Disclaimer: The fact that I would be hunt down and shot for claiming ownership of any of these characters and places is proof that I do not own them.
TWO: Hello and Goodbye Again (Part the First)
"Don't wander, Yuffie."
"Squall, if I reached out, I would be able to slap you, which means I am not far enough away to constitute wandering."
"And don't make me regret bringing you here."
"Hah! You should be so lucky to have my company! Besides, you need me for this."
"I would have managed."
"I bet you wouldn't have."
"Just stop talking."
"Just admit that you can't do anything without me."
"Shut up."
Yuffie let the conversation drop as they reached the registration desk (which only went as high as Leon's knee to accommodate the minute satyr sitting behind it). Leon hefted his gunblade over his shoulder.
"We're here to register for the Pegasus Cup."
The little creature leaned back in its chair and kicked up its hooves, a clipboard resting on its lap. "Yeah? Tell me something I don't know. Like your names, for starters."
"I am the great ninja Yuffie, and this schmuck here goes by Squall."
"Leon."
The satyr glanced up in mild irritation. "What?"
"The name's Leon. She's Yuffie."
"Whatever. I'm Philoctetes and ain't nobody gonna to fight in any tournament without going through me first, so don't you forget."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Goat Man, sir." Yuffie gave a mock salute. "We humbly recognize your utmost importance and—"
Leon saw the need for damage control and swiftly stepped in to prevent the obliteration of their tickets. "We'll be sure to remember, so if you would be so kind, we'd like to enter—"
"Together!"
Leon's palm met his face.
A long, awkward silence followed, broken only when Phil finally slammed their passes on the table and said, grudgingly, "Fine! But only because Herc isn't around—visiting relatives up on Mount Olympus or something equally sappy—and we're short on contenders. Consider yourselves lucky."
"Oh, we do." Leon picked up their passes and dragged Yuffie away before she had the chance to manage further incitement.
Several hours later, they had won the position of First Seed by dethroning three Fat Bandits and two Large Bodies.
"Go on a diet, if not for my sake, then for your own!" Yuffie had shouted after having been rammed four successive times, thus dropping her entire supply of shuriken. Leon had had to cover her as she crawled around frantically picking them up; the audience's amusement had done nothing to help her mounting surliness.
But they had come out triumphant in the end.
Yuffie flashed the cheering crowd a grin and a victory sign, her dignity safe and intact.
Leon lazily slashed the air in front of him. "That's it for today."
They found a nearby inn called The Hero's Camp and retired to their respective rooms after a quick, informal meal, during which Yuffie kept sneaking her peas onto Leon's plate.
The tournament resumed the next morning, and so far, no one had even come close to First Seed.
"Wimps!" Yuffie called out from her seat in the arena. "Come on! How did you not see that coming? It was twice the size of your head!"
Leon decided that he valued his sanity too much to continue to subject it to this torture.
"I'm going for a walk."
"I'll come with!"
"Only if you're quiet."
"You won't even know I'm there."
He could not bring himself to believe it, but allowed it anyway, having learnt long ago that bargaining with Yuffie was both fruitless and self-depreciating.
They left and soon found themselves in the training wing, far away from the sounds of battle. The room was vast, teeming with fighters, prospective opponents.
"Come on. We could use the practice."
"Not really, but okay." Yuffie shrugged and followed him inside.
They fell into an old routine: Yuffie throwing shuriken and Leon deflecting. At intervals, he would fire a shot from his gunblade and she would somersault and cartwheel to dodge it. Others trained around them, and for the most part, they paid the pair no mind other than to avoid a rogue magic spell or poorly aimed ninja star.
Suddenly, an urgent chorus rang out: "Watch out!"
Without warning, a sword came spinning towards them in midair; Leon threw himself to the side to avoid being sliced into two bloody, wholly useless halves.
"Fuck!" He whispered to no one in particular, and was glad that Yuffie didn't hear him. In an instant he was on his feet again, glaring at the sword-turned-tomahawk, which now lay harmless on the ground.
"Sorry," said a voice. The crowd parted to let its owner through. (Yuffie subtly remarked that the whole thing looked a bit religious, to be honest.)
Leon looked up, ready to curse whoever it was into fiery oblivion for lacking the brainpower to comprehend that sharp objects are to remain firmly in one's hands and not whirling through the air in much occupied rooms.
What he ended up saying was: "Oh." He blinked. "Hello."
They were in the Coliseum Lobby, and Leon had yet to say something. He leaned against the wall, arms folded, eyes closed. He took the time to reevaluate some things.
There were days when the inhabitants of Traverse Town convened in the First District to discuss the current events, the Worlds, the Heartless, the Keyblade, and Sora. The people would gather (there weren't many of them) in Cid's small shop, and though it wasn't much, there was still a sense of community, of hope and belonging.
There were instances where, out of habit, he would do a head count, silently logging every individual face in his mind. There was Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, and himself; the three ducklings that owned the shop nearby; the woman who ran the café; the wizard Merlin; the man who patrolled the World Exit; the innkeeper; others who merely woke up to find themselves in Traverse Town and never left.
Whenever he counted, he always came up one short, and he would always have to remind himself that when something was lost, it had to be subtracted from the total.
But he could never bring himself to do it, and each count he did reminded him, "We're still missing one."
He had then decided that an inaccurate sum was better than cruel precision.
At least he would never forget.
But now, in this Grecian room and for the first time in ages, he would have to add instead of take away.
"Found you at last!" Yuffie had taken to their new companion rather nicely as the shock of finding him clearly did not hit her as hard as it did Leon. She was all giggling enthusiasm and hyperactive joy, walking literal circles around them both. "So what are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for something."
"Something important, I'm assuming?"
"Yes."
"More important than us?" She pouted. "Well, what is it? Maybe we can help. And then you'll come back with us, right?"
There was no answer.
"Still misplacing things, huh?" Leon glanced up finally. "You haven't changed a bit, Cloud."
"Well, this time, it really wasn't my fault." He ran a hand through his hair and avoided eye contact (like he always did).
Idiosyncrasies, Leon thought to himself. He fought down the urge to smile. The relief of finding Cloud alive and well after all these years was enough to lift his spirits to a record high (though he refused to let his face know). It proved the pessimist in him wrong, and that made him ridiculously happy and a little bit insecure. He could not (would not) accept this twist of fate just yet; miracles, he believed, do not happen, ever.
"What'd you lose this time?"
"It's—I didn't—" He paused. "It's my light. But that's not really what I'm looking for. I mean, I'm searching for it, yes, but what—who I need to find is—"
"Him."
Cloud frowned. "Yes."
Yuffie shoved herself between them. "Ansem? We're looking for him too! Why don't you come with us?"
"Not Ansem, but—"
"I'm not following," interrupted Leon, all care for manners abandoned. "You're searching for your light, so you go to him?"
"He's the one who keeps me." Cloud did not look at him. "I'm going to have to face him eventually."
"And you think you can find him here?"
"Well—yes. Showdown of Fate and all, right? What better place than this?" He attempted a smile, but his face decided a grimace was more fitting.
"Right," Leon sighed.
Yuffie pulled at his left arm. (He clenched his right fist, hiding the sharp claws of his gauntlet.) "But why haven't you tried to contact us, Cloud? We haven't seen you since the World's end and that was nine years ago (1)!"
"I didn't want to come back with this burden on my shoulders. Besides, I knew everyone had survived, and that was enough for the time being."
He didn't mention that there were spontaneous moments when he had missed them so much that it had threatened to collapse him from the inside. But he had refused to meet them in this state, vowing to return to them whole; without his light, he was unworthy, empty.
But the only way for him to be whole again, the only way to find what he was missing was to destroy his other half.
He hated contradictions.
"Well, we're glad to have found you again. Right, Squall?"
"It's Leon."
"Ch'yeah." Yuffie turned to Cloud and jabbed a thumb in Leon's direction. "He has this thing now. 'My name's Leon, not Squall.' Tell him he's being stupid."
"You're being stupid, Squall," Cloud remarked, with perhaps more seriousness than expected.
But before Leon could retort, Cloud looked away abruptly, his mouth settling into a scowl, eyes narrowing, listening intently for something only he could hear. The atmosphere in the room darkened considerably, as if a sinister aura was slowly seeping in from the cracks in the wall and floor. Leon was about to draw his gunblade when Cloud turned back to them, his expression was tired and resigned.
"I have to go," he said in the tones of the defeated.
"What, why? Now? But we just got back together!"
He barely glanced at Yuffie as he apologized. "Sorry, but I'm being summoned." He walked out of the Lobby without another word, tattered red cape flowing behind him like a mythical creature of blood and smoke.
She followed him outside, into the sun and open air, but there was no one there.
There was disappointment in her eyes and though Leon didn't say anything, something in his mind crooned, "I told you so," and let out a long, long laugh.
Notes: (1) In the game, Cid says he stored a navigation gummi in the Secret Waterway of Traverse Town when he arrived there nine years ago. I'm assuming that's when he first arrived at Traverse Town, when Hollow Bastion was taken over by the Heartless. For the story's sake, Cloud did not escape with the rest of the World, because, as mentioned in the previous chapter, Hades transported him to Olympus.
Wow. I actually had to split this chapter into two parts because it was getting way too long. The good thing is that the next chapter will be up in record time!
I really don't like the dialogue between the Cloud, Yuffie and Squall, but there were some things I had to include, due to them being canon and part of the game script (eg: Cloud's "light"). Alas, I did the best I could. Came out rather choppy though, I think. I didn't mean for this to be a relief chapter, but I guess that's how it turned out. It is greatly lacking in impact, yes?
Anyway, Kingdom Hearts II! I think that by the time I finish this, I will have finished the game as well, so I guess the last few chapters (or maybe the epilogue) will lead into KHII's plot. We'll see.
As always, any slips into the present tense? Point it out to me before pointing the gun to my head so that I can at least correct it before I am blown away, eh? The very spiffy Wyrd covers this nicely, and I am eternally grateful that violence has not yet been employed. Criticisms and suggestions are also welcomed!
Once again, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I think I could live on reviews, if they were tangible. Heh.
27.03.06