Chapter 5, hurrah! Not much else to say, I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes. I do my best, but sometimes I slip up.
This is also pretty long, I hope nobody minds.
Thanks so much for reading this far! Please review if you want :D
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The rest of the night for Cloud, Yuffie and Belle was of chatter by the fire place. When night fell, Belle offered to share her room with Yuffie for the time being, while giving Cloud the option to stay the night in her father's empty bed.
"Where is he anyway?" Cloud asked with a long yawn following it afterwards.
"He's out of town for the time being. He's an inventor, so he went to the city for a contest to show it off. We hope he wins something this year," Belle answered, rubbing her large brown eyes.
"Is he famous?" Yuffie asked.
Belle smiled, "Not yet, but we hope so! He's doing well, we live comfortably thanks to him. Though," she paused, "Many of the townsfolk think he's crazy, but I think he's a genius." The smile Belle had on earlier vanished.
Yuffie gave her a reassuring smile back. "Well, you gotta be crazy enough to try to change the world. That's not a bad thing!" White rows of teeth showed through her small mouth. Belle feeling better gave her back a small nod and grin.
"We best rest now," Cloud said breaking up the conversation. "It's getting late."
Belle and Yuffie both agreed and the trio left up the small set of stairs to each of their bedrooms. The all silently fell into a deep slumber and waited to reconvene until morning.
The following morning, the three new friends decided to go into town to help Belle shop for food. Since, she wasn't used to having guests, Cloud and Yuffie thought it'd be nice to go out together and get breakfast so Belle didn't have to cook so much again. Belle objected, but Cloud insisted he treat her to a day, even though Yuffie didn't care either way; she was just starving.
"Oh my gawd, I need food like, right now!" Yuffie whined, dragging her feet around the outdoor marketplace. Cloud just rolled his eyes.
"You ate so much yesterday, how can you even be as hungry as you are?" Cloud questioned, sounding already irritable.
"Thing of the past, today's a new day!" Yuffie chimed pounding a fist into the air. Cloud just sighed and looked at Belle who just sweetly smiled back. It shook him a little. The resemblance of Aerith got to him still.
A few minutes of shopping for specialty breads and jams, Belle gasped and hid behind Cloud with a stiff body.
"Uh… Belle?" Cloud questioned, trying to twist around to look at Belle.
"It's him!" she whispered, trying to avoid being seen, though pointing at the man a few feet away from them. Cloud followed her fingertip with his eyes and saw the man in front of them. Cloud gulped and his eyes widened.
"That's Gaston?!" he said loudly, Belle quickly hushing him.
The man the trio was now staring at was a hugely built figure, with muscles double the size of Cloud's arms easily. He had a distinct cleft in his chin and medium length hair tied back with a ribbon. He sported a red tunic over black slacks and high brown boots. Gaston held a shotgun with his right arm and a dead large bird in the other. Next to him was a short fat man with a large upturned nose and dressed in all black garments.
At the moment Cloud opened his mouth, Gaston turned towards his and let out a huge grin and threw the bird and gun at the shorter companion next to him.
"Belle! How good it is to run into on such a day as beautiful as you!" Gaston yelled, his hulking body stomping its way towards the group.
Belle, with her cover blown, stepped out from behind Cloud and forced a smile across her face. "Gas…ton…heh…"
Cloud and Yuffie said nothing, though the shorter, fatter companion winked and smiled flirtingly at Yuffie, causing her to cough and gag. Cloud elbowed her to shut up.
"What brings you out to town today. Not picking up anymore of those useless books you obsess with?" He asked in his charming voice.
Belle gritted her teeth in a smile and responded, "I'm out buying groceries… With my boyfriend…"
Gaston's nostrils flared as he glared at Cloud. "This weasel is your lover? Plegh…"
Belle wrapped her arms around Cloud's side and kept playing along, "My one and only," she emphasized on the singular terms. Cloud gulped again, continuing to stare at the behemoth of a man in front of him.
Gaston just laughed a roaring laugh. "Baw-hahaha! Oh, Belle, you can't be serious! This… boy… looks pathetic. You sure are a funny one, Belle."
Finally, Gaston struck a part of Cloud that made him snap. "Whatever, you brainless oaf. I could kick your mother fu—"
Before Cloud could finish, Yuffie grabbed Cloud by the mouth and tugged him down to her height, throwing Belle slightly off balance and nearly falling over.
"Heh, don't listen to him. Oh, Cloud, you and your big mouth," Yuffie joked, trying not to anger Gaston more
"Hmph, well, let's see about that. I challenge you, boy, to fight me. The winner gets Belle. Deal?" Gaston said, with an impish grin.
Cloud gritted his teeth and thought before he opened his mouth. "Fine, I accept."
Yuffie hit her hand to her forehead and shook it in disbelief. "You idiot."
Belle touched Cloud's arm and looked up to him, her expression full of worry. "Please, win…"
Cloud crossed his arms then let out a small grin himself, surprising everyone, even Gaston. "This should be a snitch. Name your terms. Anything else?"
Gaston huffed then answered, "Okay, in the middle of the square, so everyone can watch you squirm like a bug. Meet me there midday." He laughed in his roar then spoke again, "And yours?"
Cloud uncrossed his arms and made a fist his pumped in front of his chest. "No weapons, just us."
Gaston nearly lost it at that point, "Baw-haha! You're making this too easy, boy! Fine, I'll play along. Nothing but muscle! See you soon, loser."
Gaston and his lackey walked away in the opposite direction, laughing madly out loudly. Back at the group, Yuffie looked at Cloud and just shook her head more. Belle seemed rather helpless and guilt, knowing she got him into this terrible mess and may possibly really end up hurting her new friend.
Cloud, however was full of confidence. "Don't worry, I got this. He doesn't stand a chance."
"Do you have eyes?!" Yuffie yelled at him. "Uh, HEL-LO! Earth to Cloud, if you didn't notice, that guy, he's kinda HUGE!"
"So what, I've beaten up tougher guys. I've got this," Cloud replied back confidently. Belle was just quiet; she didn't know what to believe.
A few hours later, Gaston sat at the edge of the fountain where Cloud and Yuffie first met Belle. Gaston's companion paced back and forth scoping out the area of any sign of Gaston's opponent.
"Heh, looks like a no show. Wuddya say, Gaston?" the short fat man squealed out in his high-pitched voice.
"Patience, Lefou, he'll be here," Gaston said assuringly.
Only a few seconds later, the trio came forth, Cloud leading the pack while Yuffie and Belle followed closely behind. Gaston stood from his seat on the side of the fountain and stomped forward to the group.
"Well, well, if the little boy didn't show up to see how real men fight," Gaston teased, flexing his muscles in front of everyone. The display of strength seemed to form a tiny crowd of people, curious to what the infamous Gaston would be doing.
Cloud sniggered and responded, "We'll see about that when your face is in the dirt."
Gaston grunted began to put up his fists and heavily breathed out his large nostrils. Cloud pulled his leather gloves over his fingers then wriggled them until they fit snuggly on his hand. He put of his fists and heaved a few times. The men were at a stand still, waiting the other to make the first move. While the men stared at each other, the small group of spectators turned into a crowd of jeering townsfolk. Belle and Yuffie looked around then to each other, both reading each other's doubtful faces.
"Enough of this! GYAHHH!" Gaston thundered, charging at Cloud with a huge ball of fists.
Cloud, though much small, had the advantage of speed with his leaner body type. He easily sidestepped and dodged Gaston's first punched. Recovering his stance, Gaston charged again, roaring again just as loud.
"C'mon, Gaston, smash him up!" Lefou cheered loudly. Sneaking around the ring of people, Yuffie snuck up behind the fat dwarf and bonked him hard on the back of the head, knocking him out and making him fall flat on this face.
"Go Cloud! Lay one on him!" Yuffie yelled in response, cheering on her favorite fighter.
Cloud, now just dodging all of Gaston's punches, slid to the side and elbowed Gaston in the ribs, knocking out the huge man for a second and forcing him to back away for a moment.
"That's all you got? Bring it!" Gaston bellowed, charging again at Cloud, who somehow miscalculated Gaston's movement speed, and received a hard punch to the chest, causing Cloud to fly backwards and land on his back. Gaston laughed sadistically and ran towards Cloud, before he could regain his footing, Gaston jumped in the air and was now flying down with his elbow swooping in faster.
"Look out!" Belle screamed, alerting Cloud to roll over quickly and miss Gaston's last move.
Cloud and Gaston both regained their stances and started off where they had begun. However, Cloud was still full of energy, only exerting himself minimally while Gaston putting all of his power in one punch, had worn himself out much quicker.
Cloud stretched his arms to his toes then bounced back up in his ready stance. "Good warm up, but it's getting serious now!"
Gaston huffed and cracked his neck. He knew that either Cloud was only taunting him or that he was serious and still full of energy to keep fighting, whereas Gaston was ready to throw in the towel. He thought of his reputation and shook it off. How can I lose to this kid? Fight 'til the end!
Before finishing his thoughts, Cloud thrust forward and socked Gaston in the cheekbone. Gaston fell to the ground, hard. Cloud clenched and unclenched his fist and waited for the brute to get back up for more. After waiting a second, Cloud relaxing and walked towards Gaston's body, hovering over him. Gaston just lay there, motionless.
"Is he dead?" Yuffie's voice was heard over Cloud.
He shook his spiky blonde locks. "No, just knocked out."
Soon, Belle joined them and crouched over next to Cloud. She was amazed as well and excited. "You're the first person to ever defeat Gaston."
Cloud widened his eyes quietly and looked around. The crowd of townsfolk just watched in awe of Cloud as he took down the grizzled man. Few of the women whispered and smiled while watching Cloud intensely. The men gossiped as well, shaking their heads in disbelief.
Soon, Lefou ran over and began to shake Gaston's body and yelping. "Gaston! Gaston! Pull yourself together!"
"Oh, hush up piggy, he'll be fine!" Yuffie spat kicking over the short and fat man.
"We'll be back and you'll pay for this! You'll see!" Lefou shouted again, pulling Gaston's body away from the fountain and into the crowd.
"Yeah, I doubt it," Cloud said quietly, pulling himself up off the ground and back on his two feet. He helped Belle up who then brushed off he own apron.
"I don't know how I'll ever repay you," she began blushing, "but at least he'll never bother me again."
Before Cloud could speak, Yuffie said loudly, "Eh-ny time! You just call us whenever you need us, right Cloud?"
Cloud, though, just stood silently, looking up into the clear blue sky. "Yuffie," he said. Both women looked at him confused, waiting for him to speak again. "I think it's time we leave here."
Yuffie began to protest. "W-wait! Why? We just got here! Oh, c'mon Cloud! Just one more day."
Belle stepped forward and placed her hand on his arm. "Is it her?" Cloud looked down from his gaze and onto Belle. He only shrugged. Belle nodded and continued, "If you find her, please come back here. We can have a small party."
Cloud stood for a minute before saying anything. "But… I don't even know… How do I find someone that might not ever be found?"
Belle just smiled sweetly and put her hand from his arm to the left side of his chest. "If you believe she's out there, this will know."
Cloud put one of his hands over hers. "My heart?" he asked. Belle nodded.
Just then, Yuffie chimed in. "Well, if she's in yours, then she's in mine, and mine is saying 'Yuf, let's get this show on the road!'" she shouted, bouncing with her own hand on her heart.
Cloud nodded with a small grin. He took his hand off Belle's and knelt down in front of her. Her and Yuffie's eyes widened, not expecting Cloud to put himself in that position. He kissed Belle's hand softly, he face turning a deep shade of pink.
"It was a pleasure being you're bodyguard, Miss Belle," he said charmingly.
She giggled back, pulling him back onto his feet. "I've got just one more thing to ask of you." Cloud listened, though his shoulders slumped slightly. Belle smiled with assurance and said, "When you find her, be sure to be the best bodyguard, okay?"
Cloud nodded and smiled back, happily accepting her request. Yuffie hugged Belle and waved as Cloud and her walked away from town, back to the forest. Walking down the path, Cloud had his hands behind his head, a small smirk escaping from his face.
Yuffie groaned, "What are you so happy about?" Cloud sighed and pulled his hands back down.
"You and Belle both think Aerith's out there, right? I'm starting to believe so, too," he explained back.
Yuffie nodded and grinned. "Yup, a wild goose chase to find a possible not dead girl covered in sea weed."
"Yuffie!"
"I'm kidding, sheesh, can't a girl get a break?"
"Yuffie…"
*
Crossing the horizon, Iori and Aerith has walked for hours without saying much to each other. She was exhausted and Iori had not stopped since they left the Court of Miracles.
"Um, Iori?" Aerith spoke softly, panting. "Where are we going exactly?"
He stopped for the first time and looked back to her, swinging his ponytail behind him. "I'm sorry, what was that?" his voice seemed a bit distant, as if he was waking from a dream.
"Uh, where are we going exactly?" he asked again, speaking up a bit more.
"Oh, uh, a harbor," was his vague reply.
"Like a boat?" Aerith asked again, still confused.
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, Aerith, like a boat."
Aerith pulled the strap on her purse closer to her chest, embarrassed. Iori sighed and felt slightly bad for picking on her, thought he didn't understand why she would ask if boats were in a harbor.
"Look, we're talking a boat that will take us to another world away. You're looking for him right? Well, we have to find him; he's just not going to fall into our lap. For all you know, he's moved on from the life you had and left it behind. So the best thing you can do is trust me and follow my lead. Got it?" he explained at her harshly. Aerith just nodded in reply and didn't say another word. They continued their walk in silence, just as before.
Not to long after, they arrive at a nearby town towards the edge of a waterfront. Aerith was happy to see some civilization but she couldn't find herself getting out of the funk she was in. Iori had been either been forcefully friendly that is was intimidating, or harshly cold to her, not saying anything at all. Either way, she wasn't comfortable traveling with him, even though Esmeralda, someone she had grown to admire, assured her he would protect her.
"See the port?" Iori said finally, breaking the long silence between them. Aerith squinted and found the port where all the ships gathered and nodded back to Iori quietly. "I want you to find the ship called The Interceptor, got it? Wait for me there. What ever you do, don't get on the ship without me. Got it?"
Got it? It was starting to become his catch phrase with her, making her feel like she was a child again. She glared at him angrily and replied with a snap, "Yes, I got it."
"Hmph," he grunted heading away from her and deeper into town. Aerith huffed and made her way towards the tall ships, avoiding contact with anyone, as if it would worry her guardian.
She arrived at all the ships. There has must have been at least ten to twenty ships parked at the docks, swaying as the small waves pushed and pulled away from the cool breeze kissing her pink cheeks. Aerith walked along the street were merchants and travelers were busily walking alongside her going about their daily routine.
Aerith read the names of the ships as she walked along, looking out for the specific name Iori has given her. About four ships along her walk, she found The Interceptor swaying at the docks, sailors preparing the ship and cleaning the surface on top. Aerith, clearly understanding not to proceed to walk onto the boat, waited on bench near a tin café that greeted travelers coming on and off the ships.
She handed had to wait long before Iori had found her waiting patiently on the bench, watching people pass before her eyes. Before he approached her, he brushed his bang from his eye and sighed. "Try not to be such an ass this time…" he said to himself as he pressed on to meet her.
Without saying a word, he pulled up next to her and sat down, slouching his head forward. Aerith said nothing, but acknowledged his arrival by scooting over and giving him room to sit next to her. It was quiet for a minute until Iori spoke.
"Hey," he said softly, his voice still deep and hoarse. Aerith looked up to his face but remained mute. "I know I'm not the easiest to cope with. I'm not trying to make you frightened."
Aerith's mouth opened slightly. It was a very bold apology and his attitude was bothering himself as much as it bothered her. 'I-it's okay… really…" she replied, trying not to make him feel badly, though she secretly hoped he saw how much he had been mocking her.
"It's really not…" he said back calmly. He looked from the boats to her eyes. "If you're going to trust me, I can't be making you feel bad. Defeats the purpose for everything."
Aerith just nodded back, "Yeah."
"So," he continued, "If I do anything or say anything that bothers you, speak up. Okay?"
She just smiled back. "I'll do my best."
Iori let out another one of his charming grins. As much as she liked seeing him smile, she secretly wish he wouldn't for the sake that it made her wish Cloud had a smile as dazzling as his. Iori reaching into his vest pocket and pulled out two small pieces of paper.
"Here, I bought us these. Ship passes, you can't get on without one," Iori explained, handing her one of the small slips.
"Oh, this is why you asked me to wait?" Aerith questioned. "You could've just said you needed me to wait so you could buy them."
Iori chuckled, "I told you, I'm working on it."
Aerith smiled back and asked, "Well, are you ready?"
"Ah, yes, shall we?" He answered back, standing himself up and reaching out his hand to her. She gladly took it and slipped her arm between his and linked it together as they walked up to The Interceptor. She was glad to see he was in better spirits as he began discussing with her the route the boat was taking and were they would end up traveling to in the end.
"…leaving us at Agrabah. The heat it terrible, but dry. I'd watch out for the scorpions. Vicious little beats," Iori said, wrapping up his travel plans with Aerith.
They had be given permission to go on board and a sailor guided them around the ship until they reached their room down in the ships cabin area.
"Room 212, enjoy," the hulking seaman said, leaving Iori with the keys to the room. The duo entered the room and saw that there was only one bed for both of them to share.
"Um, Iori…" Aerith began, but was soon cut off.
"Not to worry, I've reserved the room next door for myself. A joint room, see," he said, walking to a white painted door and unlocking it. Inside, just as he said, was a smaller bedroom and dresser for Iori to use.
"Oh, I see, I am relieved," Aerith said, exhaling. She soon realized her tone and was quick to explain herself, "I mean, not that I don't trust you, it's just that, you know, being a man and a woman, you know, that, we're, you know…"
Iori just laughed, "I do know. Now rest up, you must be tired."
Aerith didn't think of it until now how attractive the bed had become. She just nodded as Iori left her room into his own and shut the door quietly behind him. Soon enough, Aerith found herself curled up under the sheet of her bed, drifting off into a deep sleep, the motion of the waves rhythm soothing her body, cradling her to sleep.
In midst of her dreaming, she soon was interrupted by violent shaking.
"Aerith!" a husky voice called out to her. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to understand what was happening.
"Aerith, damnit, get dressed!" Iori said, shaking her more. Aerith rose from her bed and stretched her arms out and rubbing her eyes.
"What going on?" she yawned, trying to wake her limbs up by grabbing her toes.
Iori look at her tensely and leapt close to her face, his expression serious and tense. "Pirates."
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