Author's Note: Okay, here's the next chapter. I don't know what's wrong with my muse. She usually takes longer to help with a story, but this one just seems to keep coming. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't complain. I should take advantage of it and finish this story this weekend. Thank you to the reviewers that I've had so far: Snowri, Vulpes Lapis, and Rainy Diamond. It really means a lot to me.
Snowri: Yes, Squall's acting mean, but it's so much fun to write his character.
VL: Don't worry, Yuffie will be okay, eventually.
Rainy Diamond: I'm updating as fast as I can get it written.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square and Disney. I will never own it. In fact, I don't even own a copy of the game. (sobs) I just borrow my nephew's when I want to play.
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Chapter Three: Sleep
Cloud carried the still unconscious Yuffie back to the Green Room with a worried Aerith running ahead of him to open the door and turn on the lights. "Watch her head!" she cried, as Cloud walked through the door.
"Hey, what's going on?" a sleepy Leon asked, wincing in the sudden brightness of the room. "What time is it?"
"Leon, get off the bed!" Cloud demanded. "Yuffie's unconscious. And, she needs the bed."
"What!?! What happened? Is she okay?" he exclaimed, jumping off the bed, forgetting about his bad leg until he stood on it.
"We don't know. We just found her locked in the gizmo shop, laying in the corner. Now, move out of the way!" Aerith demanded, uncharacteristically harsh, as she shoved him out of the way.
Cloud lay Yuffie gently on the bed, placing a pillow underneath her head. With the lights on, they could see just how badly she had been injured. Her head had a large purple knot forming at her temple. Her arms and legs were covered with scratches that, although they were small by themselves, still bled. Her gloves had holes torn in them and were stained red with her blood. Her legs looked as though they had taken the brunt of the attack. They were nearly a solid blood red which seeped into her torn socks. Leon, Cloud, and Aerith collectively gasped when they saw the damage the young ninja had sustained.
"What the hell happened to her?" Leon demanded. "It looks like she took on the whole friggin' army of Heartless by herself!"
"We don't have time to worry about that! Cloud, go into our room and get the medical supplies! Leon, go get some warm water and a wash rag! Now!" Aerith commanded, beginning to look closely at her head wound.
Cloud and Leon ran in opposite directions to get what the Flower Girl demanded, knowing they would have to face her wrath if they came back empty handed. Aerith may seem like the gentlest creature in the world, but when someone she loved was in danger, you had better do as she said.
Leon returned first with the water and rag. He walked over to Aerith and asked softly, "Do you think she'll be alright?" as he handed the wet cloth to her.
"Leon, I honestly don't know," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Her face is so pale. And this knot on her head doesn't look good."
"Aerith!" Cloud called from the Red Room, "I can't find your damn medical bag! Where is it?"
"I'm coming!" she called back. Turning to Leon, she said, "Here. Take this rag and wipe the blood away gently until I come back."
Leon took the rag and did as she said, looking at his inanimate partner. This is all my fault, he thought. If I hadn't been so mad when that shuriken hit me, then she wouldn't have stayed out so late. Damn me and my temper!
Aerith came back in and took the rag back from Leon and continued to gently rub the blood away so she could see what needed the most attention. After doing this, she took out the bottle of disinfectant and poured it on the rag, saying, "It's a good thing that she's unconscious in a way. She would never be able to stand the disinfectant," as she wiped it into the wounds.
Leon backed away from Aerith and Yuffie to stand next to Cloud across the room. "This is my fault," he told the blonde. "I shouldn't lose my temper so often with her."
"Hey," Cloud said softly, "you know she has a stubborn streak. It's no one's fault that this happened. Sometimes bad things just happen."
"Don't give me that shit, Cloud! You said it yourself that she said she was staying gone until I cooled off! If I didn't lose my temper so often, she would never have gone out!" he yelled angrily.
"Leon, calm down. No one knew this would happen. She knew that the Heartless were there when she went in. I repeat, it is no one's fault," he stated, putting his hand on Leon's shoulder.
"Look, I don't care what you say. But the point remains that she wouldn't have gone out if I hadn't been such a damn jerk to her. I'm going for a walk," he declared, knocking Cloud's arm off his shoulder.
At this Aerith looked up from what she was doing, pleading, "But Leon, it's two in the morning! And you're injured! What if the Heartless attack? I can't tend to you and Yuffie. Cloud, don't let him out that door!"
"Fine! I'll just go sit in the lobby," he yelled, trying to stomp into the hallway, but having an obviously hard time because of his leg.
Cloud walked over to Aerith, asking, "Do you need any help?"
"No, there's not much more I can do. All I need to do now is try and help the swelling on her head," she said, putting her head in her hands. "I'm not sure if she's going to make it Cloud. I just don't know," she cried.
Cloud wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair, "Shh, it's going to be alright. You know as well as I do that she won't let go without a fight. Let's just try and focus on helping her now."
With this, Aerith pulled out of Cloud's arms to find an ice pack to put on Yuffie's head. She placed it gently upon her head, and sat in the chair Cloud had pulled next to the bed. As Cloud turned to walk into the Red Room, Aerith cried, "Cloud, please don't leave me in here alone! I don't think I can handle it."
Cloud came back and gently kissed the top of her head, saying, "I wasn't leaving. I was going to get another chair from our room." He went into their room and came back carrying the aforementioned chair, setting it down next to Aerith's. He sat down and reached across for her hand, massaging the top of it with his thumb. Aerith just sighed softly and visibly calmed down.
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Meanwhile, in the hotel's lobby, Leon paced across the floor as best as he could without doing more damage to his leg. He continued to blame himself, thinking to himself, Damn it, Leon! You just had to blow up at her! You wouldn't even listen to her apology, would you? And now, just look at what has happened. For all you know, she may die tonight! And she won't even know that you care about her! Surprised at this thought, Leon looked up and muttered, "Do I care about her?"
After spending an hour walking a hole in the lobby's rug, Leon returned to the Green Room to find Cloud and Aerith slouching in their chairs, obviously asleep and snoring. He gently shook Aerith awake.
"Cloud, not now. I'm trying to sleep," she mumbled, still half asleep.
"Aerith, it's me, Leon. I came to check on Yuffie," Leon declared.
"Wha–, oh!" she exclaimed, sitting up to stretch and yawn. She gently touched the knot on Yuffie's temple to check on the swelling. "Well, Leon, there's not been much change from what I can tell. The swellings gone down some, but she's still unconscious. It doesn't look good."
"Okay, thanks Aerith. Here, I'll sit with her so you and lover-boy there can get some sleep," he said, as he helped Aerith get out of the chair.
Aerith walked over to Cloud, whispering, "Cloud, come on. We're going to our room now," as she shook him awake.
"But it's not morning yet, mom. Just five more minutes," he grumbled in his sleep.
"Cloud! I am not your mother. Now, come on, we're going to our room to get some sleep in a more comfortable bed," she said as she pulled him up out of the chair.
"Hmm? Oh, okay. What are we doing in here anyway? Oh, yeah, I forgot. Yuffie's been injured," he mumbled, as he stumbled into the Red Room, still not fully awake.
After they left, Leon sat down in the chair Aerith had vacated next to the bed. Looking at the pale Yuffie, he couldn't help himself from brushing her short black hair out of her face. He pulled his hand back from her face when he saw the purple knot still on her head. Sighing, he placed his head in his hands, saying under his breath, "I'm so sorry, Yuffie. I didn't want this to happen. It's all my fault."
Unbeknownst to him, Aerith was standing in the doorway between the two rooms as he said this. She had been planning to retrieve her shoes, but decided it would be best to wait until morning, knowing that Leon would be furious if he knew that she had seen him show some compassion.
She tip-toed back into the Red Room, closing the door softly so as not to disturb Leon, then walked over to the bed where Cloud lay, already asleep. She crawled under the covers and lay against the blond. As she sighed, his arms wrapped around her protectively.
"I thought you were asleep," she whispered, not wanting to disturb the silence.
"No, I was waiting for you. Don't worry Aerith, Yuffie will be okay," he said softly in her ear, before they both fell asleep.
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Author's Note: Oh, no! Another cliffhanger. Yuffie's still unconscious and Leon has shown some compassion! What's the world coming to! But don't worry, I should have the next chapter up by tomorrow night, possibly even later tonight. My muse loves me right now. :)