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Breaking Sometimes

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Leon sighed to himself and shifted in his bed, unable to sleep. This time it was not because of the nightmares or Seifer. It was because of Cloud.

Leon felt a small wave of anger wash over him at the thought of the younger blonde. What had he been thinking? Why hadn't he ran from Cereberus, instead of staying there and almost getting himself killed? Was he that stupid, that naive? Hadn't he learned by now that there were things out there greater than him, things not to be messed with?

More importantly, why did it matter? Why was Leon losing sleep over this? Why was it causing him such great shifts of emotions? It was Cloud they were talking about, for Hyne's sake. Sure, he was a friend and all, but that didn't matter to Leon. He wasn't that dear of a friend. Admittedly, Leon was glad Cloud hadn't been seriously injured, but if Cloud wanted to go and almost get himself killed, what business was it of his?

'I'm just not sleeping enough...' He thought wearily to himself. 'Don't people get all emotional when they haven't slept enough? I just need to get some rest... I'm sure I will be fine in the morning...'

He wouldn't let it bother him that, while being the only explanation he could come up with, it just didn't seem to fit.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yuffie had been checking on the sleeping man periodically for the past seven hours. She used the excuse of making sure he was okay, but she knew that wasn't it. Something had happened in the Coliseum, she was sure of it. Cloud had seemed so let down and empty afterwards and Yuffie knew it hadn't been because he had gotten his ass kicked. No, Yuffie had seen Cloud get whipped several times, and he had always came bouncing back, better than ever. So, the only answer was, something was up.

Now, if only she could figure out what...

She had watched him several times, hoping to get some kind of glimpse into his soul, into his thoughts. It was a futile attempt, but she tried anyways. It wasn't like she was going to get him to just tell her about it. Oh no, Cloud Strife was not that kind of man. If Yuffie wanted answers, then she'd have to go behind his back and she knew it. Not that she had a problem going behind his back, or anyone else's for that matter. She was, after all, Yuffie, Master Ninja and Materia Thief extrodinaire.

She let her mind replay what she knew had happened at the Coliseum. Cloud had fought Sora, Donald and Goofy, and had lost. Cereberus had appeared out of nowhere, nearly killing Cloud in the process, only to be killed by Sora a few moments later.

Wait...

Fought...

Cloud had fought...

Sora!!

Sora had been there! If something had happened, Sora would have been sure to see it!

It was a long shot, but it was all she could come up with. A huge grin on her face, she set off to find the young Keybearer.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Cloud's eyes opened slowly. He groaned to himself and turned over in his bed. He didn't want to be awake, but he kept waking up. He knew it was about time he got up and got on with life, but he was still so damned tired...

His eyes closed again a second later. He always spent his awake time trying to think of a new way to help Leon, but he was tired of it. He was tired of thinking of the sulky brunette, tired of seeing his disapproving glare every time he came into Cloud's room, as rarely as that was.

All he wanted to do for now was sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Okay, so we'll stock up on what we need and meet back here in ten minutes." Sora looked at his companions, who nodded quickly and then ran off to do whatever it was that they wanted or had to do.

Sora shook his head, smiling slightly, and started off towards the Item shop. They were running dangerously low on Potions and Ethers, simply because Donald and Goofy seemed to have a problem with using them if a monster so much as looked at them or if they even thought about using a spell or technique.

Venturing into the Jungle hadn't been entirely useless, as far as Sora was concerned. Sure, he didn't find Riku or Kairi, but he had made some new friends and helped some people out. For a change, he felt good about himself. He couldn't wait until he could find Riku and tell him all about his adventures. He was pretty certain that Riku would be impressed, maybe even in awe.

Sometimes, Sora felt like a child next to Riku. It was a feeling that he had never shared with anyone, including the silver-haired youth in question. Riku had always been the one with the ambitions, the dreams and the hopes. Sora had merely wanted to go where ever Riku went.

But, now, there he was, having great adventures, meeting a ton of people, battling monsters... yes, he was sure of it. Riku would be undoubtedly proud of him.

Sora grinned to himself and raised his hands behind his head. Nothing could go wrong now. He'd find Riku, and then he'd find Kairi and-

"Hey, Sora!"

Sora fell backwards in surprise. Yuffie looked down at him and laughed. "Didn't scare ya, did I?" Her eyes were lit up with playfulness.

Sora rubbed the back of his head and stood up, blushing slightly. He had been so lost in his daydream, he hadn't even noticed her standing right in front of him. "How long have you been standing there?"

Yuffie shrugged. "A couple of minutes." She grinned. "You looked so happy, I didn't wanna interrupt you."

Sora blushed again. "Heh."

"Speaking of, why are you so happy?"

Sora shrugged and looked at the ground. He liked Yuffie and he trusted her, but that wasn't exactly something he'd want to talk to anyone about.

Yuffie seemed to sense this, as she waved her hand. "Ahhh, nevermind. I've got something I want to ask you about anyways."

Sora raised an eyebrow curiously. "What?"

"Umm..." Yuffie looked down at the ground, moving the dirt around with her foot. "Did... did something happen at the tournament that Cloud hasn't told us about? Or did he say something?"

Sora's eyes widened in surprise. He scratched the back of his neck, going over the events in his mind. Nothing unusual had happened when Cereberus had attacked, but Sora had ran into the blonde afterwards. "He said something about... trying to use the forces of darkness, but it backfiring on him... he was..."

"You'll find it... I'm searching too..."

"For your light? Don't lose sight of it."

"He was looking for someone..." Sora said softly. "For his light..."

Yuffie's eyes lit up with surprise. "For his... light?" she tilted her head to the side, considering what Sora had said. Yuffie knew Cloud used to have a relationship with Aeris, and that they still cared for each other, but Cloud knew where Aeris was, so it couldn't be her.

Yuffie bit her lip, trying to think if Cloud had ever been in another relationship, if he had ever had someone close to him, someone that he would be willing to work for the dark side for.

She thought back over all of their friends. Tifa came to mind first. Tifa had always had an incredible crush on Cloud, but Cloud had always thought of her as a baby sister. Cloud might be looking for her... but... it just didn't seem right to Yuffie. If Cloud wanted to look for Tifa, then he wouldn't have been so secretive about it. He wouldn't have exactly come out and say what he was doing, but Yuffie didn't think he would go to such lengths for Tifa, no matter how much she meant to him.

Yuffie shifted her weight to her other foot, still considering the options. Cid? No, they knew where Cid was, he was in Traverse Town, with them. Reeve? No, couldn't be Reeve, Cloud and him weren't that good of friends. Barrett? Naaahh. Nanaki? No, that wouldn't work.

"Do you have any idea what he was talking about?" Sora asked quietly, interrupting her thoughts.

Yuffie looked up at him and shook her head. "I'm trying to think of who he could be talking about, but everyone I come up with just doesn't add up, unless..." Her voice trailed off.

She wondered if he could be talking about Vincent? She knew him and Vincent were the best of friends, the silent type always went together well. Still... Yuffie couldn't see Cloud searching for Vincent. Cloud would know that Vincent could take care of himself, given that he was still out there somewhere. Sure, Cloud would keep an eye out for the black-haired man, but that would be the extent of it.

"Someone important to him? Someone that meant the world to Cloud?"

Yuffie didn't reply, instead she continued to go over in her mind everyone they had known. Every name she came to she could easily mark off, until...

Sora looked at Yuffie in concern when she gasped. "What is it?" He asked nervously.

Yuffie felt both stupid and horrified... Cloud was... his light... after everything, he still... she should have known. "It's Sephiroth." She whispered, the colour slowly draining from her face. "He's searching for Sephiroth."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you going to stay in bed forever and pout?"

Cloud opened his eyes lazily, a small rush of anger flowing through him at being so rudely woken up.

Leon stood in his doorway, his back resting against the wooden frame. His face was as serious as ever, his gaze still cold and stony.

"You have to get up some time, you know."

"I'll get up when I feel like it..." Cloud mumbled, covering his head with his pillow.

He heard Leon move into the room. "So you got your ass beat. Is that a good reason to just stay in here all the time?"

Cloud lifted the pillow up and glared at Leon. "What do you care?" He shot back, without thinking.

Leon's eyes widened slightly. An unnamed emotion passed through his eyes, gone before Cloud could even begin to wonder about it. "I'm just worried about destroying the Heartless. You'll be useless if all you plan on doing is staying in bed like some whiny brat just because a kid had to save your ass." He shrugged slightly.

Cloud narrowed his eyes and looked down at his bed. Leon just had everything figured out, he thought bitterly. "..." 'I could say the same thing about you, Leon.'

"Are you getting up or not?" Leon asked impatiently after a few moments.

"No." Cloud replied, closing his eyes, willing Leon to just leave him alone.

A few seconds later, Cloud got his wish. Leon walked out of the room, frustrated with both Cloud, for being such a child and himself, for trying to get him out of his bed in the first place. After all, what did he care if Cloud wanted to waste away and do nothing?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I can give you life again." The voice was merely an echo, bouncing off of the darkened walls.

A silver-haired man lifted his head, his green eyes blazing. "How?" It was all he had to say.

"You don't need to know how. Just that I can do it." The nameless voice replied.

"And what do I have to do for you in return?" His voice was sharp and bitter.

"Just... enter yourself in the upcoming tournament in the Coliseum. And, if you happen to run into the Keybearer, kill him."

A silver eyebrow shot up. "That's it?" His voice showed his disbelief. How could he be given life under such easy circumstances, after everything that had happened?

"Yes."

He didn't know what to say.

"Will you do it or not?"

"Yes." His response was without hesitation. He couldn't pass up a chance like this, not in a million years.

"Good." The voice faded away, leaving the silver-haired man alone.


He smiled softly in the darkness. A tournament in the Coliseum... he knew Cloud would have to be there, the boy had never been able to resist a challenge.


In time, everything would be alright again.

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Author's Notes: Oh, joy! An update from me! About damn time, no? ^^

See, Ocean-eyed Songstress? I told ya Sephy'd be in it at some point or another. ^^ You won't see him really active for a while, though. And yes, of course, there will have to be competition! xD

I know this chapter was kind of short and didn't have much of Leon or Cloud in it, but I felt it necessary for plot development. Poor Leon doesn't know what to do with himself and Yuffie has everything wrong. (Surprise, surprise. ^^)

Sorry for such the long wait, I hope you liked it, though! Give me some nice thoughts to motivate me to write some more, guys! ^^

Also, many thanks for all of the reviews! I really appreciate it and am glad you guys like this so far. ^^

Please note, this chapter has not made it to my beta-reader, so if you find any grammar/spelling errors, you know what to do.