Ugh… Shoot me in the face and bury my body in the nearest Wal-Mart parking lot. …Don't ask. Anyway, I'm glad you guys like this. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to end this yet, but I'm working it over in my head so no worries, yo. Though I think that this will probably reach 10+ chapters. At least I hope so. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to the Kingdom Hearts series. I'll leave that to the people at Square Enix.

Chapter 2: Like a Stone

"See, Leon!" Yuffie shouted at the brunette, practically all up in his face. "If you had let me go with you, none of this would have happened!"

Leon only blinked at her calmly, not bothering to say a word in his own defense. He had learned throughout the years that arguing with the ninja was a quarrel best avoided—if at all possible. No matter what he said, it would be hard to convince her that she wasn't right. Though, in this situation, he was probably more at fault than Yuffie was. Not that he would give her the satisfaction of having one up on him of course.

"It's not his fault, Yuffie. None of us could have guessed that this would happen," Aerith said in place of Leon. "You know that the Heartless can be unpredictable."

"But still! I shoulda been there to help!"

"I know, but-"

"Y'all quit that yellin' over there!" Cid shouted out. "I can't even hear myself think with you two yammerin' like that!"

Leon watched quietly as the two girls talked calmly to each other, almost completely forgetting that he was standing right next to them.

Frankly, he didn't feel much like talking at the moment, still trying to wrap his head around what all had happened. And interrupting Yuffie when she felt like she was on a roll could prove hazardous to his well being. After this explanation was over, he had to get some well-deserved rest. His blue eyes were already hurting from how tired he was feeling.

Besides Yuffie's quieted down accusations, Aerith's soft counters, and the processing computer terminal Cid was halfway sitting in front of, the rest of Merlin's house was rather quiet. He had obviously finished the task the pilot had asked him to do before he came back, the issue of being attacked while on the way aside. Leon was better off completing what he had set out to do while he was there instead of having to return at a later time. He needed some alone time before eventually being questioned about why he was late returning anyway.

The rest of his venture after waking up had warranted solitary assessments.

"Oh, my, my. That could have been most disastrous. Are you quite all right, dear boy?" Merlin asked.

Leon nodded shortly. Other than being drowsy and a little sore from fighting off most of those Heartless, he was in good health. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Merlin smiled in return, though it was barely visible behind his long beard. "Good lad. Glad to see you holding up so well."

During that short exchange, Aerith had managed to calm down Yuffie enough to hear the rest of Leon's story.

"So, Leon," Aerith began softly. "What happened next?"

Leon closed his eyes, reliving the rest of the experience in his head before verbally revealing it to his friends. If any of the individual sections of his short journey bothered him more than the rest, it was the part he was about to get into.

Leon opened his eyes slowly, the clear and cloudless sky of Radiant Garden coming into full view before him.

He sat up with a soft wince, his muscles straining slightly with the movement, clearly a side effect from battling more than he should have done to begin with. His back was hurting a little in the middle, probably since he had been laying on a rock. He couldn't tell how long it had been since he passed out, but that didn't matter at the moment.

Taking in his surroundings, Leon saw that he was still in the same place, right next to the pathway entrance leading up to Ansem's study. The only difference was that the Heartless were no longer present in the area for the time being. On another rock parallel to the one he was sitting on was a blonde dressed in black from head to toe, the tip of his gargantuan sword stabbed into the dirt with one gloved hand clutching the hilt. One of his legs was pulled up with the boot clad foot placed firmly against the stone, his knee almost touching his right shoulder.

If Leon remembered correctly, the blonde's name was Cloud.

Cloud turned his head toward Leon and opened his eyes, the same stormy blues that he had seen just before passing out. And from that, the brunette could rightfully assume that Cloud was the one who had saved him from the hordes of Heartless.

"So. You're awake."

The tone used was very quiet and soft, kept entirely monotone and flat. In the year that Cloud had been residing in Radiant Garden, Leon had never once heard him speak louder than what he had just heard. He seemed be a lot more hushed and less talkative than Leon was at times.

Leon got up off the rock, brushing dirt off his clothes. "Thank you for saving me."

"I was in the area. They would have attacked me anyway."

What Cloud said was undeniably true, all things considered. The Heartless went after anything and everything that possessed a heart, swallowing up entire worlds and dragging others hearts into the vast darkness in their neverending quest of obtaining them.

Cloud removed himself from the rock, pulling his sword out of the ground. Without so much as a glance back at Leon, the blonde proceeded to walked towards the entryway that had been created when the Heartless attacked their world while Sora was in Ansem's computer. The pathway was a long and twisting one, and Heartless littered that region far more than the rest of Radiant Garden, being the location of their world's castle that had once been in the possession of dark forces.

Leon only wondered briefly why Cloud was headed in that specific direction, but then an idea came to him that he felt he had to propose to the slowly retreating blonde.

"Hey, wait a second," Leon said, reaching out his hand.

Cloud stopped and turned his head, showing the he had heard Leon and silently permitting him to speak further.

"I was wondering if you would help us do repairs here."

The committee needed more hands for the maintenance their world needed, and while Sora was also an honored member of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, he wasn't available for the time being. And besides, Leon would have rather not bothered the teen for this since he wasn't in their world at the moment.

Cloud was quiet for a moment, turning his head away. "I'll pass."

The brunette was taken aback by Cloud's decline, the shock crossed over his scarred face for only a moment before he recovered. There was no point in him getting worked up without knowing the reason why he was rejected.

"What? Why not?"

Leon caught up to Cloud, standing only a few feet behind him.

"I'm not from here and I don't care."

Leon blinked in surprise. "This may not be where you're from, but it's where you are now. How can you say that you don't care?"

Cloud didn't bother to grace him with a suitable reply, choosing instead to continue his trek without saying another word.

After watching Cloud until he left his sight, Leon turned toward the metal gate and proceeded to obtain the data he had set out to get. Thankfully, the disc had not been damaged during the tense battle, however many times he had to protect it from harm beforehand.

Leon couldn't say that he was particularly down about their exchange, but it left a rather foul taste in his mouth that he could have done without. He was annoyed with how the blonde had so readily dismissed his broken home, not even caring about how anybody else felt about it. Cloud had saved him, perhaps for a different reason than what would have been expected, but the blonde had rescued him nonetheless.

In the back of his mind, he somewhat regretting having to get help from someone like that and then asking for more of the other's time. Cloud's fighting skills with such a heavy looking sword were noticeably exceptional, and he seemed to be tolerable company the few times Leon had run across him on the outskirts of town, but now, Leon wasn't sure what to think of Cloud anymore. Not after he seemed harder than stone when it regarded to helping them restore Radiant Garden.

Cloud had helped them out before when the Heartless invaded, but now he seemed reluctant to do more for the people living in this world. He was reclusive most of the time and rarely seen in town for longer than a few hours. And Leon had no idea where he was staying or even if he had a home to speak of. He always wore a bit of a dark expression on his face, eyebrows constantly drawn in for some reason, but the brunette hardly suspected that he would do any harm to them.

Not that he really knew what the blonde was thinking about. In truth, Cloud was a strange enigma to Leon, one he couldn't wrap his head around no matter how hard he tried.

Yuffie had walked off after Leon had finished telling his story and he was thankful for the offered peace. She may be quite annoying at times, but she knew when to back off at rare moments and he was thankful for it. Cid and Merlin were arguing over something again, probably about the data he had brought to them. Leon could only sigh at them and shake his head. The older men bickered more than small children would over a simple toy. Aerith, however, had stayed behind, eyes just as kind and sympathetic as ever.

"Try not to worry about it too much, Leon. I'm sure Cloud has his reasons."

He knew Aerith meant well with trying to console him, but it only made him more twisted up on the inside. He couldn't even begin to fathom about what could be more important than repairing their world. Everyone had their personal issues to handle, but setting them aside in order to help others when they needed it was just as significant as dealing with their own problems.

"Hard to see what those are," Leon replied softly.

"He's struggling with himself at the moment. Just give him some time. I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

Leon didn't bother to ask Aerith how she knew all this about Cloud. She always had a certain way of understanding things without having to question anybody else about them. It was a little otherworldly, but it did come in handy at times and they were all used to her hidden knowledge. But the prospect of Cloud's attitude lightening up seemed a little ridiculous.

"How do you know that it'll happen?"

He knew his tone was very skeptical, but he couldn't hold it back from entering his question.

Honestly, he couldn't really see it coming to pass, but Aerith seemed very sure of her claim. It was as if she knew Cloud better than anyone else who resided in Radiant Garden, was able to see the inner workings of his mind. However silent he remained all through the days spent in a different world, Aerith was able to read him very clearly.

She appeared to think on his query for a few moments before posing her own inquiry.

"Let me ask you this, Leon. If you really think Cloud can't be a kind person, then why did he stay behind for you to wake up? He could have just left you there alone, but he stayed."

Leon thought it over carefully. He had to admit that she had him on that point. What other reason would Cloud have to hang back long enough for Leon to awake besides acting on courtesy was unknown to him. In spite of the blonde's isolated way of life and lack of caring, he had still chosen to watch over Leon like a silent guardian of sorts, keeping an eye on someone who was unable to protect himself if danger happened to strike unexpectedly.

The brown haired girl smiled gently, happy to see that her words were understood. "I think he's progressing a little more than he realizes."

Author's Notes: Ok, first off, I'm not 100% on Cloud not being from Radiant Garden. I highly doubt it, but they haven't really said otherwise so I'm really just assuming here. Who knows, maybe I'm right. Anyway, I'm still expecting entries to my contest thing so feel free to give it a shot! You only need an imagination to do it! Please Review!

Thank You (Reviewers, Favers, and Alerters): Clockwork Phoenix, dragon_, Kareian, Kuroneko Hikage, Agatsuma Ritsuka, AekoAeviAthan, Khisanth et Enan, Arianna Nevaz Roo, Ashray1, dragondemoness91, GreenxxTulips, HeartAngel, It's not that, Valth001

Question: What are your personality goals for him? [Cloud]

keade: I try to stay in character as much as possible, or at least what I perceive from them during their interactions and internal struggles, but I do change things about them from time to time, as does any fanfiction author. Cloud is obviously troubled with the darkness (why can't they just say Sephiroth?) plaguing him and he withdraws from others in physical and emotional matters, as well as not sharing what he is thinking more often than not. I plan to keep him that way, although his future encounters with Leon will open up him, but just barely. Think of it like a tiny crack in a wall—something that grows over time unless it gets fixed. And yes I'm foreshadowing with that statement.