DISCLAIMER: Not mine, not mine, never will be mine, neeeeeeever! (Though I wouldn't mind Cid and Squall delivered to my door, in case anyone has a couple of spares...)
AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's funny; it seems the further I go in this, the more variation I have to come up with on both plots to hold everything together. Trying to stick to everyone's personalities (like Leon not being anywhere near as "social" and "outgoing" as either Petruccio or Patrick) means that I have to twist some things to make them fit - but considering that this is me, I'm haaaaappy about that. I'm a plotbunny addict, after all!
I'm not as happy with the second half of this chapter as I'd like, but I know it's not going to get any better. Leon in "cold" mode just doesn't work well for me for some reason, so I tried to keep it simple and just make it through, which I did or I wouldn't be posting it. Fortunately he's already improving for me in chapter four, so I don't think there'll be any of the hair-tearing that occured over the last four or so pages this time. And also we get more with Yuffie next time!
Minor warning in that it looks like the language I'll be using will be getting a little bit worse from here on it. They won't be cursing every other sentence or anything like that, but heck, I've got Cid and Yuffie (who was raised by Cid) as two of my main characters. I'm just filing it under "occupational hazard" and moving on.
As I said last time, review replies are up in my livejournal! The address for that is www . livejournal . com / users / tairako (copy-paste and delete the spaces), or you can simply click on the link in my bio page. Thanks everyone for reading, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
(Soundtrack: alternating between "Get Happy" by Bowling for Soup, off their CD A Hangover You Don't Deserve, and "Hocus Pocus" by Vanessa-Mae, from her CD Storm.)
"Hey Sora! He said yes!" Kairi called out as she burst through the door from the Third District the next morning. She was carrying a bag that practically dragged on the ground because of the many books it held, and he politely reached out to take it from her. He had to will himself to not put his arms around her as she handed it over gratefully, but the heavy bag and his own math book in his other arm were sufficient deterrents.
"Really? He didn't threaten to kill me or anything?"
"Welllllllll…" Kairi looked up, one finger tapping her bottom lip, as she tried to remember the exact phrasing. "Not kill you, specifically. I think it involved various parts of your anatomy being ripped off and set on fire in his workshop if you did anything inappropriate, but he downgraded it to just the ripping when I convinced him that you wouldn't try anything at all and were perfectly safe."
Sora blinked. "Oh." Ouuuuuuuuuuch, he said to himself, very certain just which parts of his anatomy had been threatened. No wonder you don't want to piss him off. "Uh. Well."
Kairi laughed, reaching up to pat the top of his head like he was a toddler who'd had a nightmare, and he had to wrench his thoughts away from her lowering that arm and throwing it and her other one around his neck… "Don't worry, I wouldn't really let him do any of that to you, and he wouldn't do it anyway. Cid talks big, but he doesn't go through with any of it. Well, hardly any," she amended.
"Excuse me for saying so, but that doesn't exactly reassure me," he said, still wincing a bit with imagined pain.
"It doesn't for most people, then they learn better. Come on, let's get started." As Sora's arms were full of books, she pushed the door open and led him inside. The library wasn't really anything special: a little on the small side, as was much of what he'd noticed in this town, with that musty smell of "old books" everywhere and somewhat inconsistent lighting. Kairi led him to a table that was under one of the brighter lights, and he just dropped everything there, earning a stern glance from the one other person in there that they both ignored.
"Right, so, where are you at?" Sora asked, opening up his own book so she could show him exactly where she was having problems – and he could calm down from the ecstatic high of being with her for an hour.
Three days had passed before Sora finally got the chance to more or less waylay Leon and propose the scheme to him. Cloud had limited his protests about what a bad idea this was to one a day, but had flatly refused to help try and convince Leon that he should go along with what sounded, even to Sora, like an absolutely crazy idea. So Sora was by himself as he approached the young man seated at the same café table as before, once again hidden behind a newspaper, and at that moment he would've very gladly traded places with Cloud, who was out of sight around the corner. But this is for Kairi. Come on, be a man, not a mouse!
"Ah, excu-use me," he began, and all the words got lodged in his throat as Leon lowered the paper to glare right in his direction. He wasn't even really glaring and it still felt like Sora's skin was being peeled off from the inside out.
"Yes?" he finally asked, and even though his tone was relatively neutral, Sora definitely got the idea that Leon could suck out his soul if he wanted.
"I, uh, I-I just, ah, f-found some money out front and I thoughtitmightbeyourssoisit?" he babbled, nearly senselessly.
Leon kept that icy gaze fixed on him for another moment or two, then only said "No" and turned back to his paper. Sora fled as fast as his feet could carry him, careening around the corner and nearly into Cloud.
"Smooth," the blond said as he calmly stepped out of his younger friend's way. "Give up yet?"
"Wow is he intense," Sora panted, hands on his knees to brace himself.
"I told you it wouldn't work."
"But it's gotta work! He's the only chance I've got!"
"Do you realize how strange that sounds?"
Sora groaned, still not paying attention to Cloud. "I've gotta find someone who can do this. Someone who won't be as… intimidated." As much as he hated to admit he'd wussed out, there was no way around it. "But who'd do it for no reason?"
Cloud shook his head. "Here's a better question: who'd have something to gain from Leon agreeing to it?"
Practice that day was more intense than usual, especially with what Sora was used to. Master Bersi had paired him off against Kyo, who turned out to be his age, and let them go at it for a long time before telling Kyo to go practice one of the blocks in the mirror and sending Uo, a very quick girl with long brown hair and the only female in the group, in for another free-for-all brawl against Sora. Cloud had warned him that for the first few practices, Bersi would be pitting him against whoever was around to try and get a better feel for what Sora already knew and the styles he could probably learn, but Sora was about to call Bersi sadistic with putting Uo after Kyo. The girl had been training longer than them and was the better fighter; he knew he was going to wipe the floor again, but he wasn't going down without a protest.
Riku and Cloud were both watching the match closely, since the space wasn't big enough for more than two people to fight at once without almost a guarantee that someone would break something, whether themselves or each other or the equipment. Cloud kept half an eye on Riku, though, one hand resting on the buster sword; the silver-haired boy was watching with far too much interest for his own liking, especially Sora's half, and Cloud could practically see the wheels turning in his head.
A distraction was needed, and it was time to get this over with. Cloud had agreed to actively participate in Sora's little plot this one time, since he knew Riku much better than Sora did and had a much better "mask." Cloud wouldn't put it at all past Riku to guess why Sora was proposing this idea to someone he'd just met less than half a week before, especially since Riku always assumed that everyone had an ulterior motive.
It just worked in Cloud's favor that he did, in fact, have one. Not that he had told Sora, although the younger boy would probably get it out of him at some point; he'd managed to keep a few secrets from his inquisitive new friend.
"Hey," he said as Riku moved past. The younger boy's way of watching a fight also entailed moving around to see it from as many different directions as possible, much as the masters did.
"Hey," Riku replied, pausing briefly as Sora's blade invaded the space he'd been about to step into. Cloud grabbed the chance.
"I hear Cid's letting Kairi date now. With a few provisos," he amended as Riku turned back to look at him, those mental wheels now focused on him rather than on Sora. "Such as Yuffie finding a date first."
Slowly, Riku nodded, clearly sorting through the options as to why Cloud was doing this in his mind. "You heard right, then. She's not happy about it, you know."
"I bet not." Cloud paused as well as he stepped out of the way of a wild slash of Uo's. The match was winding down; he needed to finish this fast. "I guess you've figured out how to get it all worked out."
"What are you talking about, Strife?"
Satisfied that he had Riku's full attention at last, Cloud gave himself a small nod of congratulations and kept going. "You want to date Kairi, but Cid won't let it happen unless someone wants to date Yuffie first. So all you have to do is find someone to take her out on one or two dates, and your problem is solved."
"Are you volunteering?"
"God, no," Cloud said, not even bothering to cover up a brief shudder at the thought. "You need someone besides me, someone she hasn't known for more than half her life."
Riku stepped out of the way of the fight once again; Sora was starting to sway on his feet, but he was somehow still going, though no one had any idea how it was possible. Cloud vaguely registered Uo shouting something in frustration about how the kid just wouldn't fall over, but it just served to tell him how little time he had left to convince Riku. "Who, then?" the silver-haired boy asked. "Sora there?"
"Unless you want him to die, no. Think of someone taller, with darker hair – and a very distinctive scar."
Riku wasn't in any way an idiot, and he made the connection immediately. "Him? But he's-"
"Crazy? That's why he's perfect." Damnit Sora, you have me quoting your stupid lines now!
Despite the protest, something about the idea clearly struck Riku's fancy, because he fell silent to contemplate it for several seconds as the match wound down behind him. Finally he looked up, turquoise eyes sharp. "What's in this for you?"
As Cloud reached into his pocket, Sora picked that moment to finally crash to the mats. Loudly. His practice sword bounced away across the floor, and as Kyo dove to retrieve it Cloud crammed a crumpled plain envelope into Riku's hand. "Just give this to your cousin, all right? I'll know if you don't; that's all I want." Leaving the younger boy staring in bewilderment at the envelope he was now holding, Cloud went to go drag his friend off the mats.
He was joined by Master Bersi, who grabbed Sora's other wrist and pulled right along with Cloud, laughing with appreciation the whole time. "You're an optimistic spiky-headed moron, kid, but you're good! Talent'll only take you so far; you've gotta have the guts to back that talent up, and you got both in spades. Might even be better than Riku there by this time next year."
Oh, SHIT, Cloud mentally yelled, stealing a glance up at Riku through the protective cover of his hair. Sure enough, that had been exactly the wrong thing to say in front of him; Riku was now full-on glaring at Sora, who was just now getting to his feet and hadn't really been aware of anything the Master had said. Riku's face quickly reasserted itself into its normally calm demeanor, but the damage had been irreparably done. Cloud only wished that Sora could've seen it as well; for the past few days, he'd been trying to get Cloud to be more social and "make amends" or something like that with his old crowd, and Cloud was starting to wonder just how long it would take Sora to see that not all of that crowd was as harmless as he claimed. Since Sora was, as the master had said, an optimistic moron, his current bet was "a long, long time."
The things you go through for friends. NOW I remember why I gave them up.
"So I lost again, huh?" Sora asked with a grin, rubbing his arm where a nice bruise was forming from one of Uo's swings. There were even fewer pieces of protective padding than there were weapons to use, and nothing they had would fit Sora. He'd chosen to just keep going without it and kept a lot of restorative drinks around. "One of these days, Uo, you're going down." But he was grinning as he said that, too, proving once again why Cloud didn't just ditch him: it was just impossible to be mad at him. For most people, anyway. Uo finally gave in and ruffled his hair with an evil grin, causing Sora to squawk and try to evade her grasp, but he was too beat up to do it at all, much less well.
"You should've stopped them earlier than that," Cloud commented quietly to the Master as the man chuckled at Sora's and Uo's antics.
"Probably," Bersi said, entirely casual. "But you gotta admit it's amusing to watch."
Cloud gave his teacher a deadpan look. "That isn't why you didn't, though."
"Nope," the man agreed easily. "I've been tryin' to see if your friend there has any idea on when it's better to back away and rethink his plans. Since it doesn't look like he does, at all, that'll be the first lesson you'll have to get through his head."
It was somewhat reassuring, and slightly disturbing, for Cloud to see that Bersi had the same opinion about Sora that he did. But he realized then that if he ever needed advice on how to really stop Sora doing something insane, this man could probably provide some guidance. It looked like he was going to need it.
Over the following week, things began settling into a pattern. Sora was subjected to his mother's cleaning and organizing frenzy in the morning once the excuse "I have to learn my way around!" lost its effect, and for the hour before lunchtime he met Kairi in the library to help her with her math. His boast about math being his best subject had been a complete lie; he was fair with it, nothing exceptional, but fortunately for him Kairi was a lot further behind than he was, so he could actually help her without looking like an idiot. It might not have been a date, but he still liked those times; when she got bored of a problem, they'd take a break for a few minutes and just talk while her brain rested. Once he got over his severe case of foot-in-mouth, Sora found out he could actually make her laugh pretty easily by saying whatever came into his head; it was a talent he made frequent use of as they got to know each other a little better.
The afternoons he'd spend with Cloud, for the most part. Ever since the practice where he'd sparred with Uo, Riku had been polite, but very distant, making doing anything with that group while the silver-haired boy was there very difficult as the group as a whole subconsciously took their cue from him. Sora had no idea why Riku had changed like that, but he kept talking to him at practice, trying to be friendly.
Sora's parents were glad he'd made a friend so fast, and Cloud's mother was thrilled he'd made a friend at all, so any comments that might have sprung up about what an odd pair they appeared to be were just swept under the table. The boys didn't have much variety in what they did, usually hanging out in the cave and either practicing or just talking, but it worked for them. Cloud had literally dragged Sora to his home one afternoon so his mother could meet him, and she'd proceeded to give Sora as much to eat as he wanted – which made her one of Sora's favorite people in the world.
Cloud liked to be alone in the evenings, so when Sora went out at night he would usually fall in with the group from the alley. For some reason, Riku didn't join them much at that time of day, so he was free to do whatever he wanted with them. The downside, of course, was that Kairi wasn't usually there either, which was easily attributed to her guardian's rules, but the rest of them made frequent appearances. He got to be good casual friends with Kyo and Yusaru, and the girls were always willing to talk to him – Namine especially. Kairi had definitely been right; the blonde girl didn't jump up and kiss him or anything, but when he was there she stuck just close enough for him to notice, was always one of the first to greet him, and even walked back to his apartment building with him once. Kyo and Yusaru started ribbing him good-naturedly about being a "stud," but fortunately none of them figured out he actually had his eye on Kairi.
The one flaw in all of this, aside from Riku, was Yuffie. Sora hadn't expected anything to be easy when it came to her, but after two more very brief run-ins with her he began to wonder if they were throwing even someone as intimidating as Leon to the wolves. Unfortunately, Leon himself had disappeared from view, and so Riku (who Cloud was keeping an eye on) hadn't had a chance to propose whatever sort of arrangement he'd thought of. Things were at a standstill until the man was found, and Sora had to be patient even though he found it very hard.
But one night just after dinner, as Sora was about to work on his math a little more, he saw something odd through the window. He did a double-take as he realized just what he saw, then rubbed his eyes and banged on his head a little to make sure he was thinking straight, but when he looked the scene was still the same.
It was Cloud, and he was sitting in front of the small fountain in the far corner of the district – and he wasn't alone. With him was a girl Sora had never seen before. She was tall and slender, and very pretty in an ethereal sort of way. She had a very simple pink dress on, but her long brown hair was tied in a tail with a pink bow with a few shorter pieces left to frame her face. Sora's eyes widened in shock as he saw Cloud actually smile at something the girl had apparently said, and the girl began laughing. He peeled himself away from the window as the girl reached over to place a hand on Cloud's arm – his left arm – and even the straightforward math couldn't kill his astonishment.
"Oh, that's Aerith," Kairi told him when he described the girl the next day.
Sora had heard the name before, but he had to dig for it; finally he realized that the girl Cloud had been with was Yuffie's friend. "That's Aerith?"
"Mmmhm. Why the sudden curiosity?"
"I, uh…" Sora stopped himself before he could give Cloud away. Somehow, he just knew that his friend wouldn't like this spread around, not even to Kairi; after all, he hadn't told Sora about it. "No reason."
But then Kairi smiled at him, and he nearly babbled it out as he melted once again. He kept his mouth clamped shut, though it was close. "You're a horrible liar, you know."
He just had to laugh at that, ruefully, putting a hand to the back of his head. "Yeah, I know. But really, it's nothing – I just saw her last night for the first time." It was the truth. Just, not the whole truth.
Kairi looked skeptical, so he reached for a distraction. "Why haven't I seen her before this? We've been here for a week and a half." The town was a fairly good size, but there still weren't a lot of people around. He still didn't know most people's names, but he'd begun to recognize their faces.
"She works in the infirmary during the day, and most nights, too." Apparently Kairi was going to let him off the hook for now, but he highly doubted she'd forget it. "With what Riku says your practices are like, I'm surprised you haven't met her already."
"Hey, I haven't hit the mats in a week." He grinned as Kairi giggled. "Though I probably would if Master Bersi didn't stop us. But didn't you say Aerith was Yuffie's friend?"
"Don't ask me to explain it; they're total opposites. Aerith is calm and understanding and sweet and Yuffie is…"
"Yuffie," he finished for her as she clenched her jaw in annoyance. Any time the topic somehow managed to get onto her stepsister, Kairi started fuming. It was hard to imagine how the girls had ever been friends.
She took a deep breath and held it for several seconds, then let it out slowly. "Yeah." Then she shook her head. "Sorry, it's just…"
He held up a hand to stop her apology. "No worries, I understand."
And she smiled again, that smile that always reduced him to a quivering pile of goo. "Thanks, Sora. You're a good friend."
He managed to return her smile with a grin. "No problem." But he couldn't help wondering, as they got back to the math, if that was all he'd ever be to her.
"Soooooooooo, you do have a type, huh?"
Cloud looked over at Sora as they lurked around the First District later that afternoon, keeping an eye out for Leon and doing some shopping for Cloud's mother, but he didn't say anything. Since he also didn't threaten to kill him, Sora spoke again.
"Tall, brunette, likes pink?"
Again, nothing. He kept right on going.
"She looks nice, she made you laugh after all-"
"You're too damn nosy for your own good, Sora."
The younger boy grinned. "Can't blame this one on me – you two are the ones who were sitting in a public place last night. I just looked out my window."
Cloud groaned. "You really aren't going to drop it, are you?"
"Hey, if you really don't wanna tell me, just say so," Sora responded, holding up his hands. "But right now you're just stalling."
"Fine, I don't want to tell you." Cloud shook his head with a sigh of the inevitable. "I'll probably end up saying everything later, but… not now, all right?"
"Okay, that's all you had to say." And Sora, true to his word, did indeed drop it. He was an insanely curious person, but he knew enough to respect personal boundaries. Cloud clearly hadn't taken any of his boundaries down for a long time, so it was only reasonable that he want to keep some things to himself. "So what'd your mom want again? Apples, tomatoes, sprouts, and…" He glanced up from the produce cart, looking to Cloud for a reminder of the rest of the shopping, but the blond was peering off into the distance at something. "What is it?"
Cloud didn't say anything, just nodded in that direction. Sora turned and nearly dropped the tomatoes he was holding as he spotted their elusive quarry. Leon was down the street a little, sifting through something on another cart, not paying attention to anything going on around him. It was the first opportunity they'd had in awhile, and the best one they were probably going to have for awhile.
"I'll go get Riku." By default, Cloud had become the go-to for the silver-haired boy. If this entire plan fell through, or if it worked but Kairi still went for Riku, Cloud figured it was better if neither Riku nor Kairi ever knew Sora was involved. And as long as he didn't have to do more than occasionally talk to Riku, he was all right with his level of participation.
Sora nodded, holding out an arm that Cloud dumped the stuff he'd been holding into. "I'll keep an eye out here." Giving him a quick nod in return, he turned and began heading for the doors to the Second District, moving at a fast walk to intercept Riku.
Just as Cloud had a private lesson time in the morning, that Sora would eventually share as well once his mother calmed down, Riku had one in the afternoon, and it was set to begin in fifteen minutes. With a little luck, he would catch Riku in time for him to go talk to Leon and get back in time; and for once, luck was with him. As he opened the doors to the district, he saw Riku's distinctive hair moving across the large open space towards the alley to the Third District, probably having just left his group in the other alley. It was now or never, and he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
"Riku," he called sharply, and the boy quickly looked at him. "It's ready."
He didn't have to say anything more than that; there was only one reason that they would talk now, after all. But the seventeen-year-old didn't start moving in his direction. "I've got class, remember?"
"Who knows when you're going to get another opportunity?" Cloud retorted, then turned and pulled open the doors again. He heard a muttered curse behind him and then scrambled footsteps; Riku had apparently decided that he was right, with much less arguing than he'd anticipated.
They didn't walk together through the district, but rather in the same direction, Riku following Cloud without looking like it. Just around the corner from the food carts, Cloud stopped and pointed out Leon, now further down the row than he had been but still there. "It's all up to you now." Without waiting for an answer, he moved out from the shadow and began crossing the district, turning into the niche next to the cafe that he and Sora had stationed themselves in on the failed attempt to even talk to the man.
Sora had plainly had the same idea, because he was already there, holding the bags with the Strifes' groceries. "Figured it was better to get out of the way," he explained, handing one of the bags to Cloud. "Besides, we can see them from here." Cloud had no intention of watching, but Sora definitely did, and he stuck his head out just far enough so he could see, but not necessarily be seen.
Riku was playing it so casual it was nearly comical, at least for someone who knew what he was really there to do. He strolled down the row of carts looking at what they had to offer, picking up an apple and tossing it up and down like a ball, then strolling down the line some more as he got closer and closer to Leon. Whether the act was to fool Leon, the others out in the district, or everyone, it worked; Riku came right up next to the man without Leon even looking up.
"Do you mind if we talk for a minute?"
The unfamiliar voice caused Leon to look up, wondering just what it was lately that made everyone think he wanted to talk. First that crazy brown-haired boy a week ago, then that woman that just wouldn't shut up, and now another boy - well, young man really – with silver hair. This boy wore a calmer expression than the other one had, though, and although he didn't exactly appear thrilled to be there he wasn't running away in fright.
"What is it?"
The boy looked around, folding his arms across his chest in an almost defensive gesture, plainly looking for something and just as plainly not finding it. "In private?" he asked as he turned back to Leon.
Leon, though, turned away. "I'm in the middle of something."
"I'll make it worth your while." Leon looked up again, his characteristic half-glare on his face. Was this kid serious? The silver-haired boy – Riku, Leon's memory finally told him – backed up half a step, but still didn't run away. "Just hear me out, and if you don't like it you won't have to hear from me ever again."
Leon stared at him for a minute, then finally shook his head. "Fine." Putting down the loaf of bread he'd been about to buy, he fully turned and fixed his gaze on Riku. "Where in here is 'private?'"
"This way." Riku began walking in the direction of the Second District, Leon following, but after climbing the first staircase turned abruptly left and ducked down a small alley between one of the stores and a fenced-off terrace area. The place was clean, but seldom used; a primitive wooden wall blocked off the end, with a hole big enough for a normal-sized person to duck through at the bottom right corner. It was about as private as you could get for the First District, as there weren't any shops or merchants down in such an out-of-the-way place, and Leon subconsciously relaxed slightly as the rest of the people disappeared.
Riku led him down to the wall, but fortunately not through the hole, before turning back to face him. "I've got a proposition for you," he said bluntly, skipping any of the formalities.
"A proposition?" Leon folded his arms over his chest, leaning against the wall to watch him.
"Do you know Yuffie Kisaragi?" Riku asked, an odd expression on his face.
"No. Why?"
"I want you to take her out."
"…You what?"
"Do I have to spell it out?" Riku was clearly getting nervous about something, eyes starting to dart to the end of the alley occasionally, and he began shifting slightly on his feet as though he wanted to move but couldn't. "Look, she has a stepsister that I want to go out with."
"And how, exactly, does any of this concern me?" Leon asked directly, more than a little fed up at the boy dancing around the subject.
Riku looked away slightly, then back at him again. "Their guardian won't let Kairi date until Yuffie does. So I want-" A look from Leon sent him scrambling to change his wording. "I'd like for you to take her out."
He didn't even need to think about it. "Not my problem. You want to date that girl, find some other way to do it." He pushed off the wall and started to go down the alley, but quick footsteps brought him up short as Riku cut off his escape route.
"If you want, I'll pay for everything. Hell, think of it like a job; I'll pay you for the time itself, not just whatever food or whatever you two eat."
That brought him up short. Money was tight… As much as it wasn't his problem, maybe this "compensation" would make it worthwhile – and it would be something to do in this too-goddamn-small town. "How much are you talking about?"
"Say… twenty a week?"
Leon just shook his head. "Seventy-five or find someone else."
"What! You've gotta be kidding!"
"Seventy-five or no deal," he said evenly. "If you want to make this my problem, that's what it's going to take."
"…Fifty. That's the best I can do." Leon privately doubted that, but the look on Riku's face definitely made it clear that it was the best he thought he could do.
And fifty was still a lot better than twenty.
"…Fifty." Riku raised a hand as if to shake on the agreement, but Leon pulled his out of the way. "Now what can you tell me about her?"
And for the longest five minutes of his life, Leon listened while Riku described the entity that was "Yuffie Kisaragi" to him. By the time the silver-haired boy ran off to his lesson, he was beginning to wonder exactly what the hell he'd gotten himself into.
"Well… that's that," Cloud said as he and Sora relaxed. They'd surreptitiously followed Leon and Riku, hiding just out of sight around the corner to overhear their discussion, and had dashed out of the way just before Riku came tearing out in a last-ditch effort not to be late for his lesson. "Nothing to do now but wait and see what happens."
Sora looked up at his friend, wanting to hear the truth but at the same time dreading it. "Cloud… Do you think this'll work?"
"I don't know," he replied honestly, shaking his head as he started for their home district. "You've done all you can. Now it's up to Leon… and Kairi." Cloud glanced sideways at his friend, fully prepared to beat this information into him if he needed to. "She has to choose you, you know. If she wants to go out with Riku over you then she will. If you ever manipulate her into doing something she doesn't want to, I am going to hit you so hard-"
"CLOUD! I KNOW!" Sora shouted, startling a woman who was window shopping nearby. Forcing himself to quiet down, Sora clenched a fist and continued. "I am not going to lie to her or whatever. It's her choice." He let the fist relax as the tension drained out of him. "I just… want her to choose me."
"I know." Cloud pulled open the doors to the Third District, holding one of them open for Sora to go in ahead of him. The younger boy looked so morose at the thought of Kairi choosing Riku over him that Cloud had to do something, however awkward he was at comfort. He put one hand – the real one – on Sora's shoulder, both for encouragement and as a steering mechanism as he turned him in the direction of his apartment. Food always restored Sora's good mood. "Believe me, you deserve it a lot more."
Maybe it won't be so bad, Leon thought to himself as he waited around in the Third District near dusk. There were people out, mostly going home from work, but he paid no attention to them. He'd become used to the feeling of the townspeople glancing quickly at him, and then just as quickly away, in the months he'd been there. Standing where he was, in the half-hidden corner right next to the Second District doors, most people didn't even realize he was there. She fights, at least. Maybe "taking her out" could be practicing… I haven't fought against a ninja yet, after all.
Then again, this was also the girl who apparently thought it was fun to nearly jump on people's heads and then run off laughing. There was just no way of knowing how she would react to anything.
Riku's information had included a basic general description, so when the doors opened next Leon matched up the girl who came through against what the boy had said. Relatively short, with short black hair, green tank top, khaki shorts… If this wasn't her, he didn't know who could be closer. She was actually kind of cute, in a didn't-care-about-her-appearance way, which was a slight encouragement. She wasn't paying attention, but when he straightened up from his leaning position against the wall and cleared his throat, she spun in place faster than anyone he'd ever seen before. "Yuffie Kisaragi?"
"What's it to you?" she asked bluntly, straightening up from the fighter's crouch she'd half-dropped into at the sound of his voice. He bristled inside a little at the clear implication that she didn't think him a threat, but he clamped it down and managed to keep it out of his voice.
"I've heard about you." Plainly uninterested, Yuffie simply turned around and kept walking, heading for the closest doorway only about ten feet away. "Is there any reason why men annoy you so much?"
At that she turned and flashed him a very large grin. "Actually, it's because you're all useless. Anything else? I'm starving and I wanna eat."
Leon could just feel how easy it would be to snap and start yelling at her, but he somehow managed to keep it in. Barely. "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to fight some time, possibly."
"Mmmmmmmmmmmno. Time's up, food's on, bye!" she called cheerfully, quickly opening the door and slipping through before he could get a word out in response.
Growling softly under his breath at the sheer… audacity of this girl, it was only the thought of the money Riku'd promised that convinced him to not just abandon this right off the bat. He needed that money, needed it badly enough to even put up with this brat for a little time. But if he didn't…
As he walked away, he tried to force himself to think rationally. Admit it, that could have gone a lot worse.
The problem was, he couldn't see how.
AUTHOR'S NOTES II: Hah-haaaaaaaaaaaaah! We've got it all started! Well, all the romances at least, I've still got a few plotlines to drag in that haven't come up yet. Yes, I'm taking an already complicated work and making it even more complicated. Am I crazy, you ask? Why yes, yes I am.
Yeeees, as you might have guessed, I'm a Cid fangirl. I just can't get enough of the mental image of him tormenting one of the boys in Righteous Parental Rage - I think it happens in every fic I've got that he's in! So I had to throw in him threatening Sora. Because it's just funny like that ; )
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