Chibified Youkai 101: Honestly, Chibi-chan here is probably my favourite reviewer, she's reviewed just about everything I've posted and gives the nicest reviews a girl could ever ask for, therefore this chapter's for you hun, enjoy. :D
Chapter Three
Night after Night I wake up
Shaking cause my world is breaking
I'm fool enough to fail again
Night after Night I wake up
Crying cause I feel like dying
Still disconnected.
-Night after Night (out of the shadows), Rasmus
XXX
"Aerith, Aerith!" Aerith murmured under her breath as a firm hand gripped her shoulder, shaking insistently. "Wake up!"
She sighed dreamily, turning over. "Five more minutes…"
A low amused snort responded. "Fine, but Yuffie burned down the kitchen. Pity really…"
"Yuffie…burned…kitchen?!" Aerith let out a shriek, jumping up from her mattress and looking around the cluttered room wildly. "Who let her in there? Good grief! Tell me it's salvageable."
"Told you it would wake her." Cid snickered, looking at Cloud triumphantly. Cloud shrugged indifferently, focusing intently on the pretty brunette as she slowly calmed down, green eyes darting to Merlin's bed and widening in surprise when she found it empty.
"Cid, where's Leon?"
The two blondes exchanged looks. Cid cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, that's what we wanna know darling. We were meant to meet at the café for breakfast. Bastard never showed up."
"He might be at the bailey." She suggested thoughtfully. "You know how he is about the restoration project."
"Fucker." Cid muttered, sighing his exasperation. "Alright, I'll go drag 'im to get something to eat."
Cloud fidgeted as Cid stormed back out, rubbing the back of his neck as Aerith started to pack away her bedding. "Um, Aerith? Can we talk later on?" As she turned around curiously, he drew in a steadying breath. "It's about Leon."
XXX
He didn't know why he was here. He'd awoken and cursed existence when a painful hangover made itself known before fumbling about the cupboards for a potion. He then threw his blanket over the shivering Aerith as she slept on obliviously before leaving. The next thing he knew he was standing outside the castle and then another blank before finding himself at his current location, debating whether or not he had the courage to go in.
Leon stood outside the castle's old music room with a hand out stretched to grab the doorknob. Small tremors shook his body as he glowered at the innocent door.
"This is ridiculous." He muttered angrily to himself, clenching his hands into fists. "It's just a room."
XXX
Cid had been searching for Leon for over an hour when Tifa and Yuffie emerged from the library. Tifa instantly shoved a plain folder into his hands, a dark look on her face. "Look at this. It's some sort of report."
Cid eyed the cover curiously before looking back up. "Where d'ya find it Tifa?"
"The library." Yuffie supplied before the other girl could reply, she wrinkled her nose as she added disdainfully. "Between two books on weed killers."
Cid snorted. "I'm surprised you found it then."
Yuffie pouted, her arms folded over her chest as she tipped her back to look up hurtfully at the man.
"That look don't work on me Yuffie." He grunted flicking the folder open. He gave the front page a quick glance, freezing when a sentence at the end caught his eye. He read over it again more carefully, his cigarette falling from his mouth as the blood drained from his face.
"Cid?" Tifa asked hesitantly. "Are you okay?"
"Who else has seen this?" He asked quietly.
"No one." She replied casting an uneasy glance at Yuffie. The look was returned. "Cid, what is this about? I meant it's obvious that the experiments into the heart went a little further then anyone believed but-"
"Now listen to me." Cid cut in swiftly, hands clenching the thin folder tightly. "No one is hear about this, got that? I'll deal with it, which means I'll keep this with me. Just don't talk about it, clear?"
Yuffie opened her mouth to speak but promptly snapped it shut when she caught Cid's dark look. Nodding she looked back up at Tifa. The older woman was frowning, lips a thin white line as her brows furrowed. Reluctantly they both nodded. Though, Cid knew from the hard light in Yuffie's eyes that she wasn't going to drop it. No doubt she'd nag him for information the instant she found him alone.
Dandy.
XXX
Trembling fingers grasped the innocuous doorknob, curling around the silver appendage as Leon tried to muster up the courage to enter the room.
"It's just a room." He murmured to himself, fingers tightening on the knob. "It's just a room."
The image of his Dalmatian, skull cracked and blood trickling from her head flashed through his mind, Xehanort's golden eyes simmering with malice quickly replacing it as a steady hand held up a familiar knife…
Leon choked, stumbling back until he hit the other wall, sliding down to curl up shaking.
It was more than just a room.
XXX
The broken balcony near the Castle Chapel provided a lovely view of the mountains north of the city. Cloud sat on the edge staring wistfully over the expanse of mountains, turned golden in the light of the sunset, a touch of purple tinged the small cap of snow at their tips. His eyes fixed on a mountain towards the west, pinpointing a spot roughly two-thirds up the snowy forest-covered slope; the spot where his home town sat. He sighed quietly, bringing a knee up to his chest and slinging an arm over it.
From the corner of his eye he saw a slim figure in pink sit beside him, slender legs tucking under her as she sat facing him.
"Cloud?"
He looked over at her as she shifted uneasily, emerald eyes troubled as they peered up at him.
"You wanted to talk about Leon earlier…?"
He nodded, shifting his body to face her, legs crossing as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Um, yesterday at the Bailey, Leon…something happened…erm…" he made a helpless gesture with his hands.
Aerith smiled sympathetically, understanding settling in her green eyes. "An episode." She finished softly. "He told me about it last night."
His eyebrow rose again, a frown quickly forming. "An…episode?"
Aerith made her own little helpless gesture. "It's what we call them."
"Them?" Cloud's voice sharpened, his face contorting in anger. "This happens often?'
She sighed, turning to look over the landscape, her hands wringing in her lap. "Unfortunately," She admitted quietly. "Leon…has a rather traumatic past. The episodes…well, flashbacks, really. He gets pulled into his mind and vividly relives moments of his childhood." She rubbed her shoulder awkwardly. "He tends to be out of it for awhile after one happens, like his senses are muted." She shrugged helplessly. "He differentiates the world by pain and comfort in those moments."
Cloud frowned again, shifting on his spot as he sought something to say. "What happened?" He finally settled on lamely.
Aerith shook her head sadly, her fingers tightly interweaving in front of her as she stood up. "I can't tell you that Cloud, it's not my right." She bit her lower lip, looking at him pleadingly. "You won't…bother Leon about this will you? He doesn't want anyone to know something's wrong."
"Something is wrong." He snapped moodily, sweeping a glare over the castle behind them. "Leon needs help."
"I know that." She agreed softly. "But I can't force Leon to do talk about it." She drew in a breath, continuing shakily. "It's horrible Cloud, believe me, you haven't seen the worst of it, Leon's so broken, and sometimes I wonder if we can ever piece him back together."
Cloud bit back a sharp rebut, drawn to the tears shimmering precariously in Aerith's eyes as she worried her lower lip, looking up at him so pleadingly that he withdrew with a soft grunt.
"I should get back to work."
XXX
Work at the Bailey, to say the least, was uncomfortable. It was midsummer and the sun was beating mercilessly on their backs as the group began the last of the clearing. Merlin fidgeted uneasily at the stiff silence as he sent another pile of rubble walking over to the machine Cid was using to break them into tiny pieces. Cloud was working diligently on debris near the magician while Leon kept a frosty distance, working far on the other side of the site, rebuilding the wall on the cleared area with the help of a group of townspeople.
Yuffie was ready to scream.
It was too quiet, too orderly and waaaaay too dull.
So when somebody screamed, it could be viewed as understandable that she almost laughed in relief until others started to panic, weapons quickly drawn while the townspeople ran back into the city. Clutching her own weapon she followed Aerith's dark gaze and turned around, eyes widening as her jaw dropped a little in shock.
Well, fuck.
Along the cliff facing the city gates and on the path in front of it was an army of Heartless. For a moment it was still and silent then it was as if she'd blinked; the Heartless were charging forward as the committee members hurtled towards them, weapons flashing as the sun hit them before dulling as they sliced through the creatures, hearts floating up to the sky.
The sun was beginning to set by the time they'd managed to destroy all the Heartless.
Cid muttered a curse under his breath, rubbing his shoulder as his pike clattered to the ground. "Damn."
"Second that." Yuffie panted raising a hand from where she lay on the ground. "Can't they attack in winter? It's too hot right now!"
Tifa snorted in amusement as she dusted off her gloves, looking around the site ruefully. "So much for clearing."
Cid winced as he looked around the chaotically messy site. "Fuck, almost worse than when we began."
Above them a Surveillance Robot Heartless fired a shot at the bailey. The noise alerting the group to lone Heartless which Yuffie nailed with a well aimed throwing knife seconds after part of the bailey exploded, sending a wave of rock and concrete thundering down onto the construction site.
They scattered, scrambling backwards just as the first pieces hit the ground with loud cracks. Coughs permeated the air as thick clouds of dust swirled around them. Cid lifted his shirt to cover his mouth and nose as he slapped his goggles over his eyes with his other hand. "Y'all alright?" He hollered.
Merlin answered him as he waved his wand, dispelling the dust. "Yes, yes, I think we're all fine Cid. Dear me." He muttered taking his dust-ridden glasses off and beginning to clean them. Behind him, Yuffie and Tifa were shaking the dust off of their clothes and hair; Cloud calmly swept the dust off of his shoulders and helping Aerith to her feet.
After hurriedly looking around, Aerith startled everyone with a loud cry, darting towards the large pile of fallen debris and hurriedly digging through it. Soft sobs shook her body as she tried to tear through it, sharp pieces of rock slicing her fingers open and cutting her arms as she threw them back.
"Aerith!" Curling an arm around her waist Cloud hauled her back, almost letting her go when she struggled, wincing as a sharp thumb nail took a chunk of skin from his wrist. "Calm down!"
"Leon!" She cried, frantically trying to pull herself out of his grip. "Leon's under there! Let me go! Leon!"
Everyone froze as a rock fell away to reveal a black glove clenched loosely around the gunblade, Cloud's grip loosened in shock allowing Aerith to slip out of his grip and hurry forward again. Cid jumped forward and pulled her back as Merlin lifted his wand and quickly levitated the debris and placed it over by the cliff to reveal Leon lying face down, one leg bent at an odd angle and frighteningly still. Yuffie uttered a low cry, hiding her face against Tifa's side as the woman paled, a hand flying to her mouth. Cid cursed loudly, Aerith whimpered, taking a few steps forward before stopping again, hand outstretched and trembling.
'No. he's just unconscious. He's not…he's not. Not him. Nononono.' Cloud's heart was pounding thunderously in his ribcage, his entire body clammy and cold as he forced himself to move forward, his limbs feeling unnaturally heavy as he knelt beside Leon and gently turning him onto his back. Cloud felt a choking fear engulf him as he looked over the brunet; clothes torn and exposed pale skin covered in cuts and bruises, the painless expression on Leon's pale face streaked grey from dust, and the stillness of his chest almost convinced Cloud that the other was dead as he sought out Leon's pulse with shaky fingers.
Relief flooded him when he felt a faint throbbing beneath his fingers. His expression lightening as warmth returned to his body, washing over him like waves over the shore. "He's alive." He rasped as Merlin knelt beside him, a green light seeping from the aged magician's fingers to Leon. Bruises disappeared as cuts stitched themselves together, Cloud grimaced as the broken leg snapped back together, tightening his grip around Leon's shoulders as he watched his chest slowly rise and fall again, painful wheezes slipping past pink lips as colour slowly returned to Leon's face.
"T-that was too close." Merlin uttered as he stood again, wringing his hands. "We almost would've been attending a funeral."
"But he'll be okay right?" Yuffie's quiet voice pulled the elder's attention to where she stood clutching Tifa's arm, eyes bright and as wide as dinner plates as she stared at him worriedly.
Merlin nodded, a smile crinkling his face as he looked back down at the unconscious male. "He'll need bed rest for awhile. Magic can only do so much, his body needs time to recuperate and complete the healing process. He shouldn't walk on that leg for awhile either." He stroked his beard thoughtfully as he looked skyward. "He'll most likely maintain half consciousness for another week or so. It would be best if someone could stay with him at all times."
"I will." Cloud spoke up as he stood, Leon cradled carefully in his arms.
Cid looked uncertain. "If you're sure…"
Aerith smiled faintly, placing a hand on Cid's arm as she nodded. "He can handle it. Thank you, Cloud." She looked over at Tifa imploringly. "Is your bar finished? He can't stay at the castle or at Merlin's; neither is peaceful enough with all the committee work there."
"The bar and my flat above it." Tifa replied proudly as she gestured in the general direction of the marketplace while fishing in her pocket with her spare hand and withdrawing a small key. "It's on the other side of the shops Cloud, same name as the old one." She grinned cheekily as she slipped the key into his pocket. "Put him in the master bedroom, the guest room's a little drafty. You can have that one."
Cloud nodded once before turning on his heel and carefully making his way back into the city, vividly conscious of the weight of Leon's head against his shoulder and light warm breath rhythmically puffing against the side of his neck.
XXX
"Cloud? Cloud! Wake up."
Gentle hands shaking him by the shoulder pulled out of the world of sleep, Cloud raised foggy eyes to stare up at the blurry pink image as it spoke.
"Have you been sitting there all night? That's not very healthy now, is it?" Aerith watched him with amusement. The utterly unfocused look as he stared first at her then at the room before performing a nose-dive back into the burrow of his arms was entertaining to say the least. She shook her head as soft snores rose from the blonde, clucking her tongue in good humour before picking up a jug of icy water from the dresser and calmly pouring it over his head.
Cloud tumbled from his chair with a yelp. Teeth clattering loudly he looked up with a frosty glare, the cold-induced shivers ruining any intimidation he may have had.
Unperturbed Aerith gestured towards the bed where Leon lay fast asleep. "Has he woken at all?"
"He's been peaceful." He answered softly with a slight shake of his head.
Aerith sat at the end of the bed silently watching as Cloud smoothed the blankets and tucked them in tighter, brushing dark bangs out of Leon's face whenever they fell over his eyes and nose. After a moment she smiled, shoulders relaxing as she lifted her head, a finger tapping Cloud's shoulder as she fixed brilliant green eyes on him.
"What are your feelings for Leon, Cloud?"
XXX To Be Continued.
Guh, flames are heading my way I know it, but gimmie a break, I'm writing this at an unearthly hour.