"Promising Entirely."
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Squall's leather pants, or any discoveries made on the topic of bipolar disease. Thank you.
A/N: This chapter features a CloudAerith moment and a temper tantrum from Squall. Enjoy, for that is all I have to say!
Deplora: I'm glad you liked the story line. Since it was the first chapter, that's a good thing! I hope you continue to like it, though. I'm terribly sorry about my muse hurting yours by the way. I shall have to throughly punish it, since the last thing I need is you to have a sullen, leon-like muse. hands you a Squall plushie For your army, of course.
Kimou: Why thank you! I'm afraid this chapter isn't quite as cute but I hope you enjoy it!
Ghettotaku: AH! Isn't it? Along with conspicuous. And dumpling. And you used "squee!" in your review! That is the best non-existant word ever. I praise you for your knowledgeableness in words.
Yuffie Kisaragi2: More rare is the time that squffie fans are IN our right minds. We're all very rabid, or most of us anyway. Which is why its good we have a community, so we take our rabidness out on eachother instead on innocent bystanders. Hehe! I'm glad you liked it! Sorry it took me awhile to update, but now that school is here its a little harder.
The Contessa: AH! Ritz Bitz! I LOVE Ritz Bits! Thank you mucho! hands you a Squall plushie Since you were cool enough to give me crackers and for reviewing.
Joy Blue: Its reviews like yours that make me the most happy. I really hope you like this chapter, although its not as cute as the last. But it will get more cute as the story goes on!
It was a tingling sensation that covered his skin when Squall stepped through the large wooden doors of the west entrance. The warmth from the fires touched his skin instantly as his lungs gasped for breath from breathing cold air so long. Still, the tingly feeling did nothing to lighten his mood as he stepped on to the plush carpet. In fact, he glared moodily at the cackling flames that were blaring to his left. Cursed it for making the castle warm when it should have been cold without its people here.
His companions would all like to pretend that everything had gone back to normal. But they were mistaken. Hollow Bastion was almost empty, its villages occupied by less than a third of its original population. Its climate was in disarray, increasingly cold each day and freezing even the littlest of waters in the cold country where the castle stood. The World was injured and it wasn't going to get better no matter how much the Three Musketeers pretended everything was alright.
His feet made a loud thud each time they stepped down on the stairs, fists clenching and unclenching in unexplained anger. The castle was so lifeless and empty he could feel it, making the tingling in his skin a mockery. Nothing should be warm or happy here. Not while the World was still lifeless. Dark blue irises darkened, and Leon pushed open the doors to the library with a bang.
Yuffie and Cloud were lying in the middle of the floor, heads resting together and bodies vertical to each other as they read. Aerith was on the second level, frowning at a set of dusty yellow books and trying to rearrange them in logical order. Squall stood in the doorway with his dark thoughts, willing himself not to soften at the sight of them...living.
Yuffie felt Cloud's head shift as his hair brushed against hers. She refused to look up on Leon's dramatic entrance, knowing without looking that he was angry about one thing or another. Although she wanted him to be at least a little happy, she'd tried and failed many times to speak to him when he got in one of his 'moods.' She settled her head against Cloud's again as he turned back to his book, raising her voice a little over a mutter so Leon would hear.
"Is that Leon?" She flipped a page casually in her book.
"Yeah." Cloud flipped a page in his own, fighting a grin as Leon glared at them.
"Is he in a good mood today?" She asked, raising her voice a tiny bit more.
"Nope." Cloud informed her, turning his gaze to Leon, who had molded his face to look impassive, ignoring them as he leafed through a book Aerith had left on the table. Yuffie tilted her head around to grin at Cloud, groaning as she sat up and tossing her book to the side.
"So how was training today, Leon?" Yuffie questioned as she stood. "Kill any, you know, rabbits?"
Aerith turned from the upper bookshelf, giving her a look from behind Leon's back that clearly told her to cut it out. Yuffie shrugged under her gaze, sliding her book back into its appropriate slot. Leon continued to ignore all of them, attempting to calm his already fueled anger before he said something to her that would get Aerith and Cloud upset. It was a difficult process, however, as Yuffie stood behind his back to read over his shoulder.
"Whatcha reading?" Yuffie said cheerfully, getting at least an annoyed sigh out of him.
"Ten Ways to Kill a Ninja." He told her seriously. "Want to read it?"
"Its snowing again." Cloud said quietly, interrupting what would have been an argument.
Aerith smiled down at him and hopped off the ladder to join him at the window. Yuffie smiled as Cloud wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close as they watched the magical white fluff fall to the ground. She couldn't be happier for the pair of them, gushy more than disgusted of how much they were in love. As far as she was concerned, they deserved all the public affection they wanted, after what they'd been through. Leon continued to ignore them, and Yuffie felt a swift buzz of anger at him for not even being a little happy for Aerith. Aerith who'd healed them after battles, Aerith who'd been their friend.
"Come on." Yuffie said to him. "Let's leave them alone."
"Its not their library." He muttered, but got up anyway, closing Ten Ways to Kill a Ninja with a tantrum-like snap and walking heavily out of the library. Yuffie caught up with him quickly, fed up with his sullen and slightly childish behavior. And he called her a child? Ha!
"What's with you today?" She questioned as he strode ahead of her and down the hall.
"I'm having second thoughts about this place." He growled, banging his shoulder roughly against the wall as he turned the corner.
"It appears to me that you actually have bipolar disorder." She caught up with him and grabbed his arm, fingers clutching tightly to the leather of his jacket. Leon's whole body leaned away from her as if he longed to rip himself away and continue his torrent down the hall. But he stilled, and Yuffie took that chance to catch her breath. "Second thoughts? Squall, it's a little late for second thoughts. We've been here for at least three years."
"Leon." He said, brushing her off.
"Look, is this about this morning?" She tilted her head, trying to get a proper look of his face. His bangs were flat over his eyes again, his lips pulled in tightly. Sure, she loved to annoy and frustrate him. But it was rare that she made him this angry. "I didn't want to make you this mad."
"Don't be stupid." He scoffed, lifting his head and allowing his cold eyes to meet hers for the briefest of moments. "Nothing you can say will faze me in the least."
She snorted. "Right. You should really stop acting so cheerful, Squall. It will ruin your image."
He turned his face away from hers, fists clenching at his sides as he brushed past her. Yuffie watched as his face disappeared behind his hair again, remembering how he'd used to hate his bangs. Remembering how his eyes used to be bright and cheerful, showing every emotion as it was felt. She remembered the nice boy she had once loved as she watched the cold, leather-clad man he'd turned into walk away from her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or scream, but she did know that fate was a cruel, cruel aspect of life.
"You don't remember do you?"
He turned his head back to look at her in confusion. "What?"
She took a single step forward, shaking her head sadly. "I thought that maybe you were pretending. I thought you did remember and you were just lying by saying you don't."
He sighed. "Remember what, Yuffie?"
"When I..." The young ninja seemed to change her mind half way through her sentence, eyes closing as she hesitated and finally sighed. "We used to be friends."
His eyes flickered for a second. Squall Leonhart eyed the tiny young woman standing at the end of the hall. Her expression wasn't sad as much as it was regretful, as if she thought somehow that how he felt was her fault. A part of him that he'd long since killed wanted to reach out to her, reassure her that it wasn't entirely her fault. But the emptiness of the castle still buzzed against his skin and he turned away. He always turned away.
"Things change." He told her, his voice hoarse. "We changed."
"I know." She said quietly. "I'm more grown-up then you think."
He closed his eyes, turning his head away and making his way up the hall again. Yuffie sighed sadly in her place, turning her own back and preparing to find something to do with her time. She could no longer relate to him. She didn't know who he was anymore.
"Squall," She said, before he reached the end of the hall. "Its not..my fault, is it?"
He wasn't sure what she was talking about. But that part of him that seemed to becoming alive again, despite his desperation not to let it live, burst through his heart like a ray of light and controlled his voice before he could think.
"No." He murmured, gloved hand closing over his bedroom door. "No."
Yuffie stood in the hall with her back turned long after he had gone into his bedroom and shut his door. Dark blue eyes stared intensely at the red lining of the carpet, fingers tapping rhythmically against her sides. Then her thoughts cleared, smile spreading over her face as she stretched her arms above her head. If Squall wasn't going to try, she was going to make him. Yes, she would make him remember. Her mother's last words of advice were important to her, after all. Keep your clothes neat;
And always keep your promises.
Ehh. Bleh. It's a chapter. And its here. And its written, and for once I don't feel so bad about not being happy about it. You know, its amazing really. I've decided not to rewrite any of my stories, because my earliest stories are the crapiest of the crap. But its shown how much I've grown and learned how to write. And I may not be amazing, but at least I know I'm a little bit better than I was when I started, right? Right.
Keee! Hope you enjoyed! Review please!