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J u l i a
Chapter Two
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D r e a m ? W h a t D r e a m ?
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Squall . . . ?

. . . wake your ass up!

. . . Leon . . .

They don't exist . . .

. . . bumped . . . ead . . .

Rinoa . . . ?

. . . a dream . . .

Alive?

. . . eed a . . . octor . . . ?

Leon!

. . . don't leave me . . .

Squall, wake up!

. . . Yuffie?

Squall?

Leon . . .

Squall!

"Hey, look! He's waking up!"

"Shh!"

"Tch. Just like Squall to get himself messed up like this. Wh--Ow! Damn, man! That was uncalled for!"

"Will you both be quiet."

"But, Qui--!"

"Please!"

. . . Zell? Quistis?

". . . hekhekh--oh, ouch! That hurt!"

Irvine . . . ?

"Hmph. Payback, man."

"Cut it out right now!"

"Sorry, Quisty girl."

"Pft."

What's going on?

"Squall . . . ? How are you?" asked a soft, feminine voice.

"Urgh . . ."

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Though, still groggy with sleep, he tried to crack open one of his eyes. Then he quickly closed it at the sudden brightness that seemed to be flooding the room. He groaned and began to speak. But because his tongue felt so thick, his words were just a bunch of gibberish and not coherent to those around him.

"What was that? Dude, speak up!"

". . . nght . . . "

"Did you get that, Quisty?"

"Not a word. Say that again, Squall?"

"--ight . . ."

"Hey! He said 'night'!"

"No . . . I think he said 'light'."

The young man seemed to growl in annoyance.

"Zell, close the blinds. The room is too bright for him."

"Right!"

Behind his eyelids, the red slowly faded away to black, signifying that the room was now dim enough for him to open his eyes. And he did, albeit slow and a bit tiredly. He could make out three blurred shapes, one sitting near him and the other two standing. He blinked his eyes several times for focus. As his vision became more clear and prominent, he found that the one sitting near him was a young woman, with blond hair and blue eyes, and the other two were guys. One of them was taller than the other and had deep, cobalt eyes and long wavy, auburn hair tied in a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. The shorter of the two had spikey, blond hair and, like the woman, had blue eyes, though maybe a shade lighter. On the left side of his face was a thick, lined tattoo that trailed up above his brow, down over his check bone and then stopped just before reaching his jawline. The design reminded him of lightening. Both men were lean and well-built; the tall one less overly so.

The shorter one, with the tattoo, stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again. Squall slowly blinked and before anyone could speak, he asked, "Where's Yuffie?"

All three persons looked at each other before turning questioning eyes to him.

He continued, "Aerith and Cloud? Where are they?"

Then he realized for the first time that the room they were in was definitely not his bedchamber in Hollow Bastion. Instead of stone walls, there was a smooth, gray, almost white, interior instead. And the bed wasn't the same either. The one he now lie on was a twin sized bed, instead of his double, king sized one.

"Where am I? Who's room is this? What's going on?" He demanded, eyes confused, disconcerted and also a bit angry.

The three looked at him with wide eyes. All were shocked and confused and neither new how to answer or what to say.

"Well?" He implored. A small cough near him brought his attention to the young woman.

"Er . . . we don't know this Yuffie, Aerith and Cloud persons. As for your other questions, you are currently in your room at Balamb Garden. And I'm not exactly sure how to answer your last, because we're just as confused as you are. Sorry," she finished.

The blond guy stepped forward all of the sudden and waved his arms, "What the hell!? You're kidding me right? Squall? What's wrong with you? Do you even remember us? Your friends? Come on, dude! Stop messin' around!"

Squall, was taken a back by his sudden outburst, but then became angry.

"I'm not messing around, damn it! If I were, do you think I'd be asking you questions!?"

The three jumped at his tone of voice. They all looked about ready to bolt at any second.

Squall sighed sullenly. "But I . . . do remember you. All . . . of you," he closed his eyes sadly before looking at each of them. Looking at the young woman at his side and smiled sadly, "Quistis . . . ." The girl's, Quistis, eyes lit up slightly at being acknowledged then nodded with a relieved smile. Squall then turned his head to the two guys standing and nodded to each while addressing them, "Irvine and Zell." But then his eyes became saddened and he looked down at his hands. ". . . But how?" Then his eyes widened again in another revelation and he looked at all three closely before exclaiming, "Why didn't you age!?"

All three looked at each other in surprise before bursting out with laughter.

The tall one, Irvine, stepped forward clutching at his stomach, "That's a good one, Squall!" But as soon as he caught the blank stare from Squall, his laughter died down and the mirth in his eyes suddenly dulled into concern.

"Squall, what do you mean?" Quistis asked, seeming to have caught his placid expression too.

Squall closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair; his fingers grazing the nape of his neck as he did so. His eyes shot open. Slowly, he brought his hands up to his hair and deftly felt around. Three teens looked on with bewildered, yet amused, expressions as he did this. Blue, gray, eyes widened slightly in shock as he brought his hands down. His hair, which was once long and spikey, was now cropped short. By the bangs that hung over his eyes, he knew it couldn't be that short, maybe even a bit long, but this still took him by surprise.

He looked around steadily before his eyes rested on a mirror that seemed to be embedded within the door of a closet. Slowly he stood up on shaky legs and made his way there, ignoring his friends' befuddled eyes as he walked pass them.

Squall now stood before the mirror, eyes blank and face drained of color.

"Uh . . . dude? Squall?" asked the concerned boy named Zell.

Quistis stood up from her seat and over to stand next to Squall. She lifted a hand to touch his shoulder, but before her hand came in contact, he whirled on her. With his hands clasping almost painfully on her upper arms, he stared at her with crazed eyes and a frantic expression. The poor, young woman inhaled sharply but didn't cry out. The two boys stood there with shock clearly written on their faces.

"What's going on!? Why do I look like this!? Quistis, please!" Squall screamed and tightened his grip on her arms, making her cry out in pain.

Irvine moved forward and pulled Quistis out of Squall's death grip and began to soothe the poor girl. Zell, having come out of his stupor, rushed forward and pinned Squall's thrashing body against the wall.

"Squall! What the hell's wrong with you!? Snap out of, damn it!" He yelled.

"ARRRUGH!! NO! This can't be real! It just can't be! I'm dreaming! I know I am! Damn it! Let. Me. GO!"

Squall shoved Zell backward and then punched the blond man square in the face. The force of the blow made Zell double over and grunt with pain, but his eyes glinted with hard determination. And with one swift blow to Squall's abdomen , the young martial artist rendered his friend unconcious. Zell caught him before he hit the floor with one arm while he held a bleeding nose with the other.

Despite the abuse she just indured, Quistis rushed forward and released Zell's burden, making it her own. Seeing her struggle with the body, Irvine went to help her and together they lied Squall, as carefully as they could, down on the bed.

"Kithy. Ith 'e gonna bay othay . . . ?" Zell, struggled to get out while still holding his bruised and bleeding nose. translation: Quisty. Is he gonna be okay?

"He'll be fine. Why don't you two go to the infirmary and get Doctor Kadowaki? And get your nose checked while your there too, Zell."

Zell grumbled in reply, heading out the door. Irvine gave her a look as if asking if she'll be alright alone. Quistis gave him a reassuring smile and a nod in answer. With that he headed out the door, following and, most likely, ridiculing his poor, bleeding, friend on the way.

As soon as the door slide shut, she turned her attention back to her unconcious friend and then gasped in surprise.

Squall had come awake and was now staring blankly at the ceiling, but at Quistis' sudden intake of air, he turned his attention to her. Seconds, which seemed like minutes, passed by between the two in silence. Then Squall's lips began to move, but no words came out.

Leaning forward a bit Quistis asked gently, "What did you say, Squall?"

". . . all dead. You . . . dead . . . ," he whisper while still looking at her with that same blank and pale expression; his eyes were dull and empty.

At this, Quistis' face became pale and she gaped at Squall. She practically jumped out of her seat when the door to the room swoooshed open, startling her.

"Quistis!" Exclaimed the doctor as she came in, but at Quistis' sullen look, she quieted down and looked at Squall. Instead of Irvine and Zell accompanying her, she had the girl Rinoa at her side.

Almost instantaneously, Rinoa was at Squall's side, clasping his cool hand within her own.

". . . Rin?" He asked while reaching forward to touch her face, but quickly retracted his hand and gazed at her with sorrowful eyes. He felt that if he touched her, she would disappear from him completely; leaving him cold and all alone again. Seeming to somehow sense his inner torment, Rinoa leaned over and brushed her lips lightly over his. His eyes widened and then watered. She was touching him and wasn't disappearing.

Maybe this isn't a dream, he thought, his heart beating with exhilaration. And as if to prove reality from dream, he leant forward and lifted a hand to run his fingers through her silky strands, deepening the kiss. But for some, strange, reason, he felt as if he were betraying someone while doing so. And he couldn't seem to figure out why.

A small cough was heard from behind, making Squall break the kiss and look over Rinoa's shoulder. Quistis smiled sheepishly, though her eyes seemed to be a little distant and sad, saying, "Kadowaki wants to speak with you, Squall . . . . And, I'll just go check on Zell and Irvine. See you later, Squall. Rinoa." With that she turned and exited, absently rubbing her now bruising biceps as she did.

After she had left, Doctor Kadowaki looked at Rinoa expectantly. Seeing this, the girl shook her dark head, saying, "No. I want to be with him. Please?"

Doctor Kadowaki sighed then nodded. She then turned her attention to Squall.

"How are you, . . . Leon?" She asked hesitantly.

Rinoa raised an eyebrow at this and glanced back and forth between the two. Looking at Squall quizzically, she asked, "Leon? Squall?"

He wave it off with a shake of his head before answering the doctor, "I'm fine. Although, I feel a bit . . . ," he trailed off, trying to find the right word, ". . . abnormal. I don't know. I can't put it into words."

Kadowaki looked to Rinoa, "Rinoa, I would like to speak with Leon privately for a few minutes, if you don't mind."

Thoroughly bemused, Rinoa slowly nodded her head and with a quick peck on Squall's cheek she exited the room.

Squall sat up and then looked at his hands as if they were the most magnificent things in the world. And for a brief moment they were, for there were slightly smaller and slim then the hands he knew at Hollow Bastion. Then he suddenly remembered what had happened the day before and looked into the grey eyes of Doctor Kadowaki.

"I . . . ," he coughed into his hands before continuing, "I . . . I'm s-sorry about yesterday, Doctor Kadowaki." He stopped only a moment to chuckle and shook his head lightly, "I must've acted like a real brat."

The doctor chuckled softly at his apology and his words, though not to make fun of or mock him. She knew that it was hard for him to say things like that. And she knew that he felt a little humilated by the way he had acted. It just wasn't Squall.

"All is forgiven Sq-Leon. There's no need to apologize. Really," she said before sitting in the chair Quistis once occupied.

"About that," he began, "You can call me 'Squall'." The corners of his lips twitched slightly with a smile and he quickly coughed into his hand when he caught himself.

Doctor Kadowaki smiled softly at him, but then remembering why she wanted to talk to him, she became serious again, "Squall, I'd like to ask you a few question. That is . . . if you're willing to answer them. I won't pressure you."

Squall immediately focused all his attention to the middle-aged woman, crossing his arms over his chest. "Go on," he said in an almost authoritative manner.

"Do you remember anything the day before yesterday? If you do, what were you doing and when?" She asked.

Squall thought for a moment with a frown on his face. The scar between his brow crinkling as he did so. He had to think of a way that would not make him sound anymore crazy then he probably already seemed. Not finding a way, he decided to tell her the moments he remembered just before he found his self here.

Squall looked straight into the doctors eyes and said, "You have to swear to me that the information said here will not leave this room."

Doctor Kadowaki blinked before nodding her graying head, "Yes, Squall. I swear."

He looked into her eyes, trying to find any reason at all to doubt her. Finding none, he continued, "The last thing I remember, was playing a record on a record player that I had borrowed that very day. You see, I found this old record in the library of where I live." The doctor opened her mouth to speak but stop when he held up his hand for silence. "And wanting to hear what was on it, I went to a friend of mine by the name of Cid Highwind. He's around your age maybe. Somewhere in his mid-forties. Anyway, he had a record player and let me borrow it upon request. So I went to my room and played it. As I was listening to it, I became tired and went to lie on my bed. I fell asleep . . . ." A moment of silence passed between the two before he continued. "After a while, I heard a voice. I thought it was a friend of mine, coming to wake me up. Her name is Yuffie, by the way." When he mentioned his friend's name, he couldn't help but feel a little lonely without the self-proclaimed 'Great Ninja Yuffie' there to annoy and pester him and his eyes became distant.

Doctor Kadowaki saw this, but didn't say anything. He surprised her when he began to continue once again.

"Yuffie's always there to annoy the hell out of me. Damn kid . . . ," he said with a small, sad, smile. Then finding his nerve once again, "But it wasn't Yuffie's voice I heard. It was Rinoa's . . . . I was beyond shocked and . . . for a moment, I was scared."

The doctor's eyes widened the slightest. To hear Squall say he was scared was a first and would shock anyone here in Garden, but then she kind of felt ashamed of herself. It wasn't like the 'lone wolf' didn't have any feelings. She should know better by now. Composing her self, she asked, "Why, Squall? Why were you scared?"

He unfolded his arms and gripped and ungripped the ends of his shirt. "It was because . . . she died. They--Quistis, Irvine, Zell, everyone--all died before my very eyes and I wasn't able to save them. I was right there and still I wasn't able to save them!" Squall's eyes raged with the beginnings of a storm. He was mad at his self for being helpless that day. "That day. That very day," he continued quietly, "I became . . . Leon."

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W h e r e Y o u B e l o n g
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Yuffie sat on the edge of her bed, twiddling her thumbs in boredom.

It can't be my fault, she thought with a smidgen of worry.

It's been two whole days since she accidently bounced Leon off his bed and gave him a concussion. Two days and he still hasn't woken up. The poor Ninja Yuffie was becoming bored and irritated. For one, she was irritated because Aerith and Cloud have grounded her. Can you believe that? One simple, stupid, mistake got her grounded. Her. An eighteen-year-old girl, practically a full grown woman! Well, almost eighteen, to be exact. And second, she was bored, because she couldn't go outside and train. She asked, no, begged Cloud to let her outside and train with him. But with a cold look and a firm shake of his spikey head, he said 'no'. She was, however, allowed to wander the many hallways of Hollow Bastion. Still, it wasn't the same as running, jumping and punching around outside the castle. Even the Waterway was blocked off to her. Literally. Every lift, gate and entrance that lead there had enormous, heavy stones blocking the way in. She couldn't think of how they got there in the first place either. Maybe the Beast helped out in some way.

Yuffie sighed loudly, "I'm gonna to go insane!"

She stood up and walked out of her room. Standing in the hallway for while, she decided where to go and what to do. Then kicked the ground with a 'hmph' before stomping her way down the hall and stopped. She gaped at the huge, oak door before her. She hadn't planned on coming here! Why'd she come here, of all places? Shrugging her narrow shoulders she opened the big wooden door slowly and hesitantly peeked her head inside, looking around. Her wandering eyes fell upon the comatose figure on the large double bed that could only be Squall Leonhart. No. LEON. Yuffie rolled her eyes and stepped into the chamber. She strolled up to the bed and plopped herself down on the edge.

It's so quiet and boring around here without him, Yuffie blinked her eyes and shook her head with a smile. "It was always quiet, now it's just boring."

It seemed so wrong without him always stalking the hallways and then yelling at her to stop calling him 'Squall'. She didn't really know it yet, but deep down she missed the idiot. Who else was she going to bug and pester to no end? Sure, there was Aerith, Cloud and then Cid, but they weren't as much fun as Leon.

Yuffie sighed while leaning back and folding her arms beneath her head. It wasn't long before she felt herself dozing off. Funny, she seemed to get more and more tired lately. Could it be because of Leon? But of course it was! He was her source of entertainment each day. Without her daily entertainment, she became bored and irritatingly tired.

She heard the door open, but couldn't find the strength or will to open her eyes and see who it was. Light footsteps were heard, so thinking that Aerith came to check up on Leon again, Yuffie let her mind relax completely and went to sleep.

Aerith, who had indeed come in to check up on Leon, padded lightly over to his side. Then she blinked her green eyes at the other occupent of the bed--Yuffie. She smiled and sighed softly to herself.

Poor Yuffie, she thought.

Then turning her attention to the other occupent, she began to rummage through some herbs she found in the castle's garden. She moved and rearranged the bedside table nearby and set to work. Something, she knew, was keeping Leon from waking up. She knew it wasn't because of the concussion, but because of something else entirely. And she had a small hunch on what it was too. So being the White Mage that she is, she was going to help restore Leon to his normal state by using magic and various forms of spells. It would take a while and the chances of him ever waking up were slim, but someone had to try and she was the one to do it.

Sparkling, emerald eyes glanced briefly at the sleeping shinobe, and couldn't help but smile knowingly to herself. The Great Ninja Yuffie, too, had a roll to play. Though, how big or small, she knew it would help bring Leon out from his comatose state. It had too.

A small knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts and she whirled around with wide eyes. Bright, blue, eyes stared back at her and a slim, golden brow lifted in slight amusement.

"Sorry, Aerith. Didn't mean to scare you," Cloud said while walking up to the pink cladded woman.

Aerith smiled brightly . "You didn't scare me. Just sort of startle me. That's all!" She said with a small giggle. Then turning to him completely she wrapped her lithe arms about Cloud's neck and lightly kissed his lips. Then released him and turned back to her herbs and spells.

Cloud watched her move about, warmth and affection showing in his eyes that he only held for this woman and this woman alone. He knew what she was doing, so didn't ask. He looked to Leon's prone form on the bed and was only slightly surprised to find Yuffie on the bed as well.

"When did she come in?" He asked.

Aerith stared quizzically at him before her eyes widened with realization.

"Oh, I don't know. She was here when I got here," she replied with a shrug of her delicate shoulders. Her long, thick, plait of rich, chocolate, colored hair, swayed gently with her movements as she turned once again to her task.

Cloud came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Aerith sighed and giggled with delight when he began to plant feather-light kisses on the back of her neck and collar bone. He pulled away relunctantly, making Aerith whimper softly and him chuckle at the small pout that formed on her supple lips. He kissed the pout from her lips lightly and said, "I'll be back later. I'm going to go train for a while."

Aerith nodded and at the same time resisted the urge to pull him back into her arms where he belonged.

"You better come back," she said with a teasing tone and smile.

Cloud laughed lightly and turned to exit Leon's bedchamber.

"And do be careful!" Aerith called out to him softly--she didn't want to wake Yuffie.

"I will," he said before vanishing from her sight completely.

She sighed with longing and a bit of regret, but knew friends in need came before pleasure. In her heart anyway. No, not friends. Her family.

"That sly dog," came an giggling, sleepy voice behind her. "I didn't know he had it in him!"

"Yuffie!" Aerith cried out in surprise. She clutched the herbs she held to her chest tightly. Her face became tinged with red while Yuffie grinned knowingly up at the innocent Flower Girl before her.

Regaining what composure she had left, Aerith asking with an almost scolding tone, "Yuffie Kisaragi! How long have you been up?" Then quietly, "How much did you see?"

At that last part, Yuffie rolled on the bed with laughter. The expression on Aerith's face was priceless.

"Aerith, Aerith, Aerith," Yuffie laughed. "I guess you're not so innocent as we all thought you were!" Yuffie emphasized the word 'innocent' and began to laugh again when she caught the flushed expression on Aerith's face. "Oh well, no matter. What are you doing Aerith?" She asked with the most innocent expression after containing herself.

Aerith bristle at the sudden change in topic and glance at the young ninja suspiciously.

"Well?" The ninja implored.

Aerith sighed with a bit of exasperation and told Yuffie what she was going.

"Oooh!" She exclaimed with child-like awe. Then, "I see . . . I think."

Aerith laughed lightly and continued to mix a few herbs together.

"So you're going to cast some spells and stuff and try to get this ole boy up and running again, eh?" Yuffie patted Leon's knee as she referred to him being some broken, down machinary.

"Yes. Well, try and wake him up anyway," Aerith sighed.

This caught Yuffie's attention immediately and she became serious at once.

"Aerith, what do you mean? Try?" She asked.

"Yes, 'try' is the right word. You see, Yuffie, Leon had been kind of distancing his self even more lately. Surely, you've notice. You seem to be around him almost constantly. It's all a matter of whether or not he wants to come back. In the end it's up to him. I can only cast spells and magic to help him along. But even that's not enough," she finished sadly.

Yuffie became a bit downhearted at this and had to ask, "What if he doesn't wake up? Then what, Aerith?"

Aerith turned away and tried to busy herself with the herbs and formulas.

"Then he'll . . . ," Aerith trailed off. She knew Yuffie would catch on. And she did.

"What? No, Aerith. That's . . . That's ridiculous!" Yuffie was now on her feet, making her way toward the door.

"Yuffie . . . ," The Flower Girl started, but couldn't finish.

"No! He can't die! Damn it, I won't let him!" With that Yuffie turned and bolted out the door.


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S h o u t O u t s
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Deplora: Thank you for reading. I'm glad you took the time to do so (). I thought it was too, that's why I decided to use it. Thanks again!

Annjirika: Wow. Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. I hope I'll be able to keep you entertained in up coming chapters! All I can say is enjoy your gaming of FF8 and good luck to ya!

Emrelle Elendal: I'm glad you think it is. Thanks!

pingpong867: FF8 is an awesome game, isn't it? And you're right about the Squffies. I like them more than Squall/Rinoa fics too. They're more fun! xD Thanks for the review!

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D i s c l a i m e r s a n d C o p y r i g h t s
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Julia the piano score NOT the story, Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy characters, settings and anything/everything, EXCEPT FOR the plot and storyline of THIS PARTICULAR STORY/FANFICTION TITLED 'JULIA', is and copyrighted to their respectful owners of Squaresoft, Square-Enix, Nobou Uematsu, Disney and any other who have any rightful claim. Original characters, that may come into play, settings, plot, storyline and this story/fanfiction is copyright and claimed by J.Watson aka Natsu/Natsumi.