J u l i a
Chapter Seven
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P r e c i o u s S o m e t h i n g
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Back in Leon's bedroom at Hollow Bastion, Aerith and Cloud had just finished the spell and were getting ready to get some much needed rest when the most phenomenal thing happened. Yuffie's body suddenly began to glow a strange ethereal light and then . . . disappeared.
"Wh-Wh-What happened? Where'd she go!?"
Aerith searched frantically under the bed, the closet, sheets and blankets, but she couldn't find her friend anywhere in sight. Cloud helped her look around Leon's room too, but came up empty handed as well. He watched her search Leon's room all over again and finally went to her when she began to sob.
"This . . . This wasn't supposed to happen! Cloud, where could she have gone!? Where!?" She buried her face in Cloud's chest and cried, her tears making a wet spot on his shirt.
Cloud wrapped his arms about her and began to rub her back up and down in soothing circles. Though he didn't show it, Cloud was also upset about his friend's sudden disappearance. He was pretty sure they did nothing wrong with the spell, so what happened to Yuffie's body? Where did she go?
Something told him to look on the bed, so he did. There, where Yuffie's head had been lying, was a thin, gold, chained necklace with an oval locket attached to it. He pulled back from Aerith and wandered over to the bed to examine the small object.
"Hey Aerith, isn't this Yuffie's?"
Aerith wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffled. She walked the short distance to where Cloud was standing and gazed upon the object. Her green eyes widened considerably when she realized that it was indeed Yuffie's locket.
She picked it up by it's chain and held it up to her face for a more closer inspection. "It . . . It is! Cloud, it is Yuffie's! But why . . . ?"
Cloud only shook his head in response. Only the Gods knew why Yuffie was no longer here and why this lone necklace of hers was left behind.
"I wonder if maybe it fell off her neck while she was sleeping. Or maybe the chain broke!" Aerith let the thin chain glide across her fingertips, seeing if indeed the chain had broke. Seeing the clasp secured tightly together concluded that it hadn't.
"That's odd. Yuffie hasn't taken this off for months now. It was gift from . . . from . . . ." Aerith's eyes roamed across the bed until they settled on the now only occupant of the bed. Leon.
Cloud glance from the necklace Aerith was holding to the comatose Leon. "He gave that to Yuffie?"
Aerith rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah. It wasn't a birthday present or anything. He just came up to her one day and shoved it under her nose while we were talking in the library." She sighed and plopped down in the chair by Leon's bedside, obviously worn out with the recent events. "He didn't tell her anything, but she seemed real happy about it and had tears in her eyes. All he said was 'You're welcome' and left. I thought it was pretty weird."
Cloud knelt beside her and tooked the necklace from her fingers gently. "I wonder why something like this would make Yuffie so happy. She's never worn any sort of trinkets before. What's so special about this?"
Aerith covered her mouth and giggled. "Maybe it was because Leon gave it to her that she wears it all the time."
Cloud snorted. "Yeah right. Leon and Yuffie? Come on, Aerith." He stood, shaking his head.
Aerith blinked innocently up at him. "What? You don't think it could happen? Age difference aside, I think it could be quite possible. I mean look at us. We made it happen, right?"
Cloud laughed. "That doesn't even come close. I may be younger than you, Aerith, but only by one year." He scoffed and turned away. "Please."
Aerith put her fist on her hips and scowled at him. "Well, whether you believe it or not, I still think it could happen."
Cloud turned back to her and again knelt at her side. He held up the necklace again and gave it a once over. He brought it closer to his face and then cupped it in his hands.
"There's a crack on the locket." Cloud ran his index finger along the gold face of the locket and then turned it on its side. It opened. Next thing he knew, Aerith swiped it from his hand. He blinked.
"Oh my . . . ." Aerith studied the now open locket with shocked eyes.
"What is it?" Cloud eyes leaning toward her.
"There are pictures. Pictures of . . . of Yuffie's parents!"
"Wow. Really?" He raised himself up a bit to get a better look at the inside of the locket. Though the small pictures were worn, a bit torn and faded, he could still make out the stern looking man on one side and the beautiful, smiling woman on the other.
"Shit. It's Godo and Miyumi!"
Aerith cuffed his ear for swearing before closing the small locket. "Yes, I could see that for myself. It's no wonder, now, why she was so happy. Leon must've found it somewhere and gave it to her because he knew that she would appreciate it."
Cloud stood once again and sighed heavily. "Maybe we should go to bed now."
His little Flower Girl became suddenly angry at this. "But we have to do something!"
Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, we can't. The only thing we can do is wait."
Knowing that he was right, saltine tears once again cascaded down her cheeks. "You . . . You're right." Cloud watched her quickly wipe her tears away and stand up. As soon as she did, he wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey, it'll be alright. Something tells me that she's going to be fine, where ever she is. She'll be fine, Aerith." He looked down into her eyes and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
Aerith buried her head beneath his chin, sighing wearily. "I hope you're right." Pulling back out of his arms, she gave him a small smile tinged with sadness. "Now let us rest . . . and wait."
The two walked out the door and softly closed it behind them.
"So you talked to her then!? How was she? What's her name? Was she awesome!? Well, come on, man. Tell me!"
Lane rubbed his temples, trying--though he found it futile--to mentally block out his sister's excited babble.
"Alright. If you could just calm yourself down a bit, maybe I'll tell you."
Almost immediately, Taeon sat herself down on his bed in his dorm room and appeared to await his answers patiently. The slight shaking of his bed, however, told him that his twin was still tembling with contained excitement.
Lane looked at her skeptically, before seating himself beside her.
"Well, after you ran off, to only Hyne knows where, I grabbed lunch and head down to the infirmary like we always did for the past week." He leaned back so that he was now lying with his hands folded behind his head. "She seemed a bit uneasy around me at first, but after a while we began talking to one another. She told me her name's Yuffie Kisaragi. Strange name, don't you think? Anyway, I was going to ask if she could borrow some of your clothes." At her quizzical stare, Lane sat up and reached over to lightly flick her forehead with his finger. "Her clothes were ruined, remember? We tried getting the salt out of them, but it wouldn't come out."
Taeon's eyes brightened and she nodded. "Of course! I'll go get some! Hey, what type of clothes do you think she would wear?" She frowned and tapped her chin lightly while she mused.
Lane sighed. "How the hell should I know? Use what she was wearing the night we found her to help you out."
Taeon grinned. "Right! Well, I'm off. We're still meeting at the Quad, right? Tilmitt will be pretty catty once she gets back from Esthar and finds that her plans for the upcoming Garden Festival aren't setting into motion already. I heard from one of my friends, that we didn't have one last year, due to Ultimecia and the Time Compression thing."
Lane smiled and ruffled her hair. "I'll be there. Oh, and remember to bring her some shoes, too, or something. You look like you both would be about the same size."
Taeon took out a comb from her front pocket and fixed her hair. She stuck out her tongue at him and grimaced. "Yeah, yeah. Everyone's been doing that to me a lot lately."
Lane tilted his head and smiled. He reached up to ruffle her hair again. His twin yelped and hopped out his door, nearly running into his roommate as she did.
"Sorry about that," she grinned.
A short boy with light brown hair righted himself before giving the older girl a small smile. "Hallo, Tae. Visiting again?"
Taeon beamed down at the boy and marched toward their main door. "Yep. And now I'm leaving! See you later, bro. Asriel."
Both boys wave bye as she exited the door.
Lane sighed and slouched a bit. "I hope she remembers the shoes . . . ."
Taeon happily skipped down the hallways of the dormitory, hardly mindful of where she was going and who she ran into. For some odd reason, she had been finding herself a bit more cheery than usual. She was never this hyper, or this excited and happy. Things seemed to have changed rather drastically without her knowing it since that mysterious girl showed up--who literally crashed down into their world.
In her right hand, she held a bundle of clothes, which she brought for their foreign guest, and in the other she held a pair of light-gray, slip-on shoes that had red strips running along their sides. She held her possessions close, so as not to drop them on her way over to the infirmary. On her way there, she suddenly found herself walking along side a familiar figure. One she had meet only yesterday.
"Where you heading off too, Michaels?" A deep, voice asked.
Taeon gasped in surprise and lost her footing. She suddenly found herself falling, falling, falling . . . .
"Watch out!"
Seifer caught the back of her sleeveless, hooded, maroon skirt just in time, before her face actually kissed the floor goodnight. He reeled her in and steadied the girl on her feet.
"Uh . . . thanks?" Taeon glanced around and was on her way again. Though this time she wasn't skipping merrily away, but instead was walking as fast as she could toward the infirmary.
Seifer raised an eyebrow before chasing after her.
Taeon kept glancing over her shoulder as she walked, each time she did, her blue eyes meet that of fiery green. She speed up and was now practically running.
"Why are you following me!?" She yelled. She was almost there. Almost. There.
"Why are you running?" Seifer yelled back. "You know that's a violation of school grounds."
Taeon sucked in air and slowed to a fast paced walked. There was no way she was going to have detention again. With that one-eyed woman watching her closely yesterday, she hardly survived. And why exactly was she running? As Seifer caught up to her, she was careful not to look at him and kept her eyes straight ahead.
Seifer ignored the glares and curses he was getting from the other students and kept his attention on the girl walking beside him. He didn't know why he decided to come back to this place when he knew what it would be like once he did.
While he was in Fisherman's Horizon, he concluded that he was running away from problems he didn't want to face--basically himself. So what better place to come back to then Balamb Garden? Of course people hated and feared him here, but at least they didn't bother him or his companions. The commander was sure to object to his return too, but he never gave a damn what he said or did anyway. He'd just go on as he pleased, like he normally did, and stay out of people's way.
He smirked at the image of Chickwuss's face when he saw him at the conference meeting early this morning. The petite, blond, martial artist just seemed to radiate with rage when he first set eyes on him. And the other one, Quistis, seemed rather cool as she perceived him, too. Barely acknowledging him through out the entire meeting. Seifer sighed and smiled at the memory. Always the ice queen his former instructor was.
He snapped out of his thoughts at the distinct sound of a door sliding open and then closing. Seifer stood staring rather lost at the gray door before him before opening it for himself and entering. They were at the infirmary? But why? Seifer made his way down the gray corridor, looking in each room he passed for the girl, who appeared to have vanished before his very eyes.
He paused in his steps at the sound of someone approaching him.
"You lost, Almasy?"
Seifer calmly turned around and greeted the aging doctor before with a small, upward twist to his lips. "Kadowaki."
Doctor Kadowaki nodded in turn. "What brings you here?" She asked, while casually tucking a hand into one of the pockets of her white lab coat.
"Just passing through and thought I'd say hi to my favorite doctor."
Kadowaki blinked at his offhand answer and chuckled, shaking her graying head. "Ha! Didn't see that one coming. Tell me why you're really here."
At that moment, Taeon's multi-colored head peaked out from one of the rooms. "Oi, Kadowaki! You have any more paper cu--What are you doing here?" She asked with a scowl as she leveled her eyes on Seifer. Just as he was about to answer, she quickly brushed him off. "Whatever. Where's the doctor?" She asked, her voice turning cool at the sight of him.
Taking note that Seifer's broad shoulders and tall stature blocked the young martial artists view of her, Kadowaki stepped out from behind him and lifted her hand in acknowledgement.
"I'm here, Michaels. What is it that you needed?" She asked with a polite smile. Her smile broadening as she heard Seifer cursing under his breath at having been cut off so abruptly.
Taeon scowled at Seifer before turning a smile over to the doctor. "I was wondering if you have any more cuppies. The girl Yuffie is having a coughing fit, but there's no more cups in here to get her some water."
At the sound of coughing, wheezing and strangled voice trying to speak, Kadowaki rushed past both Seifer and Taeon and entered the room where said girl was kept.
Taeon spared Seifer a sideways glance before following in the doctors footsteps, the sliding door closing after her with finality.
Seifer narrowed his eyes at the closed door before shaking his head and muttering, "I guess that means I should leave." He shrugged his shoulders walked off. "Whatever. I have work to do anyway."
"Are you okay, Yuffie?" Doctor Kadowaki asked, seating herself on the visitor's stool by her patient's bedside. She gently rubbed her patients back until her coughing fit subsided.
Yuffie rubbed her sore throat while trying unsuccessfully to blink the tears of pain her coughing had caused away from her eyes. Afraid she might begin coughing again, she jerkedly nodded her head a couple times in answer to the doctor's question.
Kadowaki sighed worriedly.
"Taeon, could would please go to my office for me? In there should be a small supply of cups in one of the gray cabinets."
Taeon nodded her head before exiting the room.
Turning back to her patient, Kadowaki waited patiently for Taeon to return. She took at moment to study the girl more closely.
Is this her?, Kadowaki mused. Her name is exactly the same as it is in the notes I took. It couldn't it?
Yuffie's shinobi senses kicked in during those few moments. Almost immediately after Taeon's departure did she sense that she was being thoroughly examined. It wasn't uncomfortable, this feeling, but it wasn't welcoming either. She didn't like being examined so closely, no matter who the person. It left her feeling vunerable. A feeling she hated.
"Yes?" She asked quietly, having become tired of the sudden scrutiny.
Startled, Kadowaki glanced up at the girl and meet a stormy pair of the grayest eyes she had ever seen. "Oh, please excuse me, Yuffie. It's just that I was thinking of the order made by my superiors to inform you of your current situation." Kadowaki fiddled her small flashlight pen with her hands, only slightly embarrassed at having been caught staring. "Well, the school here has done some very thorough research on you and your background, but in the end came up with nothing. You see, unless you do have family that we can contact, we have no choice but to house you within these walls or that of one of the other two academys."
At this news, Yuffie's mouth hung wide open in shock. This is how Taeon found her upon her return.
The young martial artist burst into the room with a loud "Ta-da!" She presented a small, palm sized cup before her proudly with a smile of victory.
Kadowaki sighed. "Oh good! You found them." She stood and retrieved the plastic covered cup from Taeon's out stretched hand. "Thank you. Now, if you young ladies will excuse me, I'll go get you some water. I'll be back soon."
Taeon mockingly saluted the doctor in SeeD fashion, with one arm close to her side and the other raised, but held close to the body with the palm facing inward.
Kadowaki snorted while pausing briefly on her way out. "You're going to get in trouble doing that one day, Michaels. You know how SeeDs take pride in what they do. Most anyway."
Taeon stuck her tongue out, then smiled. "I know. That's why I do it." She giggled cheerfully before bouncing her way over to the now vacant stool and seating herself down.
Kadowaki laughed. Just as she was exiting, she turned back to Yuffie. "Please think about what I said. Okay? It will all work out for the best. You'll see." She smiled reassuringly at the girl, the door sliding shut behind her quietly as she left.
Taeon turned to Yuffie and tapped her on the shoulder. "What's she talking about?"
Yuffie mentally shook herself out her shock and smiled at the girl beside her. "Nothing. I'm sorry, but what was your name again?"
Taeon beamed at this. "My name's Taeon! Michaels is my surname."
Her smile must have been contagious because Yuffie found herself beaming right back. "And my name's Yuffie Kisaragi." Her furrowed her brow. "Michaels . . . ." Her eyes widened suddenly. "I know! You're Lane's sister, right? The one that visited me yesterday. I should have known. I was wondering why you two looked oddly similar." Yuffie's smile widened at the realization.
Taeon perked up at the mention of her brother's name. "You know, there is a reason why we look so a like." Her blue eyes twinkled with amusement.
Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "That is . . . ?"
The martial artist grinned. "We're twins!"
The young shinobi blinked. "Wow. Really?" At Taeon's nod, Yuffie smiled. "This is my first time ever meeting twins before. You two are really different from one another though."
Taeon rolled her eyes and sighed, waving her off. "Tell me about it. So, anyway, I brought some clothes for you to change into since your own were ruined from the salt water. Lane and I tried our best to clean them; we had to throw them away in the end." She gave a small apologetic smile.
Yuffie grinned. "'s okay. It's really no loss on my part. Even if they were the only things I owned . . . ." She reached up and slowly began to rub her throat again and then suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened. She began to feel all around her neck and then looked around her sheets.
"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no," she muttered quietly in her search.
Taeon leaned forward and gently touched her arm. "Yuffie? What's wrong?"
Yuffie stopped what she was doing and rounded on Taeon. "Where? Where is it? My mother's locket!" She grabbed Taeon's forearms with trembling hands. "Please say you have it! Please . . . ."
Taeon warily reached up and gently took hold of Yuffie's wrist, making the distressed girl loosen her tight grip on her arms. "Yuffie . . . . There was no locket when we found you. Believe me when I say that. We were able to recover a few items, but the rest were either lost in the ocean or destroyed by the salt water. My brother is taking care of the stuff we found in the pouch you had wrapped around your waist up in his room. We can go get them when ever your ready to leave." She smiled, her blue eyes tinged with sadness.
Yuffie swallowed a sob and blinked back oncoming tears. She tried to return the smile, but found she couldn't. She opted for words instead. "Thank you."
Seeing that her new friend was going to be okay, Taeon stood up and stretched. "It's no problem. How 'bout I leave you to change now, eh? I'll go tell Kadowaki that I'm checking you out. After you're ready, I'll give you a tour of Garden and introduce you to some of the people I know. Lane's probably still up in his room, so we can swing by there too. Is all of this cool with you?"
Yuffie smiled. "Sure."
Taeon walked by the door to where a low bench was pushed against one side of the wall and grabbed the bundle of clothes and the pair of shoes that sat there. She walked back to Yuffie's bedside and handed them over to her.
"Um, I'm not sure if any of these will fit, but by the looks of it, they should be okay for the time being. Lane and I saved up some Gil to get you some new clothes. We felt pretty bad when we couldn't save yours." She smiled cheekily. "I like wearing dark colors, so I hope this is okay."
Yuffie unraveled the bundle and found that the clothes were indeed dark, but not too dark. One after another she held up a medium gray, seamless, tank top, which, she thanked the Gods, had a bra built into it's soft folds, and pair of dark gray, straight-legged capris that zipped up on the sides. The shoes were actually slip on sandals, that had only a thick gray adjustable strap and a black, one-inch sole that was very cushiony when she pressed her fingers down on it.
Yuffie chuckled when she finished her examination of her borrowed clothes. "You really went all out with gray, didn't you."
Taeon gasped with mock insult. "Oi, oi. I worked really hard picking out these clothes. But yes, I do love the color. At least you'll be matching!" She crossed her arms and grinned down at the smiling shinobi. "I picked whatever I thought would be comfortable for you. I even went out to buy you this!" She reached within the front pocket of her skirt and produced a small tube that was about an inch thick in diameter. She tossed it to Yuffie, whose face flushed a deep crimson when she finally uncapped the tube.
"Err, thanks. I guess . . . ," she murmured, hiding half her face behind her long bangs.
Taeon laughed. "Oh, c'mon, Yuffie. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. We're both girls, so it's okay. Besides, I couldn't just let you wander around with no clean underwear, right? Unless, of course, you prefer it that way . . . ." She stuck out her tongue.
Yuffie's face seemed to have gotten even redder, if that were possible. "T-thanks," she said again.
"I guess it's a good thing I got you boyshort panties instead of those flimsy looking things that most girls like to wear." She made a face at that. "I mean, who wants to wear something that would always ride up their as--"
Yuffie choke on a laugh. "O-okay! As I said two times already, thanks. I really appreciate what you and your brother are doing for me. So if you don't mind, I'd like to go ahead and change now."
Taeon laughed softly to herself. "Alright. Sorry for holding you up. I'll be back in a bit!"
Yuffie nodded and waved as her multicolor-haired friend exited the room. She shook her head and smiled to herself. "That girl's pretty funny."
"We're finally home at last! Even though we were only away for a short while, it feels like forever since we left here." Rinoa threw open her arms and turned in a circle. "Well, come on! Don't just stand there. Let's go meet the others!"
Squall took the last step off of the Ragnorak's ramp and looked around.
This place was home. This place was where he belonged. So why did it feel so alien to him now?
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A u t h o r ' s N o t e s
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And here's another chapter for you. I'm sorry I took so long with this one. A lot of stuff happened in the past few weeks and I've been pretty busy with work and class. I recently caught a stomach flu too, so I haven't been online lately due to that. Annnnyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it wasn't too confusing for you. Sorry, in advance. Anyway, I'll be going now, so peace out, everyone. Be cool, review, and adieu!
- - N a t s u
We now have a forum for Squffie lovers now. You can find the link to it on my profile. Check it out when you have time and I'll be seeing you there, if you decide to join (^_^)!
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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.
