When the Light Returned, chapter 6: by Phoenix Pinion
Disclaimer – I do not own Kingdom Hearts. All that I own is the story idea. Please don't sue
Though there were four warring beings inside it, the library was silent. The books there would have quite a story to tell of the four, if they could talk, but alas they kept their secrets. Leaning against a bookshelf, Leon sat stone-faced and solemn. The only things about him with the remotest bit of emotion were his hooded eyes; whenever those deep orbs looked upon Aerith and Cloud basking in each other's embrace, they would mute themselves with pain and anguish. He looked disheveled and a bit dirty, but it was the tiny slice in his throat that caught Cloud's eye.
The youth that had come back from the grave flicked his gaze over to Leon. His shrewd, calculating eyes noticed how troubled and complicated the man seemed. Cloud did not know how the two had met in the first place, but Leon's unrequited love for Aerith had apparently depressed him so much that he had attempted suicide. If Yuffie had not found him seconds before the act had been committed and stopped him (leaving the small scar on his throat from where the knife had started its job), he would be dead. But Cloud could understand why Leon would try to kill himself over Aerith, even if he did not know the man; Cloud had tried himself, after all. The stunningly beautiful flower girl had an…effect on one; he just could not explain it. Being without her would be like being without a necessity of life. Food, perhaps. Sighing a bit, he held Aerith a little bit tighter, not knowing what he'd do if he lost her again.
His gaze shifted to Yuffie. His mere annoyance at the girl had now turned to disgust. She had hardly spoken three words to Cloud since he had returned, only given him hate-filled glares and glances. She obviously held Leon in a very special place in her heart, the way she was protecting him like that. Right after Leon's suicide attempt, she had barged in on them, hysterically screaming about Leon. "We're going to settle this," she had yelled, "I can't stand it anymore!" She had ushered them to the library, and now they had sat in silence, Cloud and Aerith on one side of the library, Leon and Yuffie on the other, for a few minutes. It reminded the icy warrior of a boxing ring. He snorted to himself at the absurd thought, then glanced again at the ninja. Cold brown eyes glowered at him before looking away.
The ninja's hatred for him confused Cloud so. In fact, she had always confused him. The blue-eyed warrior could remember when he had a world: even then, she had been an enigmatic, and often frustrating, girl. She had stolen their materia not once, but twice, forcing them to go on a wild-goose chase all around her hometown to find her. And once they had found her, the stupid girl had gone and gotten herself captured, forcing Cloud and his party to fight an absurdly difficult machine before finally getting their materia back. That had been only one of her traitorous actions that had infuriated Cloud while traveling with her. And now she hated him, also? Cloud had always liked to believe that she had a crush of sorts on him, but now her loathing of him was very apparent. But what did it matter, anyhow, so long as he had Aerith?
Ah, Aerith. His light. The girl who had almost inadvertently ended his life, but then had saved it instead. She was the only reason for his existence; without her, his soul was shrouded in darkness. He could not imagine life without her any longer; his agonizing time in his former world without her had been enough. Every hour he had not been with her he had cried inside. Every nightmare he had had concerning her death had slowly killed him a little bit more. Every time he had seen a flower, any type of flower, he had almost burst into tears at the thought of how they had first met. Her death had killed him, too, and only the thought of revenge had kept him alive as a shell of his former self, a body with no soul and hardly enough will to stay alive. But now, here she was, leaning back comfortingly into his warm embrace, his hands interlocked around her waist, his nose inhaling her warm, almost flower-like scent. Oh, God, he would never let her go again. Never. The pain of being without her was just…hellish. He shuddered, then tightened his hug.
"Damn it, Cloud!" The sudden yell from Yuffie caused everyone to jolt. Cloud lifted his eyes upward until they met Yuffie's. "You've ruined everything! Everything was fine before you showed up. I wish you would just go back to where you came from!" Cloud felt his irascible temper quickly flare up at her accusations; now his dislike was hatred. What right did she have to say that to him? Luckily, before he decided to physically teach the ninja a lesson, Aerith piped up.
"Yuffie, please listen to me." Her voice was quiet, but it shook just a bit with anger at Yuffie's outburst. "You don't have any right to insult Cloud like that. He's going to stay here whether you like it or not."
"What about Leon?" Yuffie screeched back, walking closer to the Flower Girl. Leon's eyes didn't even register that she had said his name. They seemed…dead. "Have you even noticed him since Cloud," she spat the name, "came back?? Did you know he tried to commit suicide over you? You haven't said one word to him since your little Cloud came back!"
"Leon…" Aerith hesitated, finally looking in the man's direction. Leon's face slowly lifted. His dull eyes stared into hers, and she felt herself shiver. But she had to do what she had to do, and she continued, "Leon, I'm sorry, but Cloud…he just…" she groped for the right words, but couldn't seem to find them. "Well, Cloud and I are in an important stage of our lives right now! Why don't you two accept the truth and support us?"
Leon didn't make a sound. Yuffie visibly shook with rage, but she let Aerith continue in her rant anyway.
"We all know that Cloud loves me," she continued, basking in his warm, tight embrace around her middle. "And that I love Leon."
A sudden, impossible silence settled over the room. Aerith, eyes wide with horror of her slip, clapped her hands over her mouth, and the arms around her waist abruptly loosened, then limply fell off of her completely. Leon had not moved; only his eyes even registered what she had said. They were focused on Aerith's in incredulous disbelief, waiting, begging her to confirm or deny what had just been said.
"Shit," Yuffie breathed in shock, her wide eyes staring at Aerith and begging the question that was on everyone's lips…
~To be Coninued
Author's Notes – Yeah, yeah, this chapter is short, especially after your long, long wait for it. I'm sorry! But I know what I'm going to do for the next few chapters, so I think they might be up more quickly. Maybe. I hope. ^_^;;;
This chapter mostly has Cloud's POV, but I very briefly switched to Yuffie's, then Aerith's. I think the next chappie will have either Leon's POV, or Aerith's. Help me decide by reviewing and telling which you would rather read next.
But yeah. If you didn't notice, Aerith was supposed to say that she loves Cloud. I tried to make it kinda shocking, but it's only like that if it were acted out loud. (don't ask.) Yep, Aerith was supposed to say Cloud…but her heart spoke differently…or did it? Heh, I know a whole lot of people are pissed now, because they were positive that Leon and Yuffie would get together. I don't know, they might, but I didn't want the story to get too predictable. ^_^ I still don't know how the final couples are going to shape out. I wanted to keep the field open anyway. Sorry if I pissed you off with this chapter.
And you might say that I'm contradicting myself majorly with Aerith saying that, but I'm the author!! I can do that!! I HAVE THE POWER! BWAHAHA! …cough
Well, yeah. Thank you very much, all of you, for reading and (hopefully) reviewing. The next chappie should be up in about a week or two. Thanks, all! ~PP