Thank you for reviewing! After leaving this for months, I finally had the courage to upload this. Well, this chapter will just tell of the life Leon and Sora has been leading after the village incident. I pretty much didn't have any actual plot when I wrote the prelude XP. Fea was the one who came up with the plot after reading that chapter. And then Fen's parents decided to ruin our lives again. Those good-for-nothings were better off dead. Anyway, I better stop now and let you guys read peacefully.
Happy reading~
PS; I read an old book and look what it's done to my writing style! Oh well, they're pretty good. Shame I'm not like them.
No Matter What
Chapter 1
The New Life
In an aperture of the western wall of Radiant Garden hangs the Trinity Gate. The area outside of it was one of the notable places of the town. Long before king Ansem the Wise inherited the throne of Radiant Garden, there was a citadel there. When at last Ventus one of the three Keyblade Masters ousted the Heartless, and began to build, the site of the citadel became the northwest corner of the new wall, defended by a tower much more imposing than the old one. The location of the gate however, was not disturbed, for the reasons, most likely, that the roads which met and merged in front of it could not well be transferred to any other point, while the area outside had become a recognized market place. In the old days there was great traffic at the locality, shared in by traders from Agrabah, and the rich dealers from Destiny Islands and Twilight Town. Nearly three thousands years had passed, yet a kind of commerce clings to the spot.
The market at the Trinity Gate was already in full session as the sun was at its zenith, and very lively. The massive doors had been wide open since dawn. Business, always aggressive, had pushed through the arched entrance into a narrow lane and court, which, passing by the walls of the great tower, conducted on into the city. The rays of the sun, with their promise of warmth, shone down upon everything on the city, people, stalls, animals, jars and goods and many more. The whir of the comings and goings of the flocks of birds could be heard from far up in the battlements and turrets about.
The scene was at first one of utter confusion-confusion of action, sounds, colors and things. It was especially so in the lane and court. The ground there was paved with broad unshaped flags, from which each cry and jar and hoof-stamps arises to swell the medley that rings and roses up between the solid impending walls. Among the vendors, traders, customers and passersby walked a man, tall and silent, holding the driving-strap of a chocobo carrying panniers full of fruits fresh from the orchards of Kedron. Walking beside him was a boy about fifteen, with his hand rested on the chocobo's soft yellow feathers and watching the scene around him with wide curious eyes.
They made their way towards where a young man stood, with another chocobo nearby dozing under panniers full of lentils, beans, onions and cucumbers brought fresh from the orchards of Dali. When not engaged in serving customers, the master cried his stock. As they reached him, the man gave a warm smile and greeted them like he would a family. "Ah, Leon. And Sora! Here's someone I never thought would meet at such an hour."
The aforementioned boy grinned and folded his arms behind his head. "I figured I want to try something new."
The man let out a pleasant laugh. "That's good, that's very good, young Sora. You'll never know what it might bring you." Turning to the other man, he walked forward and examined the goods. "Hmm….Well, everything's good. I suspect Rinoa got both of you up and early to pick these, right?"
Leon, the man who was previously holding the driving strap, let out an annoyed sound at the back of his throat; confirming his guess. The vendor chuckled and took the rein from him. "You two can go back now, I can handle things here myself. I believe young Sora here wants to do some exploring. Don't you?" He looked at Sora, raising an eyebrow at him.
The boy averted his gaze to the left, where Leon stood watching him with inquiring eyes. "Can I?"
"No. We still have a lot to do."
"Please?" Sora said, forming his puppy dog eyes and aiming it at Leon, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to resist it. Heaving a sigh, he caved in "Fine. But I'm coming with you." The man could only resist for so long before relenting.
Sora punched the air and cheered, doing a little victory dance. It doesn't matter if he had an overprotective guardian following, as long as he can explore! It's not everyday that he get to go to the city "Well come on then, I saw this shop a while ago and I want to check it." He grabbed Leon's arm and started dragging him to one direction, pushing through the sea of people about them.
Leon frowned. "What kind of shop?"
"A cake shop!"
He blanched. Maybe he should start on learning to be immune to Sora's puppy dog eyes.
The vendor, Toma smiled at the look on his face and waved, wondering if he should move far, far away from that spot. A sugar-high Sora was not to be trifled with.
Outside the gate, the scene was quite as varied as animated, for there are the superadded effects of tents and booths, greater space, larger crowd, more unqualified freedom and the full glory of the Eastern sunshine. There was a large crowd passing in and out of the gate. Among them were two figures clad in outlandish clothes. "Man, it's so hot out here!" said the larger one of the two. "Hey Wedge, d'you remember that vault in the prison back at home? The one they use to keep the more 'popular' prisoners? Jeez! I could stand there this morning, long enough at least to stop sweating."
The party addressed smiled under the cover of his hood, tilting his head to him and said "I'm afraid, my friend that you will turn into an ice statue before that."
"Hah! Bet it'd be a great one, huh?" The man let out a hearty laugh at that, missing the words muttered by his companion, "For those who have a vivid imagination, that is."
And with the last word they disappeared through the entrance. Though they had been silent, they're clothing and accent would publish them as Galbadians.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd, a parting quickly to the right and left, with exclamations sharp and decisive. Then, the cause came-a young man, with hair as red as the dying sun, and eyes a bright green; and another beside him. They were both riding on chocobos, and both were clad in black cloaks. The face of the shorter one was hidden underneath the hood of his cloak. They're demeanors were calm; the tall one, the one with red hair even smiled upon those who, with such rude haste, made room for them. They are Nobodies. The shrinking crowd, if asked would say they are mongrels. Nobodies are a group of people, descendants of the Dark Apprentices who nearly plunged the world into darkness a long time ago.
It was the three Keyblade Masters who put a stop to their plans; but they couldn't bring themselves to harm their children. And so their descendants lived on. Although they did not cause any troubles, people still abhor them. It had been so to all of the other descendants. But even though they loathed them, they could do nothing against them; for they have connections to other countries and were under the protection of the royal family. There was much debate on whether they were involved in any of the war that's been happening lately or not. So far, there was no proof that they were involved; but many were against them.
When the last sign of them disappeared, people resumed what they were doing. And so, till towards the evening, sometimes later, the steady currents of business habitually flow in and out of the Trinity Gate, carrying with them every variety of character; including representatives of all the tribes of Pride Lands, all the sects among whom the ancient faith had been parceled and refined away.
It was an hour before sunset when Sora had finally burned all his sugar. Leon released a breath of relief as he led them back towards the vendor. The boy was walking beside him with arms full of food, a skip in his steps and humming a merry tune. It took all of his allowance for the day to buy all of those, and yet he still wanted more. Sora had surprised everyone in the cake shop -except for Leon, who was used to his behavior- for being able to devour a cake in record time. After that, Sora had gone sugar-high and nearly turned the shop into a warzone. Needles to say, the baker was VERY displeased.
They had spent the rest of the day sightseeing. Though with Sora being sugar-high, it was more like Sora causing trouble and Leon trying to fix the mess. So, Leon had learned a very, very important lesson: Never let Sora get anywhere near sweet things. Especially in places like a city or something.
Soon, they saw the vendor amongst the sea of people; he was checking the panniers on the chocobos, making sure none of them would fall. But what caught Leon's attention was the male attending the other chocobo. Sora, upon spotting the same person, ran up to him and showed off his foods. "Hey Cloud! Look what I've got!"
Cloud turned and laughed at Sora's antics. "I see." He looked up at Leon as he got closer, giving him a look that says: You gave him sugar.
Leon folded his arms, shrugging. As Sora ran up to show off his foods to Toma, Leon went over to Cloud. "When did you arrive?"
Cloud turned back to the chocobo "Just now."
"Hmm…So, how's Rinoa doing?"
"She's fine. She said you'll have to work double tomorrow because you skipped your work and for dragging Sora along with you." Cloud said as he checked the panniers.
"Sora was the one who dragged me."
"You tell that to her."
"I bet she's doing it on purpose." Leon muttered under his breath. Leon would never abandon his works and drag Sora along with him. It was always the opposite.
"And I have to do all of your chores." Cloud patted the chocobo. "Thank me for not kicking your ass right now. But, I suppose I should thank you, too. Since you will do my works for tomorrow."
"Ugh…" Trust Rinoa to make his day worse. "Sora let's go back now!" He looked at Sora who was about to eat a bar of chocolate. "And save those for later." Lord knows what'll happen if he ate that now.
Sora pouted, re-wrapping the chocolate bar. The other foods that he had bought were kept in a bag given by Toma. The vendor -who had finished checking the panniers and was only waiting for them- laughed and patted Sora on the head. "Well, let's go home. I've had enough for the day."
They weaved through the throngs of people still moving about and soon arrived at The Trinity Gate where they parted; Toma moving west after giving over half of the day's earnings to Leon while Leon and the others went south along with the chocobo he brought earlier that day. The walk back to the village was one filled with Sora's chatter. Sometimes Cloud would join in, and they would laugh together. This was what Leon went through everyday; ever since he arrived at the village by Rinoa's reckonings. And truthfully, he was happy. Except for the time when Rinoa made him work until he was nearly dead.
Everyday he would wake up and do his tasks -picking fruits, carrying sacks of rice or fruits to the storehouse- and send whatever Rinoa picked to Toma to be sold. Then he would go back to the village, resuming his job. Though sometimes Rinoa would let him rest and enjoy the day off doing whatever he wants, such as fishing with Sora at the lake, or hang around with Cloud. The young man was someone he had met a few years back, and shared an understanding with. Over the years -two and a half, to be exact- they had grown close. Close enough for him to think of Cloud as someone very important to him. More than the others are -with the exception of Sora. He had taken to treat the boy as if he was the only family he have.
Sora was the same boy that he had saved from the village ruins three years back. When it was found that the boy remembered nothing at all, including his name; Leon had decided to take him under his wings and named him Sora. The cause of this being his eyes; many who gazed it were reminded of the sky. They then spent a few months at the nameless village until Rinoa came and suggested they come and live with her at the village Kedron. She had been visiting the both of them for quite some time before. Leon accepted after much begging from Sora's part (Because Rinoa always brings tasty foods when she visited).
And here they are; living happily with new friends, new family.
They entered a small forest, and followed a track to the southeast edge of the forest. There they crossed a river, walked along a sand strewn path, passing by several small wooden houses and arrived at the village. It was relatively small compared to other villages; but it has plenty of natural resources. There were ten houses in all, arranged so that it formed a loose oval facing the entrance. Almost all of the houses have a garden around them; so close to each other that outsiders wouldn't know which belong to whom. Connecting all the houses was a gravel-covered road. Near the edge of the village, flowers and trees lined up the road leading to the Chief's house -which happened to be Rinoa. The west part of the village was the paddy field; At the East lays the bamboo grove and the forest while the orchards were at the southern areas along with the lake. Leon and Sora lived in one of the house at the back with Rinoa while Cloud lived in the house next to them.
Kedron was very calm, as it was already sundown. But should one enter it during the day, they will find kids playing at he center of the village; though they were the most active an hour or two before the sun sets. The villagers were all very nice, peaceful and love to plant. The villagers -according to Rinoa- have been living there for generations. Even Rinoa of course, her family owns the land. So, when her father passed away, the village naturally goes to her, the only heir to the Heartilys. She did well in managing the village considering her age of twenty four.
They retreated to their own houses while the chocobo was sent back to its stables. As soon as Leon stepped a foot inside the house Rinoa appeared from the kitchen, hands on her hips wearing an apron. "Leon, what have you been doing? You were supposed to be back earlier. Much earlier."
"I was sightseeing with Sora and lost track of time." If destroying the city properties could be called sightseeing, that is.
"Oh…And where is he?"
"Here!" Sora popped his head from behind Leon, smiling happily, holding his bag full of sweets.
Rinoa immediately smiled and walked forward, ignoring Leon in favor of hugging the fifteen-year-old. "I see, and you also bought something did you? What is it?"
Sora smiled and proceeded to listing his goods. "I bought candies, cakes, cupcakes…"
Leon just rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom as Sora continued to list his foods, hoping to wash off all the dust and dirt he collected. Rinoa always thought of Sora as her son and treated him like he is. Not that he complained, it's just that she sometimes got too carried away with it. Which have its' advantages and disadvantages.
Entering the bathroom, he locked the door behind and took off his clothes, throwing it into a basket by the door. He looked at himself in the mirror, noticing the key hanging on his neck and touched it, remembering what his father said the day he gave it to him. "It's a lucky charm. Don't you ever lose it and don't let anyone else see it either, got it? Or its' luck might disappear."
He only replied with a snort that day, not believing him. But he hid it anyway, never being able to go against his parents. Now, it's the only thing left to remind him of his family. His father left one day, leaving him and his mother alone in order to ensure their safety as he had said that day. They didn't know from who he was hiding, but allowed him anyway. Soon, even his mother left him; died of an epidemic.
He lived alone in the village, feeling that it was his responsibility to protect it since his father was gone. They were so kind, he never wanted to leave. Then one day, when he got back from one of his excursions, he found the village; or what remained of it. That was the day he found Sora. He didn't know who did it or how it happened, but if he did, then they would pay dearly.
The next day, Sora found Leon at the storehouse. The building was located between the paddy field and the orchards, the only building not connected with a gravel-covered road. Instead, there was a dirt track branching from the road that leads to the storehouse. The villagers stored fruits, vegetables, seeds, rice, feeds and all sorts of stuff in the building. Kids used to play there, until Zell's old man chased them away. Leon was carrying a bulging sack of apples over his shoulder when Sora entered the premise through the large double doors. The man was shirtless and sweating, his shoulder-length hair was tied, and some bangs were left on the front, too short to be tied. He approached him as he put the sacks at a corner where there were already a few of them huddled together. No doubt put there by Leon, making Sora wonder just how long he had been working.
"Umm, Leon?"
The man looked back at Sora, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "What is it?"
"Can I…help?" He asked, looking up at him shyly.
Leon frowned, "Sure, but…why? Don't you have other things to do?"
Sora shook his head, suddenly finding the ground to be interesting. "My friends aren't here today, and I feel guilty for dragging you with me yesterday. If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have to be working this much today. Sorry…"
Leon stared at him for awhile before forming a little smile on his sweat-covered face. He walked forward and ruffled Sora's hair affectionately. "Idiot. You don't have to feel sorry for that. It's not everyday you get to go to the city, right?"
"But I should!" Sora looked up at him. "I made so much trouble for you and then made Rinoa gave you more work! You've been doing so much for me…" suddenly his eyes started watering and he sniffed. "I feel guilty! So you have to let me help you!" He pointed a finger at Leon with a determined face.
Honestly, Leon didn't know how to deal with this. He knew Sora wouldn't stop until he accepts his offer. He can be as stubborn as a mule. But, then again why was he refusing? There's no harm in letting him help, right? "Okay, you can help me."
"Yay! Haha!" As Sora did a little victory dance, Leon thought and re-thought about what could possibly be wrong in letting Sora help him.
Apparently, a lot. Sora was very careless and clumsy. More than once, he spilled the contents of the sacks onto the road and they had to stop and gather it back. Under the blistering heat of the sun, and Leon was shirtless. So, not only did they have to waste a lot of time on carrying the fruits than intended, but Leon might also have sunburn. Which is extremely, awfully, terribly irritating.
"Leon! Charice won't give me back my chocolate!"
Sighing in annoyance, Leon turned around, looking pointedly at the boy and the chocobo with a chocolate in its beak. "Why do you have that chocolate again?"
Sora blinked. "It's from yesterday, remember?"
"Yes, but why did you bring it here?"
"Umm…So I wouldn't get hungry."
"…How did the chocobo get it?"
"I was just sitting there," he pointed at the fence. "Eating it, and then Charice came and took it from me. And now she won't give it back!"
"…Charice?" He looked at the chocobo.
Sora grinned. "That's her name. I gave it to her. Now-"He turned to the chocobo. "Give me back my-Nooooo! Why did you eat it!"
As Sora chased the chocobo around the ranch, Leon sighed and shook his head. Turning back to the task at hand -which was feeding the chocobos- he wondered if Sora had helped enough already and if he should send him off somewhere. They had already taken care of the other tasks. All that's left were feeding the chocobos and then Cloud's neighbor would take care of the rest. It was, after all, originally their job. But because of what happened, yesterday, he had to do it and they get to do whatever they want that is not work-related.
All this wouldn't have happened if he had learned to resist Sora's puppy-dog-eyes-of-doom.
"Watch out!"
"Hmm?" He turned around, only to be run over by the chocobo. "Oof!" The chocobo dashed straight at him but he managed to dodge at the last minute. Though the chocobo still managed to hit him and he fell into a nearby puddle. For a moment, he could see starts spinning in his vision but he dispersed it by shaking his head. He raised himself halfway from the puddle with a grunt, still shaking his head and blinking his eyes. When his gaze was focused again, he saw the chocobo dashing wildly around the ranch with Sora riding on it. The kid had probably jumped on it when he was chasing it around and startled the chocobo by doing so.
With one last shake, he pushed himself and stood up, legs nearly buckling once. Regaining his balance, he went to help the boy.
When Cloud returned from his hunting trip with Xury and Zell that day, he expected to see a very tired and annoyed Leon on his porch. But as he and Xury arrived on the steps, they heard a lot of 'kweh's and what sound like shouting. When they went around the house out of curiosity, they didn't expect Leon to be thrown towards them, nor do they expect Sora to fall on top of them. The chocobos and chicobos kweh'ed in triumph as Cloud and the others groaned and tried to sit up, Sora and Leon rolling off of them with a grunt.
"What in the world happened here?" Cloud asked, shaking his head to clear his mind.
"Long story short, Sora got into a fight with a chocobo and dragged me into it." Leon grunted as he sat up, rolling his shoulders.
"She started it!" Sora retorted as he too sat up with some effort.
"I take it that," Xury started as he looked at the chocobo who seemed to be mocking them by dancing around victoriously. He didn't know they could do that. "You guys lost?"
The two brunets threw him an irritated look and he promptly shut up. "Well, at least we get the job done. And they enjoyed it too." Leon stood up, offering a hand to Cloud. The blond took it and managed to stand with his help. Sora had jumped up and made faces at the chocobos while Xury was laughing at his silly faces. The older brunet rolled his eyes as Cloud looked at their still joined hands.
"Umm, Leon? You can let my hand go now." Even though he didn't really mind it.
Leon looked down at their hands and quickly released it. "Sorry."
"It's okay." They stood in awkward silence as Xury continued laughing at Sora's expression and the chocobo's silly actions. "So, well, umm. We caught a deer and Zell's currently skinning it at his house. Do you want to come eat dinner with us?" What was wrong with him? He felt…weird.
"I think I'll-"
"Of course we will!" Sora cut him off as he came bouncing towards them, all previous task abandoned the moment he heard the invitation.
So, that night, they ate dinner at the blond's house. Sora and Zell's comedic acts made the night an eventful one accompanied with the amazing cooking skills of his mother. Everyone wanted seconds after that, and third and fourth until not a scrap was left of the gourmets.
"Is that true?"
Biggs and Wedge nodded, shifting their weights as the bangaa in front of them rubbed his chin in contemplation. They waited anxiously for his response. There was no doubt that he would agree, but if their knowledge failed them and he refused…"All right, I will."
"It will be deeply appreciated and you will be rewarded handsomely." Wedge replied as Biggs released a relieved sigh.
"Do you know where he is?"
"Yes. All that's left is to lure him to us."
Then Biggs suddenly stood up straight as an idea came into his mind. "Why don't we use someone important to him? Won't that be more fun?"
"That does sound good. After all, he is the son of Laguna. We should take precaution measures." The man's voice was laden with anticipation. "Who do you think would be perfect?"
Wedge thought for a second. Biggs already knew the answer but he only waited for Wedge to say it out. Though the smaller man was not entirely comfortable with the answer that was about to come, he had no other choice. "There is a boy that he treats as a brother."
"Excellent." His eyes shone with a malicious glint as he grinned almost wolfishly.
When the tips of the sun just started to rise over the horizon, Cloud was already wide awake. Like every other day, he would start with feeding the chocobos and the other animals along with his young assistant, Xury. Every house here has their own jobs here at the village. Like how he and his neighbors were charged with taking care of the livestocks, Leon and his neighbors charged with harvesting and carrying fruits, vegetables, rice and other stuff from one place to another while Zell and his neighbors were charged with protecting the village.
This week, it was his neighbor's turn to herd the animals out. So, he had plenty of time to waste. Usually he would help out with the other neighbors but as of now, there wasn't much to do anywhere. So, feeling quite bored, he decided to visit Leon.
"Leon? Oh, he's at the bamboo grove. I gave him the day off." Rinoa said as she watered her flowers. Cloud quirked an eyebrow. What could Leon possibly be doing at the bamboo grove? Nonetheless, he still went there. He went towards Zell's dwelling, passing the wooden cottage and going to the back. He jumped effortlessly over the fence dividing the village from the grove and went east, knowing that the west only leads to the river. As he walked, he listened for any sound that might lead him to Leon.
Then, sometime later when he was starting to sweat from the heat, a faint shout was heard. He whipped his head to the left, straining his ears to make sure he heard right. That voice sounded vaguely like Sora's and he seemed desperate.
"Let go of me!"
There's no mistake about it now, it was definitely Sora's. Wasting no time, he ran as fast as he could to the source of his voice, fervently pushing back any bamboo stems that were barring his way. He arrived to see the boy unconscious in the hands of…bangaas? However, he had no time to ponder upon this in the current situation. "Get your hands off of him!" He moved to save him but an unexpected blow to his neck knocked him out cold. The last thing he saw was the bangaas running away with an unconscious Sora slung over their shoulder.
Oh noees! What would happen to Sora? Who are those guys? What do they want?
Blegh. I hate saying stuff like those so I'm not gonna say it again.
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