It was night. The Coliseum lit up with dim lights, ready for the Hades Cup to begin. Leon and Yuffie had just arrived. They had been training hard, and they were focused on winning the munny.

"I'm still wondering who your partner is," Yuffie remarked as they entered the Coliseum Gates. "We haven't even met him yet." She took out a potion vile and handed it to Leon. She grinned at him. "Since he's probably not going to be covering your butt like I did, you should take this." Leon rolled his eyes and pocketed it. They walked into the Coliseum into a room where Phil was standing. Yuffie suddenly stepped in front of Leon before he could enter. She took his hand, smiling up sweetly at him. Leon raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Well," she said. "Aren't you going to wish me luck, competing by myself?" Leon stared blankly at her. He pushed her to one side. Yuffie laughed.

"You won't even wish your little sis good luck?"

"You're not my little sis," Leon muttered monotonically. Yuffie put her hands on her hips.

"I as good as," she said. "I've put up with you all my life." She wrapped her arms around Leon, resting her chin on his chest. She smiled up at him. Leon tilted back a little, slightly annoyed.

"Fine, whatever," he said quickly. "Just… just get off me." He pushed Yuffie off him.

"Aw, come on Leon!" she said. "I just want you be nice to me for a minute!" Leon just turned away. Yuffie smirked.

"How about this," she said, a sly tone in her voice. "You say thank you for the potion, and… I'll give you back your wallet." Leon frowned, turning around.

"Wait a minute," he started, feeling around his pockets. He eyes widened when he couldn't find anything. "Hey, my wallet!" He glared at Yuffie, who just laughed.

"Took it from you 9 years ago, and now I'm taking it again!" she said, holding it up in the air. Leon ran over and tried to take it but Yuffie was too quick.

"Say thank you, Squall, and I'll give it back to you!" she giggled as he tried to leap at her.

"Yuffie, please," Leon said, extremely annoyed. "We're in public!"

"Come on, just say it!"

"Okay, fine! Thank you for the potion!"

"And?"

"And… and good luck for the tournament…" Leon murmured, as if it was something disgusting and forbidden. Yuffie immediately stopped, smiling innocently. She held out Leon's wallet, to which he snatched rudely off her. Yuffie just smiled. She then quickly reached up and planted a big wet kiss on his chin. She winked at his flabbergasted expression and went ahead inside.

"It's sure going to be weird having you as both a brother and a brother-in-law," she chuckled. Leon shook his head, wiping his chin with his sleeve.

"Brat…" he muttered under his breath as he followed her into the Coliseum Lobby. Phil was standing in his usual corner, reading a note. He glanced over when Yuffie and Leon appeared.

"Oh good, you're here," he said, walking over to them. He looked at his list again, then at Yuffie. "You're up in 5 minutes, toots." He turned to Leon. "You, you're up in about 20." He looked back down at his list, and then waddled back to his corner.

"Hey wait!" Yuffie said, running over to him. Phil glared up at her. "Who's Leon's partner?"

"That ain't none of your business, toots," the goat man snapped. He glanced at his watch. "Whoa, you're up next." With that, he gave Yuffie a huge push into the Coliseum arena, making her stumble slightly. She shot him a venomous glare, then marched into the arena, ready for her fight.

Leon waited in the lobby while Yuffie fought. He leaned on the wall, his arms crossed, thinking. He had a feeling something was going to happen, something that might change his life completely. He was worried; would he be ready for it when it comes? Will he be able to fight? Leon sighed. He just didn't know. He reached into his pocket a pulled out a small photo of Aerith. He smiled at it.

Suddenly, a scream was heard from inside the arena; Yuffie's. He turned to look into the door. Yuffie had been thrown violently out of the ring. She laid unconsciously on the ground. Leon's eyes widened and he quickly rushed over, a few medics just ahead of him. One of them kneeled down next to her, taking out an elixir. He lifted her up a little and poured it into her mouth. Yuffie coughed and opened her eyes. She saw Leon, and sat up.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, rubbing her head. Leon kneeled down to her. He smiled.

"It's okay," he told her. "We've got enough." Yuffie gave him small smile as he gave her his hand, pulling her up. They made their way back into the lobby.

"Have you met your partner yet?" Yuffie asked, as Leon returned to his wall. He just closed his eyes and shook his head. She let out a scoff of annoyance.

"My god!" she exclaimed angrily. "What is wrong with these people?!" She looked down at her watch. "And you're competing in 5 minutes, without even knowing who you're going to share your munny with!" She threw her hands in the air with frustration. Phil then appeared, holding a pouch full of munny. He went over to Yuffie.

"Okay, here's your pay," he said to her. "20,000 munny." Yuffie took the pouch, a little disappointed. Phil glanced over at Leon. "You, there. Your partner's finally here." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. Yuffie and Leon watched as a dark figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

He took a few steps forward, his red cape sweeping at his feet. His face lifted up slowly to meet their eyes.

Yuffie let out a thunderstruck gasp and dropped her munny pouch. Leon jumped off the wall, speechless. They stared wide-eyed, open-mouthed at the stranger who was to become Leon's partner. The room went silent.

Spiky blonde hair, dark blue eyes. There was no mistake.

"Oh my god…" Yuffie breathed, unable to move.

"Meet your new partner, kid," Phil said to the dumbstruck Leon. "Cloud Strife."