Hey, it's chapter 6! Thanx to all the people who reviewed! It makes me type faster!

Thinking – Italics

Thought Speaking – Bold Italics

Severed Love

Chapter 6

Traverse Town's eternal night sky lost another star, causing Leon to frown as he made his way to Cid's. The weather seemed a bit cool, a gentle breeze gliding across the abandoned Third District. Upon exiting the giant wooden doors, Leon came up to the darken house, knocking softly on the door.

"Cid, it's me. Leon." He waited for a response, head down and to the side, listening.

"How the hell am I suppose to be sure?" came his muffled voice. Leon narrowed his eyes.

"Open the fucking door, you fucking bastard..."

"Yeah, its Leon," came Yuffie's voice. The door opened, revealing Cid, cigarette sticking out of the corner of his mouth as always.

"Hey, Leon. How is everything?" Leon walked in, giving Cid a sideways glance for not letting him at first. Cid just grumbled, lighting his cigerette which Aerith scolded him for and demanded he put out.

"I haven't seen him yet."

"Where's Kumi?" Yuffie asked, plopping down on the bed next to Aerith.

"Safe." Cid gave him a look, eyeing him.

"You look a little flushed, Leon." He returned the look with a bit of a nervous one. Just a bit. "What the hell were you and Kumi doing?" That did it.

"Nani?" Leon nearly fell over, but being the kind of person he was he composed himself and took up a glare in defense. "What the hell are you ranting about! We have to find Cloud!" A faint blush crept over his face.

"I hope you're not falling for her," Cid said, crossing his arms. Leon's expression softened.

"Why?" he blurted.

"She's not from our world." It felt as though he'd just stabbed a knife through his chest and twisted it.

"She's ...not...?"

"That's what you get for staying out in the Raising Falls everyday. You don't even know who lives with us," Yuffie said. Leon shook his head, glaring again.

"Forget it. Did you guys see him at all?" Cid shook his head, puffs of smoke coming from his mouth and nose.

"Nope. Only before I told you when he was here."

"So you definitely know he's here?" Cid nodded. "Okay, I'm going out. Stay here unless its me. I'll take care of this."

"Squall..." Leon flinched, knowing it was Yuffie and not Kumi.

"That's Leon..."

"Just be careful." He nodded, leaving, a look of deep sorrow on his features. Once he closed the door, he leaned against it, tilting his head up, staring at the night sky. Another star disappeared from sight. Leon felt his throat clench. When was the last time he'd actually gotten this upset over something. It was when Rinoa had died. His memory of her still lived on but he had let her go long ago, moving on. Now he was going to lose Kumi in a sense. Not another woman he'd have to say good-bye to... not another... he couldn't...

'She's not from my world... I can't love her...'

-

"Squall, you're back." Kumi raced over, hugging him. He searched the area before looking down at her.

"That's Leon..." She looked up at him, tilting her head, a confused expression on her face. "Was anyone here?"

"No... " He thought for a moment before looking at her.

"Kumi, I'm going to go find Cloud now."

"But, Squall -"

"Leon," he snapped.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you acting this way?" He denied her an answer, trying to leave but she ran in front of him, blocking his path. "Answer me. Did... Did I do something wrong?"

"I have to go find Cloud."

"I did something, didn't I? You hate me now."

"Who ever said I didn't hate you to begin with." She froze, drawing her hands to her chest.

"W-what are you-"

"Get out of my way."

"You ...hate me? ... But you..." Her vision blurred, thoughts spinning. 'But before he... he was fine. He said... he loved me. What happened? W-was he... using me somehow?'

"Kumi." She squeezed her eyes shut, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. "Kumi."

"You were wrong! Cloud's not the cold-blooded monster! You are!" With that, she ran out leaving Leon to curse at himself. A single tear rolled down his face.

"Kumi, forgive me. It's the only way."

Cloud stared out at the abandoned city, his thoughts elsewhere. He was sitting atop one of the few crates that were still up on the roof of the Gizmo Shop and had been there for awhile, waiting to see if Sora would come looking for him. His thoughts were interrupted as a girl hurried up, breathing deeply, tears staining her pale face. Her appearance clicked immediately.

"Kumi?" She gasped, spinning to face him.

"C-Cloud?" He stood, walking over to her, pausing when he saw her take a small step back.

"Kumi, what happened? Why are you crying?" She couldn't take it anymore; she ran into his arms, crying harder. It took him a moment to register what was going on, immediately trying to comfort her. "Hey, shhh... hey, calm down. Kumi..." He wrapped his arms around her cautiously, stroking her hair.

"Cloud, he's horrible," she cried, looking up at him, her face flushed. Cloud tilted his head, confused, his hair falling over his eyes slightly.

"Who is?"

"Squall." She saw him freeze a bit. "Cloud, he's looking for you." He didn't like the sound of that.

"He is?" She nodded. "What did he do to you?" She frowned.

"He was fine before. When he came to check on me he told me he hated me. And that he always had. Cloud, he... he stole my first kiss..."

'What the - what the hell is wrong with him? The bastard.'

"Cloud?" she whispered. He looked down at her, wiping a stray tear away.

"Listen, you have to go hid. I'll wait here for him to find me. I'll talk to him."

"But he-"

"Just go, Kumi. I'll be fine." He kissed her forehead, ushering her along.

'Another man I can't argue with,' she thought. She sighed, walking toward the ladder.

"Kumi?" She paused, turning slightly to look at him, tear stains down her pale face.

"Hm?" He barely knew her but it hurt to see her in such pain.

"Smile for me?" She shook her head.

"Gomen ne. I don't feel like it. I love him. What he said really hurt." Cloud frowned, watching her leave. He sat up on the crate again, leaning back against the wall. Silence again. Now all he needed to do was wait. A slight noise caught his attention. As he opened his eyes, his jaw became connected with a fist knocking him to the ground. His head hit the floor hard, causing his head to spin. He coughed, trying to look up but the attacker roughly grabbed his shirt and cape, throwing him into the bell tower. He turned over, looking up to see Leon's dark silhouette in the doorframe.

"Squall..."

"It's Leon."

"What the hell..." He leaned up slightly. 'How did he find me so quickly after Kumi left! Was he -'

"You bastard. Who the hell do you think you are, betraying us like that!" Leon kicked him in the gut hard, hitting him to the back of the small room.

"Leon, wait, I can explain," he murmured, blood trickling down his chin.

"I have no more patience, Strife."

"But, I... you don't understand..." He got to his feet, careful not to hit his head against the bell, his left arm cradling his bruised abdomen. Man, Leon was pissed.

"I'm listening. But you better be quick." Cloud took as deep a breath as he could without it hurting too much and started.

"You remember Kira, ne?" Leon nodded. "Well, she's alive. I'm trying to look for her and Hades told me he could help. I know I should've known better but I was desperate, so I agreed. I...I just...This wasn't suppose to happen." He wiped the blood from his chin. "Anyway, he betrayed me and almost killed me. So I'm with Sora now. He wants to help me and I didn't want Hades to find me so I went along with it."

"So the assassin became the prey. He told me you were going to come after me."

"He what!" Leon could tell by Cloud's expression that he had no idea but he wanted to be sure.

"I need to talk to Sora. I'll be right back."

"W- wait! What about Kumi!" Cloud saw him pause. "What did you do to her! She's in a lot of pain right now because of you. What the hell's wrong with you!" Leon came up, grabbing his shirt and slamming him hard against the wall. Cloud flinched in pain, feeling Leon's hot breath on his neck and another dizzy spell swarm his senses.

"I did what I had to. This is none of your business," he hissed.

"Yes it is. She's my friend. I care about her," he murmured.

"What's being your friend have to do with it? I'm your friend and look what happened." Cloud made no response to that as Leon pulled away, quickly leaving and closing the door, locking it. Upon hearing the lock click, Cloud came out of his daze, banging on the door.

"Squall! Squall, wait!" Leon walked away, hearing Cloud pound on the door.

"It's Leon, dammit!"

"So what he said was true?"

"From what I know. He said he was looking for someone. I know for a fact that Hades attacked him because I had to save him," Sora confirmed. Leon had explained everything that Cloud had told him to Sora to see if the stories matched. It turned out to be true, making Leon feel a little guilty in doubting him over the death god. The brunette saw something out of the corner of his eye, seeing Kumi run for it. After excusing himself to Sora, he darted after her. He slowed down once he passed the Second District doors.

"What do you want?" He searched for her, only hearing her voice. He soon discovered she was below him next to the mural. Jumping down, he pinned her to the wall. "Ah! Let me go!"

"Why did you go to him! You went against my wishes." His gray eyes bore into hers, his hair falling into his face.

"What do you care!" She paused, realizing something. "How did you know I was with him?" Leon's face fell slightly, his look was nervous... like he'd been caught. "You were spying on me. Then you heard... you bastard!" She kneed him in the gut, taking off for the roof of the Gizmo Shop. Leon gasped for air, his eyes squeezed shut. Once able to breath, he raced after her. She reached the top, hugging herself nervously. "Who the hell does he think he is? Thinks he can -"

"Kumi?" She looked around. The voice was male and muffled.

"Who ?"

"It's Cloud. I'm in the bell tower." She glanced over at the door, tilting her head in confusion.

"Cloud? How did you get in there," she sniffled. She walked over, unlocking the door's dead-bolt.

"Leon... he's kinda mad..." Kumi scoffed at his words. She then heard the door below close, boots clicking against the ladder rungs.

"Cloud, stay there. He's coming."

"But he knows -" Cloud protested.

"Just stay there," she interjected. She ran over to the other side closer to the edge as Leon got up.

"Kumi..."

"Stay away from me! You hate me, remember," she hissed vehemently, fighting back tears that threatened to fall. He winced at that, his heart wanting to tell her otherwise. To fix it. He took a step closer; her a step back. "I told you to stay away! One minute you say you can't imagine being without me, making me feel wanted. Then the next, you say you despise me, hated me all along. You make no sense, Squall Leonhart and I, for one, am not-" She was cut off as a piece of the ledge under her foot broke off, a sharp gasp escaping her lips. Leon's eyes went wide as she fell back.

"KUMI!" He dove over the edge after her, hearing a door open behind him. He grasped onto her falling figure, holding on for dear life. He suddenly felt a pair of arms around them both, a speck of blood hitting his cheek. Then, they hit.

TBC…

Oh, my… cliffhanger… Hmm… so yeah.. that's all for this chapter… if you people want more you're just gonna have to tell me or well….. I hate to sound mean but if no one wants to read, I won't put anymore up….

Review please-

Ja ne,

Hotaru Sasaki

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