"My name's not Squall!"

The brown-haired man stormed out of the hotel room and out onto the balcony that overlooked the dank and eerily silent back ways of Traverse Town. He gripped the railing tightly, hoping to vent out his frustration and anger through calmer means than beating the smoof out of a rabble of Heartless.

He may have to do that, anyways.

The sound of girls giggling reached his ears and his scowl deepened. Oh, how he hated his birth name!

Squall was a weak name. It belonged to a weak boy. But he was stronger now. Much stronger. He'd grown since that fateful night where he lost his home to the Darkness. He'd grown since that time where he could only watch with fear-filled eyes as his world was overcast by shadows and evil, as his world was extricated from the realm of Light.

Squall was weak. Squall was soft. Squall was—

Sad, pitiful barking filled the air, very faint yet very near.

Leon's eyes scanned the area, searching for the source of the noise. After a minute or two, he fixated his gaze on a small, old chest, hoisted high up, tucked within the space created by the wall and the balcony's awning. It was then that the chest 'barked' again.

Carefully, he stood up on one of the metal tables and dislodged the trunk, using care that even Aerith would find surprising for a man like himself. He jumped back down and set the container on the table softly. The lock was old and worn, and quite easy to pry off. As he lifted the lid, he saw that inside the chest…

…was a little Dalmatian puppy.

It whimpered and whined for a moment longer, before realizing it was finally saved from its dark and scary confinement. It stared innocently at Leon, and then barked cheerfully at the man in thanks.

Leon picked the puppy up, giving it a questioning look. How the heck did it even get into the chest in the first place?

The canine wiggled closer to the man and licked his face, following up with a happy sounding bark. Leon's expression seemed to be a mix of exasperation, as if he were trying to suppress a sudden urge.

Squall was weak. You are not. Squall was soft. You are not. Squall was—

Leon took another look at the puppy and melted.

"Damn..."

And with that, he began to scratch behind the puppy's ear, causing it to wiggle in contentment as a very tiny smile tugged at his lips.

"I'm losing it."

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Hehe, I think this one was a cute one :3

I got this idea coming back on a car ride from the Mall… I don't know how or why, but…yeah…