Like The Sun, Like The Moon

Chapter Four

Within an instant, the girl had reached their table and peeled a drunken Reno off a rather distressed Leon, dropping her redheaded friend's groggy form carelessly on the table as she introduced herself.
"Hello there, I'm Yuffie, and I'm really sorry if that jerk bothered you in any way." She clapped her hands in front of her and bowed in an apologetic way before sitting down on one of the last two chairs at the table, directly next to Leon.

"This is Pierre," she stated, gesturing vaguely towards the young brunette man who had just taken the remaining seat beside her. With these formalities being taken care of, she turned back to the admittedly rather intriguing black-haired stranger next to her and grinned. "So what's your name?"

For quite a long moment, he was merely eyeing suspiciously. Who would have guessed the energetic little girl he had once known had become the alcohol-addicted friend of a turk?
Don't think that about her, he mentally scolded himself and finally answered her question with a plain and simple "Leon."

He hadn't even finished the 'on' of his latest alias when Yuffie was already continuing her chatter. "You know, you seem somewhat familiar," she spoke at an amazing tempo, "Have we ever met before? Maybe here in Junon? Or in the forests?"

He could have answered her immediately. 'No' was technically not even a lie. She hadn't met the persona of Leon before. And he was going to tell her that. However, he was not willing to answer her straight away. If she was babbling like a waterfall, he would stammer like a brook. Simple.

Half a minute of intensive eye contact had passed when he finally decided to declare his answer.

"No."

As expected, she responded in an instant, "If we've never met before, then maybe I've seen you in the papers? Or maybe I know one of your relatives? Say, what do you do for a living? And where do you come from? C'mon, tell me!"

Leon blinked, and so did Pierre. The girl had just spoken these words without even as much as breathing. Which wasn't very healthy for either side of the table.
But well, he'd give them lots of time to recover; since the girl had obviously just beat the records with her supernatural speech tempo, he would take as long he needed to think of a short yet honest answer to all her questions. And most likely, even a tad longer.

After only a short while, Pierre seemed to comprehend and bemusedly approve of the method Leon was using to teach the girl some proper speaking manners. Said girl, however, still showed no sign of understanding as she waited expectantly for the response she'd certainly get any moment now… would she?

When after several long minutes he still hadn't said a word, she honestly wondered what was wrong with him. He caretinly looked as though he would start speaking every moment. However, he simply didn't.
Nonetheless, he didn't appear to be someone who would mock her, and besides he really didn't have a reason for that. So maybe he had problems with articulating his thoughts? A mental disease or something?

She was had just opened her mouth to discreetly ask him about this when he finally decided to respond.

"Actually…" He might have begun speaking, but he didn't particularly hurry in doing so. In fact, he was talking as slowly as possible and made just another time-consuming break before continuing, "I joined SOLDIER in Midgar after all my relatives had…expired."
Precise and concise. Just the way he liked it. His twelve-word answer contained all the information she had demanded and he still hadn't lied to her. Indeed, Hojo was still alive somewhere, but having him as a father was like having no father at all. Thus, he didn't lie when claiming not to have any family whatsoever.

It was then that Pierre decided to officially join the party. "I'm sorry for your relatives," he said with a polite kind of sympathy, but went on in a far less formal manner, "So you're really in SOLDIER? Which class?"

Turning his attention to Yuffie's date, Leon smirked in his special, approving way. At least this one had understood it. Or maybe, he simply wasn't as hyperactive a person as Yuffie to begin with. Either way, he had spoken the first, moderate words the ex-general had heard in what seemed like whole centuries, thus he would be rewarded with an equally conversational answer.

"First class," Leon stated relatively casually as he leant back on his chair, "But not anymore. I left SOLDIER a while ago after a…nasty incident."
Watching the man sitting opposite of him, he could see him flinching at the mention of an incident. Obviously, the guy knew what this could mean in a company like ShinRa Inc. Yet although tales of such occurrences tended to be as intriguing as they were disturbing, he had the courtesy not to indulge into this matter any further, a decision Sephiroth couldn't help but appreciate.

"But if you were a First Class," Pierre spoke, "then you've got to be pretty strong, right?"

Shrugging nonchalantly, Leon took a sip of his rum and answered vaguely, "I guess so."

"I wish I coulda made it to SOLDIER," the brunette guard admitted as he broke the eye contact whilst leaning back and staring pensively up at the greyish ceiling.

"If you had asked me five years ago, we could have traded," Leon answered truthfully when he, too, looked upward to simply watch Nothing In Particular.

Ever since Pierre had spoken, Yuffie had been following their conversation with increasing bewilderment. Now, that seemed to have come to some silent agreement and collectively preferred the ceiling to a conversation with her, she didn't have much of another chance but to change from Happy Fellow Mode into Raging Shinobi With Kunai Knives. Granted, she'd left her weapons at home to prevent any further Late Night Massacres – and no, she did not want to speak about it – but she was pretty mad nevertheless.

"Just what the hell is wrong with you!" she yelled at no one in particular as she rose within a second, her chair causing a horrible screeching sound in the process, and glared repeatedly from Pierre to Leon and back.

While the younger and far less experienced of the two had practically jumped out of his seat and hit his head on the wall due to her little outburst, a certain ex-General hadn't even blinked in surprise. He had been expecting such a reaction, and he certainly wouldn't feign any shock whatsoever just to do her a little favour.
Instead, he leisurely tilted his head in her direction and watched the girl with the wonderfully weary stare of his that had managed to discourage even the bravest men.
Not that it was particularly evil or anything; it simply said 'What is it now!' in a nice, disparaging and completely bored way. More often than not, that alone was enough to unsettle, if not intimidate, just about everyone.

And indeed, Yuffie, albeit mad as the devil, flinched visibly and wouldn't move afterwards.

Since when has mocking her been so much fun? he wondered distantly as he waited for her reaction.

Yet for a long moment, she wouldn't even as much as glimpse. Instead, she kept standing completely still. The quiet before the storm, Leon mused as he watched her face becoming redder and redder, Not to be taken literally though, as it is indeed far too noisy in here. Never left his eyes her form as he distractedly took another gulp of his rum. He didn't know just why he kept drinking. After all it didn't quite change anything. Oh well, he'd go on anyways. Old habits die hard.

Plonk. He hadn't expected the bottle to cause such a loud noise once placed back on the table. But considering the tension in the air, it wasn't that surprising.

Plonk. Apparently, Pierre had just managed to drag himself back onto his chair. And still, Yuffie looked somewhat bothered – was it fury or embarrassment? – but hadn't moved an inch. The brownish shades of her hair and eyes contrast with her red skin nicely, Leon pondered with a slight smirk.

Plonk. Without any kind of warning, the ninja sat down on her chair as though nothing had happened.

Leon blinked. He had expected anything, but not that. Thus, after clearing his throat, he inquired rather carefully, "I don't mean to be rude, but…" He frowned slightly. "…just what held you back right now?"

As she returned his gaze, he her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You," she answered with an odd glare in his direction, "trigger off the strangest…memories."

He raised an eyebrow. She narrowed her eyes further.

So much for that.

Obviously she preferred avoiding this certain topic, or else Yuffie wouldn't have simply omitted any further explanation and turned to her other companion instead.
"Hey, Pierre, you didn't hit your head again, did you?" she asked in a rather caring way as she patted his shoulder gently.

The guard started scratching the back of his head. "I'm afraid so," he responded sheepishly and frowned, "You really shouldn't do things like that, you know."

The reproachful look Pierre cast at her was enough to make just about any girl feel ashamed for her behaviour. However, although he was still watching her attentively, Leon/Sephiroth couldn't quite make out whether Yuffie was flushing or not. Indeed, it was quite likely, but her face was still far too red to allow anything blush-like to be visible.

I wonder, he pondered whilst wordlessly observing the fairly amicable scene between the girl and her escort, just what these 'strangest memories' contain. He smirked. Interrogating her might be fun. However, as entertaining as it might become, asking her about certain memories she associated with him might lead to troublesome conclusions. If she really found out his true identity – which wasn't very probable but still possible, since he hadn't really tried hard to behave like someone else – he would have to deal with bothersome repercussions he'd favour avoiding.

And that is exactly why he decided against Asking Stupid Questions and in favour of Making A Quick Retreat ASAP. As to all appearances the girl was currently completely occupied with her whiny friend, this was as good a chance for a strategic withdrawal as any he was going to get this evening.

Certainly, being the attentive observer he was, he had repeatedly noticed Yuffie throwing a quick glance at him out of the corner of her eye, but as she had obviously tried to hide her interest, he had decided to tactfully ignore it.

He would simply get up and leave them be. Which was better for either of them, really. Enabling the girl a bright future by not stepping into her life again was something he was certain he would never regret. However it was a pity he couldn't realize the plans he had developed for the turk still dozing semiconsciously on the table in front of him.

Well, one can't have everything, he told himself with a sigh as he noiselessly rose from his chair. At least, he himself didn't make a sound. The chair was a different matter though; it screeched deafeningly and therefore attracted the attention of everyone within a radius of ten metres. Yuffie and Pierre included.

Consequently, they immediately stared up at Leon in utter surprise. Which looked rather funny, since they had just started dozing on the table. Not due to their drunkenness, no – Leon was sure they hadn't even had any alcohol so far – but rather because they seemed to be trying to see things from Reno's current point of view. In other words, they were making fun of the poor redhead. Oh well. He really couldn't blame them. Reno was the perfect mockery victim after all.

Unlike the dozing turk who was completely unaware of his surroundings, both Yuffie and Pierre seemed to be rather saddened by the prospect of her companion's soon departure. In fact, they looked so disappointed that Leon almost felt sorry he wouldn't attend this little get-together any longer.

Almost.

He didn't allow that puny trace of a bad conscience to hinder him, though, as he opened his mouth to express some final words.

Yet before he had the chance, the most unlikely person to speak did just that. "Yo, L'on," Reno muttered as he lazily turned on the table to stare at his buddy reproachfully, "y'ain't leavin' 'lready, are ya?"

Tilting his head a little, the ex-SOLDIER eyed the drunken man on the table who, for some odd reason, strangely reminded him of a helpless child. And, what was even weirder, the dazed look on the redhead's face as well as the saliva dripping out of the corner of his mouth practically forced Leon to treat the turk like a nine-year-old.

Thus he couldn't help but bend down to the limp form spread on the table and tell him somewhat apologetically, "I'm afraid I must." After that, he wordlessly released the redhead from his apparently painful position on the table and placed him safely back on the chair. "I can't afford missing the next ship to Costa del Sol, and I've still got to take care of some things beforehand. Of course I would love to skip it, but my attendance is…compulsory."

For a while, the turk simply sat there pouting. "N'xt time ya'll stay l'nger, m'kay?" he finally ordered.

Patting the child's head reassuringly, Leon bent forward to him and answered with a smile that totally opposed his words, "There won't be a next time, I'm afraid. It's not very likely that I'll return to Junon."

"So saaaad," Reno mumbled in utter disappointment and let his head drop to emphasize his point. And without any further delay, he dozed off once again.

Now addressing the table's remaining two occupants, Leon stated matter-of-factly, "I guess, I've really got to get going."

"And you'll really never come back?" Pierre inquired in utter disappointment.

At this, his latest companion merely shrugged. "At least it's not likely, considering…I've got a place to live way up in the north."

The young guard looked so sad that Leon couldn't help but add, "However, in case I'll ever be able to, I'll return and keep you company, okay? At least it's possible, albeit not very likely." Just why the guy seemed to have taken a fancy to him, he honestly had no clue. And just like it had been with Reno, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to know. Maybe he really should have chosen a less attractive appearance. Not that it was that much of a problem right now anyway – He was almost done here. He'd simply leave the pub and disguise as someone else.

Hence he cleared his throat and appealed to his current company one last time, "Anyway, it has been a very amusing evening with the two of you." He paused briefly as a genuine yet almost invisible smile formed on his face. "Take care of each other, and farewell."

With that, he turned and strode out of the pub without any further delay.

Leaving Reno drunken, Pierre disappointed and Yuffie wide-eyed.

Afterwards, those remaining sat in silence for several long minutes.

Until Yuffie jumped up, shouted a "Dammit!" of utter irritation and ran after him, that is.

She hadn't known him long. They hadn't even spoken much. And still, Leon reminded her so much of him…
So much she almost couldn't bear it.
But if she didn't take this chance, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
Even if this man wasn't her Sephiroth, he resembled him so much…
So much that it felt like getting to know him all over again.
Some sort of a second chance maybe, in a bizarre kind of way.

A second chance she was neither willing not able to miss.

No. She would not simply tolerate him leaving her behind.

Not this time.

End Of Chapter Five

A/N: It's funny just how many notes I decided to write into the A/Ns while still writing/editing the chapter, and just how many of them I have forgotten by now. Oh well, at least I won't bother you with any unnecessary ramblings :p

I hope you liked this chapter, and I hope you'll tell me your opinion in a nice, little review!

Because reviews are great, and reviewers are even greater!

Hence, Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar, Gining, saharasfury, Vermillion Dragoness, Lifewish and Sonicron belong to the greatest people in the whole world, because they took some of their time to review the last chapter, which I am really grateful for. You guys are wonderful!

Nevertheless, I'll only be able to update every week or so from now on. Granted, this isn't quite as often as I'd love to, but since school has started again and is even more unnerving than it used to be before the holidays, I won't have too much time for writing anymore. Sadly.

But anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing!

Greetings,
Linnya

Oh, and by the way, as you might have noticed, I have been naming the chapters after songs on the official FF7 OST up until now. But as some of the titles didn't seem fitting enough, I decided to break with that tradition and renamed some of the chapters.