So, no reviews on the last chapter :/ The first time I wrote this, as crappy as it was, I had several followers, favorites, and reviews... :( I'm prouder of this version than the last, but it isn't doing quite as well as I hoped.

Also, I have no idea why, but I haven't been able to stop writing lately. And not just anything, but this story. I usually don't update this much, but on my writing streak, I keep doing it! I guess that's good for readers, and not so good for my priorities.

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from anything here. All rights for Kingdom Hearts, Disney, FFVII, and other things go to respective owners. Don't sue.


~Hidden Schemes~

The time came that I had to bid my friends goodbye and face the music, however grudgingly. Returning to the castle was the easy part; I simply portaled to my room and no one was the wiser. Unfortunately though, it seemed that Vexen had been steadfast and waited outside my door. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, the old pathetic coot had probably arrived somewhere near four this morning in expectation of my arrival.

"Uh, hello?" I didn't quite know what to say. This was another one of those moments where I vehemently wished I could arch my eyebrow, but since I couldn't, I settled on crossing my arms over my chest instead. It did not have the same effect. As if he could read my mind, the smug jerk, Vexen raised a thin blonde brow at me. Grrrrhhh.

"Juliet, you have returned."

"Mighty observant today, aren't we, Vexen?" I jeered. His smirk dissipated into a frown. Score one for me!

"Full of attitude as ever," he hissed. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to be straightforward when I tell you what I overheard last night."

My interest piqued. Usually he only bothered to stop me so that he could continue a lecture about respect, but the very pleased spark in his emerald eyes and the way he seemed to grow at least a few inches taller alerted me that he had something worth saying for once. Darn it all, I wanted to know what it was.

"Okay, I'll bite. What it is, Vexen?"

His smirk widened into an out and out simper. Gleefully, he began, "As it turns out, your dear Zexion thinks rather lowly of you. In fact, it's traveled fairly quickly through our hallowed halls that he, ahem, accused you of straddling him like a 'low-class whore.'"

Whether my jaw dropped or my teeth clenched escaped me. In that moment, the only thing I could possibly feel was pure, unadulterated anger that raced through my veins and seized control of my brain like a rabid dog. My pride was wounded, I felt a little used and betrayed though I couldn't say why, and the effect the feelings created was one of immediate vengeance.

He wasn't allowed to call me that! I could call me that! But he couldn't! The little turd probably told Saїx that I jumped him and tried to rape him or something else as ridiculous! Oh yeah, he really liked me alright, enough to throw me under the freakin' bus! It was an accident, for Mickey's sake!

An accident!

Seething, I shoved a stunned Vexen away from me and spun around, stomping towards the Room Where Nothing Gathers. At eight in the morning, almost everyone would be gathered to receive their missions, meaning Zexion for sure was there. He would feel the wrath of my knuckles. By the time I got done with him, I'd make sure he had a bruise in she shape of my fist in every spot on his body. Heck, his children would have birthmarks in the shape of my fist!

I was right about him being there, be that good or bad. The sound of my heavy marching and short, wrathful gasps of breath caught everyone's attention, but I ignored the other members and made a beeline for an alarmed looking Zexion.

"Juliet?" he questioned hesitantly.

"You sorry piece of―" I cut off my statement when I threw my entire body weight into an uppercut that knocked the schemer back several feet. His head slammed into the panel of glass behind him (the window held, unfortunately), and I felt pleased at the keening groan that left his tightened jaw. "Get up and fight me!"

His eye widened, and he attempted to scoot back but the glass stopped that effort immediately. Having nowhere to go and nothing to do but face me, he tried, "Jules, what's wrong?"

"Don't you 'Jules' me!" The gall of him! Calling me an endearment after leveling me to a prostitute, who did he think he was!? My chest constricted in hurt, but I pushed the emotion away. Sadness was for the weak, rage was for the powerful. "Get up and fight!"

He scrambled to his feet like a forest animal trying to escape the clutches of a hungry wolf. It was satisfying to watch.

"How dare you!" I screeched, flying towards him again. He dodged my punch this time, and I only barely clipped him in the cheek. He rubbed at the no doubt sore spot on his jaw where I'd initially landed a blow, and his brow furrowed in confusion and irritation.

"How dare I what?" he asked, gesturing wildly. Denying what he told Saїx to avoid my wrath would not work! Did he think I was stupid?

"You want to see low-class whore!? I'll show you a low-class whore!" Lightning fast, I slammed into him and pushed him to the floor. "How is this for being 'straddled by a low-class whore!?'"

Furiously, I sent a barrage of powerful punches into him. The sound of his grunts of pain was music to my ears, and with every vain endeavor to stop me from beating him, my resolve grew stronger. Somehow he managed to break free of my hold and gripped my right arm, freezing my movements. Gasping for air, he attempted to sit up and meet my gaze.

"Juliet, you need to calm down!"

"Calm down!? Calm down!?" Yanking my arm out of his grip, I reared it back and prepared to throw it forward, but Saїx caught me around the waist and hauled me off the now disheveled Zexion. The schemer clambered to his feet, brushing down his cloak and attempting to straighten himself. His eyes kept darting to mine, and there remained a spark of fear in the blue. Good. "You can't call me a low-class whore, only I can call me a low-class whore!"

Roughly detangling myself from the Luna Diviner, I scowled at both men, then glared at the frozen, silent Organization members I'd forgotten had played spectator to my assault.

Stumbling away, I cursed, "Just for the record, if I was a whore, I would be very high-class." Before I left, I added, "And you can forget me doing a mission today, Saїx. If you need something done, do it yourself. I'm out of here."


Light streamed through the stained glass windows. It caught in the crystals and cast dazzling prisms of cobalt, jade, and amethyst across the patterned agate floor. All around, marble statues stood in vigilance. Not a sound could be heard in the chapel.

Radiant Garden, nee-Hollow Bastion, was one of the few places that had a sanctuary. The quiet, gentle peace within its confines made for the perfect thinking spot. Since it was a Tuesday morning, the only people around were the occasional altar servers who passed in and out at random intervals, never once breaking the tranquil silence within.

The quiet, however, was just barely disturbed a few short moments later. Heavy footfalls behind me alerted me to someone else's presence. I glanced up momentarily to watch a large man with thick bands of muscle cording his body genuflect. He looked to be about in his late thirties, with sandy colored-hair and deep blue eyes. There was a gruff look about him, but something told me he had a soft side regardless of his rough exterior. A giggle threatened to escape when I noticed one of the chapel's staff members stop and shoot the man a withering gaze as he pulled out a cigarette.

Raising his hands in surrender, the blonde man called out with chuckle, "I ain't lightin' it. Promised my wife I'd quit." His face morphed from amused to somber in the blink of an eye. "It took me losing her to quit the habit, but I haven't lit one since."

Though I wasn't an overly emotional person, I wasn't heartless either. I found myself pitying the man for his loss even though he was a perfect stranger. Life had a sick way of taking and giving. It had taken my parents, not that I could remember them anyway.

As if he sensed my gaze on him, the man faced me. For a moment, he looked taken aback, and I realized I must've been staring. Thinking it rude of me, I turned my eyes toward the large green and gold crest on the wall in front of the pews. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and saw that he was watching me intently, an oddly ill look about his face. His tan had paled to a near gruesome green, but it could have just been the green light filtering through the windows.

"Good day, sir," I greeted, nodding at him and then turning back to the front.

He didn't answer for a long minute. Finally, he shook his head and frowned, replying in a slightly strained voice, "Good day, little miss."

The exchange was odd, I thought, clasping my hands in my lap. Maybe I had just freaked him out a little. After all, he hadn't noticed I'd been there, and then I was staring at him. I would've been a little freaked out too.

"Cid! Cid Highwind! Where aaaarrrreee you?"

That voice, that unrepentant, loud, brash voice that had no reverence for anything around it, could only belong to Yuffie Kisaragi. When her round, smiling face popped into view, I laughed.

"Yuffie!"

Her head snapped from Cid to me, and then she grinned wider. "Juliet!"

In seconds, she had bounded over to me and wrapped me in one of her signature bear hugs. I chuckled at her actions and struggled to keep up with the long flow of words that cascaded from her mouth in one long mush of letters.

"Whoa, slow down there!" I urged, giving her an opportunity to suck in a deep breath.

"Sorry!" she breathed sheepishly. At last she released me from her death grip and stopped bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I haven't seen you in weeks! What's Saїx been keeping you up to? Not those boring missions! How do you do it? How can you stand them all the time? Aren't they annoying?"

"The only thing annoying," the man, whom I gathered was named Cid, began, "is you." Although the remark was snide, there existed the barest hint of a smile behind his words.

"Yeah, yeah, old man! You're just jealous that you aren't as young and beautiful as me!" She winked, spinning around on one foot before sticking out her tongue in a childish manner.

"Beautiful?" Cid returned incredulously.

Frowning, Yuffie responded, "Vincent thought so." The air around us crackled with electricity. Her words having caught up with her brain, the ninja's face fell mournfully and she stopped dancing around, instead staring at the floor beneath her. Vincent's disappearance was always going to be taboo. I'd long since accepted that he was one sore spot Yuffie'd never be able to grin brightly through.

"We'll find him, kid," Cid insisted, pulling the brown-haired girl into a side hug. The way she stared into his eyes in absolute affection reminded of the way a child looked at her father. Although I didn't know the man, I already liked him since it was apparent that he looked out for Yuffie as though she was his own child. It sent a small pang through my heart as I realized that he was the kind of man I wished was my father, but I'd never even had a father at all.

Once she'd recovered, her cheeks pink with embarrassment, she forced a grin and introduced me to Cid Highwind, escapee of Gaia, resident of Radiant Garden, and engineering extraordinaire. Instantly he had my rapt attention ― engineering, especially mechanical, was one of my interests. It was so fascinating to be able to take inanimate objects, fit them together, and make them operate on their own. Even cooler still was that Cid built airships!

If I could, I would've stayed to chat with Cid and Yuffie all afternoon, but duty called and they had to run off to recalibrate some claymores that had gone haywire and began playing "whack-a-kiddy" in one of the parks. Bidding them goodbye, I waved and watched them rush out of the chapel. The strangest feeling settled over me in their absence, something empty.

I loved the Organization, and I did consider them family, but sometimes it was so hard to get along with them. I wondered what it would be like to be a part of a family like Yuffie's, like Cid's. I'd probably never know.

One thing I did know though was that I needed to return to the castle at some point. Would I suffer the consequences of my actions? Probably, unfortunately. Would I stop being a thorn in the side of the Organization? Not for a moment.


The PA system bleeped once, twice, and then announced, "Number X, please report to the Altar of Naught at once. Number X, please report to the Altar of Naught at once."

A hush fell over the Grey Area before a grin broke out on Xigbar's face as he headed a round of rowdy mocking. "Oooh, Luxy got in trouble!"

Deadpanning, the Gambler of Fate stood up, threw a "you're so immature" look at the one-eyed sharpshooter, and then strutted out of the room in a dignified manner, leaving behind a group of sniggering men and one woman.

Upon reaching the altar, he found Xemnas staring out at the afternoon sun (a treasured sight after enduring eternal night for so long) with his hands clasped behind his back. It seemed the Superior had not noticed Luxord's appearance, so the blonde coughed slightly.

"Superior?"

Half-turning, the man glanced back at him. "Ah, Number X, you're here. We need to discuss Juliet. She has gotten far out of hand, and she will not listen to reason. Since you and she are close, I am enlisting you to sit her down and talk some sense into that stubborn head of hers. She will lash out at anyone else, but she might spare you."

Oh, might, huh? The blonde glowered.

"I will not, Superior! I harbor deep affection for Juliet, but she is a loose cannon when upset. She 'might' not lash out at me is simply not promising odds. And trust me, I know odds! Life might be a gamble, but I know when to fold, and this is it."

The Superior sighed deeply and rubbed at his chin, uttering, "I suppose that is true…"

"I'd rather take on the seven windstorms than a moody Juliet."

Xemnas's eyes lit up, and he smirked, "Then you will do so. Report to Halloween Town tomorrow morning and dispatch them as quickly as possible."

Gulping, Luxord inwardly cursed himself for not keeping a poker face and showing his cards too early. "O-on second thought, I believe Juliet will be arriving any moment, and, time-wise, it would be better fit for me to simply talk to Juliet now. Good day, Superior."

Grinning, he replied, "A very good day, indeed."


For those who don't know, there is actually a chapel in Hallow Bastian (I'm not sure if it's still there when it becomes Radiant Garden again, but I don't see any reason why it would disappear. So, yeah, that wasn't something I just made up or anything. However, my making the religion pretty obviously catholic (what with Cid genuflecting) was my own creative license since I'm Christian and in KH it's never specified what religion they the universe is. In FFVII, they pretty much worship the gods (most notably the worship of Leviathan in Wutai) and the Lifesteam, but it seemed really odd to have a church in KH and still keep the original religion of FFVII (even though Aerith has a church, so I wonder if that was used for Lifestream worship) - it's just kind of weird. So I went with the actual universe in which the stories set, Kingdom Hearts, and just tweaked the FFVII characters a little. Heck, that's what Nomura did anyways. (Hint, hint: Cid's toothpick replacing his cigars *cough, cough*).

So there's that.

And, yeah, I threw in Yuffentine *hangs head in shame*. I can't help it, I love Yuffentine, and I just wanted to tie in why certain Final Fantasy characters show up and others don't. So what happened to FFVII characters is essentially what happened to all the other FF characters. (And I know some people prefer Yuffie/Leon in Kingdom Hearts fics, but I honestly cannot pair Squall with anyone aside from Rinoa and Yuffie with anyone other than Vincent (although the occasional hint of Yuffie/Reeve is alright in a fiction with Cloti pairing focus.) But the main reason for throwing the other characters that didn't get an appearance in the KH game (curse you Nomura!) was because it's pretty vital to the plot later on ;)

Hope you liked it! If there's more of something, less of another, something entirely different that you'd like to see, leave it in a review :) Thank you for reading, and please give me some feedback!

~SirenMist