet. "Sorry," she mumbled, running a hand through her short hair.

Leon climbed to his feet and stared down at Yuffie, who still refused to meet his gaze. "Watch where you're going next time before you kill someone, all right?" he said gruffly.

She nodded silently, not trusting her voice. She lowered her gaze to the floor as he walked around her and down the hall without looking back at her. Yuffie watched him go for the second time that day.

Leon felt Yuffie's eyes on him as he walked away. Yuffie was a mystery to him. She was no longer the little girl that used to constantly call him "Squally" to get on his nerves. No. She had definitely changed in the past few years, and Leon had just realized how much she had grown. Ever since they had returned to Hollow Bastion, Yuffie had taken on a cynical, depressing attitude that clashed with her happy-go-lucky spirit. Her mood swings became more frequent, and she hadn't called him Squall all day. This worried him. One minute she was annoying him, the next she was annoyed at him.

He didn't understand her at all.