Author's Note: Okay, this idea just popped into my head outta nowhere and I had to go ahead and get started on this chapter. And.... 206 reviews!! ::squeals with joy:: I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ AND REVIEW!!! And, now, I shall throw a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bishie) party. However, I claim Squall and I know that VL will claim Riku, so you guys will have to fight over the rest. ::showers reviewers with various plushies:: Just grab as many of them as you want.

By the by, I keep switching back and forth from calling him Leon and Squall. It just depends on who's thinking at the time.

Oh, and I'm changing the times in which some things happen in the game. Such as the tournaments. So, bear with me.

Note to ObsidianSorrows: I had just finished Final Fantasy VII the day I started writing that chapter. I couldn't help but make her nauseous after playing the game.

[Disclaimer: Still don't own them. Never did own them. Never will own them. And, if wishes were Squalls, I'd have a whole room full of them.

Chapter Twelve: Pick Your Battles

Bringing his ship into the docking bay of the Coliseum, Sora deftly steered between the rows of various Gummis before finding an empty slot for his own ship. As he landed, he noticed the glares from the frequent competitors of the games. Last time he was here, Donald had tried to wrench the steering column away from the young Keyblade Master as he was landing, causing him to broadside many of the ships and cause considerable damage to more than a few. This time, however, the duck and dog had remained in Hollow Bastion while he went to train. Through the window, Sora smiled nervously and waved at the crowds in apology. He had been hoping that they would've forgotten by now, but judging by their faces, they apparently remembered.

The ship touched down and Sora powered down the engine before jumping out of his seat and walking towards the door, grabbing his backpack and Keyblade before he left. As the ramp lowered, he turned the interior lights off in order to conserve the little fuel he had left and then shut the door, activating the encoded lock with the push of a button. He proceeded down he ramp and towards the Coliseum entrance, but stopped when he recognized the Gummi ship to the left of the doors. "That looks like Leon's ship," he muttered under his breath as he wove through the crowds to reach the Gummi.

Upon reaching the blue and green ship, Sora slowly walked around it, looking for signs that it was indeed the Gunblade wielder's ship. He found his proof on the right side beneath the windshield where a lion's head was engraved into the Gummi block's surface, something he was sure only Leon would have. Glancing around, the teenager lowered the ramp and then quickly climbed up it and slipped inside the ship, flipping switches as he went. He had only been inside the ship once and he couldn't quite remember where the switches that activated the lights were.

"Leon?" he called softly as he walked down the dimly lit corridor, his footsteps echoing off of the steel walls. "Are you here, Leon?" As he passed by the control room, he noticed it was empty so he continued down the hall, briefly wondering if perhaps the man wasn't in the ship and if he wasn't, how badly would he hurt Sora for coming into his ship unaccompanied.

Coming to the end of the corridor, Sora found a closed door leading to what he presumed to be the bedroom on the ship and put his hand upon the cool brass doorknob. He gave it a quick wrench to the right and pushed the door open, his jaw dropping at the scene in front of him. On the small bed, a blindfolded Leon lay on his back, his jaw slack and a thin line of drool beginning at the corner of his mouth and sliding down to his pillow. Curled tight into his side was Yuffie, her head resting on the crook of Leon's shoulder and her hand on his chest with his arm wrapping around her back and gripping her side, holding her tightly against him as he slept.

Sora's jaw closed with a snap as he tried to sort out the situation in front of him. Judging from what he had previously seen of the two fighters on his first visit to Traverse Town, he had always thought they just put up with each other because they had to. Now, after seeing this, he wasn't so sure. "Um... Leon? Yuffie?" he called hesitantly, never once realizing it might be in his best interest to leave the two alone.

Sora watched as the self-proclaimed 'Great Ninja Yuffie' scrunched her face up, snuggling deeper into the covers and Leon's embrace. "Just five more minutes," she muttered incoherently in her disturbed slumber.

"Okay, then. I guess I'll be leaving," the Keyblade master said uncertainly as he slowly backed out of the room, still confused as to what was going on and why Leon would have a blindfold on. And a blindfold made of gauze, at that. Just as he was turning to leave, a shrill shriek caused him to look back at the bed and see Yuffie staring at him with indigo eyes wide in shock.

"Sora, what are you doing here?!" she demanded loudly, sitting up and breaking free of Squall's tight embrace to glare at the spikey-haired teenager.

Sora smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head with one hand, his eyes looking anywhere but at her. "Uh... I came to compete at the games," he stuttered, finally meeting the ninja's eyes with his own. "What are you doing here?" He gestured towards the bed and the somehow still sleeping Gunblade wielder beside her.

"Squall wanted to come," she said indignantly, digging her elbow into his side in an attempt to wake him up. She still couldn't believe that he had managed to sleep through both her shriek and her loud conversation with Sora. Squall just grumbled in his sleep and rolled over, his hand moving to pillow his cheek. "Squall, wake UP!" A loud, rumbling snore showed her that he was still sleeping soundly, so she did the only thing she could think of. She pushed him off the bed and watched him hit the floor with a loud 'thud.'

Yuffie watched with amusement as a hand came up from the floor and gripped the edge of the bed, soon followed by a head of long mahogany hair. "What was that for, Yuf?" Squall grumbled as he pulled himself into a sitting position and rubbed his face, wiping away the little bit of drool clinging to his cheek.

"We have company, Squall," she muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes and looking in the direction of the Keyblade master still standing in the doorway.

Leaning his head against the doorframe, Sora patiently awaited for Leon to correct Yuffie before he said anything. After a few seconds of waiting, however, he realized that it wasn't going to happen. "Uh... good morning, Leon," he finally said, watching as the man climbed to his feet. "What's up with the blindfold?"

"Sora, what are you doing here? In my ship?" Squall growled menacingly, momentarily ignoring the young teenager's inquiry about the bandages. "Didn't I tell you the last time that I didn't want you in here alone?"

Sora shuffled his feet, much like a child who has been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar, before looking up at the two in front of him. "I saw your ship and was wondering why you were here. Besides, it's not my fault the thing crashed into a wall. Goofy tripped over his feet and knocked me onto the lever."

Squall reached out and touched the wall, using his hands to guide himself to the door as he walked. Seeing Sora's questioning glance, Yuffie decided to shed some light on the matter for the confused brunette. "It's not a blindfold, you dummy. It's bandages. He had an accident involving a very irate Red Nocturne," she explained, getting up and following Squall as he left the room.

"I didn't think he was into that anyway." Sora muttered the suggestive statement under his breath as he followed the other two down the corridor. Well, he had thought it was under his breath, but with the angry scowl he was getting from Yuffie, he suddenly realized it wasn't.

"You sick little nasty--" She was cut off as Squall brought his hand over her mouth, preventing the foul words from escaping her mouth.

"Just because Aerith isn't here doesn't mean you can say that," Squall whispered, keeping his hand on her mouth until she had a chance to cool down. After all, Yuffie had spent a large part of her life around Cid and his foul mouth and he was sure the younger Sora didn't need to hear the litany of insults that could come streaming out of her mouth when she was riled up.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, the ninja reached up and pulled Squall's hand away, yet still keeping her hand upon it as it fell to his side. "You had just better watch your back, Sora," she muttered, turning away from him and letting Squall pull her down the hall. Putting a big smile back on her face, she grabbed Squall's arm and ignored the boy behind her. "Squall, don't you think we should go register for the games?"

Sora shook his head and watched the ninja lean against the supposed lion as they walked. "You aren't going to fight like that, are you Leon? I mean, it'll be an unfair fight seeing as how you're blind and stuff."

Yuffie bit her lip to keep from busting out laughing, glad that Sora was unable to see her face, as she remembered how quickly Squall had cut down the Heartless even though he was blind. "Yeah, Sora, it'll be such an easy fight for you. You should be glad to have the opportunity to beat him down, don't you think?" she called over her shoulder, deciding it would be fun to lull the Keyblade master into a false sense of security.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Signing herself and Squall up for the Pegasus Cup proved to be harder than Yuffie had originally thought it would be. First off, that pompous satyr named Phil had insisted that she and Squall prove themselves to be worthy of competing in the games by forcing them into a timed trial of destroying barrels. And since Squall was blind and the barrels were silent, it was up to the ninja to obliterate the wooden drums. "What– did those– barrels– ever do to– Phil?" she panted as she finished off the last of them and leaned over, her hands resting on her knees.

No sooner than they had finished that timed trial, then Phil announced that there was a second they had to go through. However, he quickly relented when he saw Yuffie brandish her conformer and growl a quick threat to him. "Unless you want this," she waved the weapon, "shoved up your ass, you'll cut the 'timed trial' crap." While she was handling the situation, Squall leaned against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest and let a small smile come across his face as he listened to the fearful stuttering of the Olympic hero trainer.

"Okay, okay. No need to get violent," the trainer stammered, backing away on his two small hooves and holding his hands up defensively. "Go right on through." He unhooked the rope across the entrance and gestured for the two to walk in.

Smiling surprisingly sweetly at the satyr, Yuffie skipped over to Squall and grabbed his hand to pull him into the actual grounds where the competition would take place. "I knew you would see it my way, Phil," she chortled as she waved at him.

"Sheesh, kids today," Phil muttered as he put the rope back across the entrance. "They're almost as bad as the keyblade guy."

Inside the arena, Squall heard the clash of steel on steel and the roar of the crowd as two fighters in the center battled. Those noises always brought back memories of the times he had sparred at their home world of Hollow Bastion over nine years ago. And his opponent most of the time was Cloud Strife, someone who had become just a vague memory to the warrior. Squall could only just barely remember the spikey blonde hair and the monstrously large sword the then fourteen year old boy had wielded.

An insistent tug on his arm pulled him out of his memories and brought him back to the here and now, where he would once again be battling. This time, however, the battle would prove to be much more difficult. Not only was the proud Squall Leonhart blinded, but the competition was also considerably tougher. "Are you ready, Yuffie?" he asked when he felt the ninja unconsciously squeeze his arm tighter in her small hands.

"Who? Me? Of course I am," she boasted nervously, trying to hide her anxiety behind the false bravado she always put up before a battle. "After all, I am the Great Ninja Yuffie. No Keyblade wielding little twerp is gonna beat me. Nuh-uh. Not in a million years."

Squall smiled slowly as he saw right through the facade Yuffie put up and placed a gloved hand upon her shoulder to give her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm a little nervous, too, you know," he admitted quietly, not wanting the whole arena to hear that the mighty wielder of the Gunblade actually got nervous before a battle.

Shocked, Yuffie pulled away from him and placed a hand on his forehead, testing for a fever. "Are you sure you're Squall? You're not a pod person, are you?" she teased, trying to sound serious and failing miserably.

Before Squall could reply to her comment, he heard the triumphant cry of the battle's victor and the sudden cheering and booing coming from the stands as each sides hero either fell or claimed victory. An announcement then came from across the arena where Phil was standing with a megaphone. "Next up, Squall Leonhart and Yuffie Kisaragi versus Magic Alert."

"Magic Alert? What are we fighting, Yuffie?" Squall asked as they stepped into the fighting grounds and took their stances.

Seeing the types of Heartless materialize in front of them, Yuffie slapped her forehead and groaned in disgust. "You're not gonna believe it, Squall," she muttered, already putting her shuriken away and preparing to use the few magic spells she knew for this battle.

"Just tell me already," he hissed as he turned his heads towards her, his mouth in a tight line and his Gunblade drawn in front of him.

"It's five Red Nocturnes and five Yellow Operas." She watched in slight amusement as she saw the well-known look of revenge come across his face as he pushed his long bangs out of his face with one hand.

The bell rang, signaling the fight was to begin and Squall stood stock still, listening to the distinct whirring noises the flying heartless made as they were powering up. Hearing one directly to his right, he prepared to swing his sword around, but paused to locate Yuffie by her shrill yells of 'Blizzara' as she attacked some of the creatures. The Gunblade arced through the air and he felt it solidly connect with something, something he dearly hoped was brethren to the Red Nocturne that had taken his vision.

He continued slashing the air as the sounds of the heartless let him easily locate them in the arena, and, within mere minutes of starting the battle, he and Yuffie had decimated the opposition. The crowd went wild, cheering madly as he slashed an 'x' in the air with his Gunblade and Yuffie, undoubtedly, did her little victory dance of jumping around like mad.

"Sora versus Squall and Yuffie," Phil announced briefly, looking down at the small tablet he held in his hands. He shook his horned head as he tried to figure out exactly how a blind man and an annoying ninja could take down the last competitors. But, then again, he had never dreamed that some of the heroes he had trained had actually made it.

Sora confidently strutted into the arena, smiling cheesily at the crowds as they clapped and cheered, urging him on. Even Yuffie and Squall, the past victors, were no match in the crowds eyes for the Keyblade master, no matter how young he was. "You still want to do this, Leon?" he asked quietly, not wanting the crowd to hear.

As answer, Squall took his stance and lowered his head, already listening for the tell-tale signs that would alert him to the boy's location even before the battle began. Yuffie drew a few shuriken from the pouch at her side and positioned them expertly between her fingers, ready to throw them as soon as the battle began. She stood up suddenly and looked around the arena. "Hey, where's Donald and Goofy?"

"They had other business in Hollow Bastion and couldn't make it," Sora replied as he brought his Keyblade out in front of him and brought his game face on. He would never admit it, but the thought of fighting both Squall and Yuffie at the same time, by himself, made him just the least bit nervous.

The bell rang and Sora, disregarding Squall as he thought he wouldn't have to worry about the blinded man, immediately charged Yuffie, who began to back flip away from him and shoot the small stars at him with a quick flick of her wrist. Concentrating all his effort on the ninja, Sora quickly blocked her into a corner and began slashing at her with his blade. He never noticed the sound of the quickly approaching footsteps as the Gunblade wielder came up from behind him and attacked his unprotected back. Spinning around, he caught Squall with his blade only to have Yuffie bring her conformer out and begin ruthlessly attacking him.

The battle raged on, neither side winning or losing until Yuffie reached into her pouch to find that she was out of shuriken and her conformer just wasn't cutting it anymore as Sora had learned to dodge it. Sensing that the ninja was at her weakest now, the Keyblade master once again concentrated his attacks on her, soon bringing his blade down with the finishing blow and leaving her unconscious.

Without Yuffie's constant stream of ninja stars flying at him, Sora found that dealing with Leon became much easier and the mighty Gunblade wielder soon followed his ninja companion in unconsciousness. Glad to see that he had won, yet saddened by having to fight his friends, Sora quickly cast a cure spell on them. He knew it wouldn't help with the muscle aches and pains, but it would stop the bleeding and heal most of the wounds they had acquired.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"I can't believe we lost," Squall mumbled as he felt Yuffie's small, delicate hands soothingly spread a cooling salve upon an open cut on his abdomen before wrapping bandages around it. He ran a hand through his hair, wincing as he moved his shoulder wrong and felt the overextended muscle protest.

"But we have a good excuse, Squall," Yuffie replied, still checking over his body for anymore wounds that needed attention. She had already taken care of the major ones on her own body and, seeing as how Squall couldn't see, she decided he would need help taking care of his. Of course, she didn't mind having to see him shirtless. That was just one of the perks. "I mean, come on, you were blind. And I think we put up a pretty good fight even though you were blind, don't you?"

Sitting on the hard bleachers of the battle arena, he once again heard clashing as another battle begin as Yuffie's fingers ran across his chest to another small cut. "Yeah, I guess we did," he agreed quietly, realizing that it was true. They had put up a good fight and they would've won if they had been able to just keep at if for a little longer. "Although, I really wanted to beat that punk down."

Yuffie smiled as she finished with his wounds and handed him his shirt, sighing sadly as the sight of his chiseled chest and abs disappeared from her view. "Don't worry, Squall. Next time we'll get him," she whispered as she leaned and kissed him lightly on the lips. Feeling his arms wrap around her waist, she would have gladly given him another kiss if it hadn't been for the loud clap of thunder and flash of lightning in the sky. Terrified, she jumped in his lap and hid her head in his shirt.

Mildly surprised when she jumped in his lap, Squall quickly got over it and stood up, picking her up as he did. "Maybe we should get inside?" he suggested as he took a hesitant step forward, waiting for her directions to the building entrance.

"Y-yeah," she stuttered as the thunder pounded again, causing her to nearly jump out of his arms and run screaming. Steeling her nerves, she quickly directed him to the door, hoping they could both reach it before the rain fell down.

As they entered, they heard a quick announcement from Phil claiming it was impossible for Gummi travel until the storm passed and he quickly directed everyone to the nearest hotel as the storm would probably last for a few days, if not longer. Sighing in disgust, but realizing there was no other way, Yuffie consented to having to stay at the Coliseum. At least this way, she wouldn't have to worry about Aerith.

Author's Note: Yay... I got this chapter out just two days after the last one. I must be on a roll. Anyways, I know, the action scenes were horrible. I'm not good at them. And the ending of this chapter wasn't the best in the world, but I'm setting it up for something in the next chapter or so. Anyways, please review for me.