Leonhart-less: All Amethyst will say is that you're half right…Please say you won't get mad cause I won't elaborate, I can do the puppy eyes… oooh, thanks for point out the typos, I'm re-re-checking them now.

Chibified-Youkai101: don't worry hun, so long as you enjoy it I don't care how short your reviews are (so long as you do review!). I'm still going to glomp you.

Andromeda90: Thank you I was actually a little worried about that last line, thought it might've been corny...

Silver-Angel-Wings: Thank you, hope you enjoy this chapter.

(Did I leave any regular reviewers out? Please tell me I didn't cause I really wanted to acknowledge you guys and yes, I'm glomping the life out of you all)

A/N: This was meant to be posted earlier but I wasn't having a very good time lately so the update was delayed.

You know what I realised though? This is the fifth chapter and the stars of this fic have barely interacted with each other…hoo boy.

This is me for forever
One without a name
These lines the last endeavour
To find the missing lifeline

Oh how I wish
For soothing rain
All I wish is to dream again
My loving heart
Lost in the dark
For hope I'd give my everything
Nemo by Nightwish

Chapter Five

Aerith hurried through the borough towards Tifa's, waving quickly to Merlin as she darted past his cottage and around the corner. Yuffie was jogging alongside her with barely contained excitement. Once the marketplace came into view the ninja took off running with a whoop. Aerith slowed down, trying to regulate her breath as she walked across the square, waving politely to shopkeepers before darting around the corner to the bar. The door had been left swinging open in Yuffie's wake; a few gob smacked customers staring drunkenly at the stairs behind the bar as the girl could be heard shrieking her glee from above in the form of 'Leon! You are awake!'

Aerith shook her head lightly, sharing a quick look with Tifa before disappearing upstairs, her skirts swishing noisily in accompaniment to the thuds of her boots. A bright smile lit her features as she walked into the bedroom and found Leon half-sitting up in bed, slowly being choked by Yuffie's hug, grey eyes wide in horror as they swung around to stare her imploringly. She chuckled softly and started forward, hands rising to pry Yuffie off when another set, belonging to muscular arms, beat her to it. Black gloves creaked slightly as the ninja' s arms were gripped tightly and tugged away from Leon, the girl lifted up almost effortlessly and deposited in a chair. She pouted, raising sulky eyes to the impassive blue set staring down at her. Aerith watched in interest as she quietly sat down on the other side of the bed, a hand patting Leon's shoulder absently.

Cloud raised an eyebrow as Yuffie's pouting increased; her eyes widening imploringly as her lip jutted out further with a threat of tears. A small smirk quirked one corner of his mouth as he folded his arms, eyebrow lowering as he stared back resolutely. "No."

Slouching in her seat, Yuffie averted her eyes huffily as she gave a low incoherent mutter.

"Leon does need air to live, Yuffie." Aerith placated soothingly. "You can hug him when he's better." She ignored the startled look the man threw at her, smiling sweetly as she patted his hand. "How are you feeling Leon?"

"Like a ton of bricks fell on me." He replied dryly.

Yuffie snorted loudly. Cloud lifted a hand and calmly cuffed her on the head. She slouched down further, rubbing her head and glowering up at him darkly. He ignored her as he gathered up the dirty dishes from breakfast and took them downstairs. Yuffie stuck her tongue out at his back.

An hour or so later when black clouds loomed closer with the threat of a storm, Aerith forced Yuffie to leave with her, urging Leon to get some rest as she ushered the protesting girl downstairs and called out a farewell to Tifa and Cloud. Leon shook his head as he slumped back against the pillows, eyes sinking closed. His brows furrowed as the door creaked open again a minute later, cracking one eye open and then the other as Cloud walked in and sat on the edge of his bed, staring down at him. Leon tilted his head curiously as Cloud made a few attempts to talk, mouth opening and closing like a fish's, feeling his heart drop when Cloud finally spoke.

"Leon, about yesterday…what…?"

He looked away brusquely, jaw tightening. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Leon." Cloud inhaled sharply, a slight glower narrowing his eyes as the hand he reached out with was batted away.

"Leave me alone." Brittle ice covered the words, Cloud caught sight of a faint tremble dancing over the brunet's body and sighed, conceding defeat as he reluctantly stood up, staring down at the brunet with an oddly tender light in his intense blue eyes.

"Alright." He muttered reaching down to clasp a bare hand briefly. "If you want to talk later, I'll be here."

When he was gone, Leon laughed, harsh and low as tremors shook his body.

XXX

Aerith looked at the blonde standing in the gateway of the castle, drenched from the harsh rain now slapping against his back, a little despairingly as he panted, apparently having run the entire distance. "Cloud…"

The blonde sighed, running a hand through his spikes as he looked at her helplessly. "Aerith, tell me something about his past, please."

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When I was a little girl, I used to live in the southern suburb closest to the city gates; it used to be called Sakura Grotto because of all the cheery blossom trees once there. Down the street from my home lived the Leonhart family. Squall and I grew up together; we were best friends. He was so different then; he was so unbelievably shy, whenever we went out to town, he'd always hide against his father's leg or cling to my hand. He was really affectionate too, in little ways like a hug or holding your hand, and the sweetest little acts of kindness, all done with an adorable smile. See? Here's a picture of us. Squall's adorable with those dimples isn't he? I miss him. After his parents died, everything changed.
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After a week's rest, Merlin had proclaimed him fit again and the others hadn't really seen him since. He stopped by Tifa's to sleep every night, so exhausted that she hadn't the heart to keep him up any longer but rather felt obligated to rush him to the nearest bed; he was out before he even hit the pillow. He was up and gone before anyone else had even stirred from their sleep. They knew from the shopkeepers that Leon appeared infrequently in the marketplace to buy a breakfast or a lunch or sometimes just a piece of fruit around 3pm. The committee hadn't a clue what was going on until a week later when a middle aged woman from a newly developing western suburb came up to them, gushing over how quickly the elusive brunet had built up the area and goodness, she could barely recognise it as the mud-ridden swamp she'd moved into and isn't he such a shy little sweetie?

The group sat silently in Merlin's for a long time after her departure, the poster with the timetable for projects sitting on the table between them, eyes drawn to the western suburb's name, marked halfway down the page as being a new project in a month's time.

Cid ground his cigarette into the ash tray with a low growl. "Damn, the little fucker's avoiding us."

Eyes overshadowed by hurt, Aerith stared down at the table as she wrung her hands together in her lap. "It's his health I'm worried about." She murmured miserably. "He's eating less than ever from what I've been told. He's working too hard and sleeping too little. He can't keep that up for long Cid, especially not so soon after recovering."

Yuffie sat with a scowl on her face. "Why's he being such an emo anyway? Even Cloud's not that bad."

"Thanks." The blonde muttered, crossing his arms.

Cid and Aerith exchanged looks and nodded to each other. Cid stood up and gestured for Tifa to follow. "C'mon girl, the Bailey's won't repair itself. Cloud, Yuffie, see if you can track that idiot down for me. Give him a good kick to the ass. Bring him here and keep him here 'til I can talk with the fucker. Aerith, you needed a word with Merlin so hop to."

As the other four left Merlin turned to the brunet with a patient smile. "Yes my dear?"

She worried her lower lip for a moment before looking up. "You can brew a dreamless sleep potion can't you?"

"Yes, yes, quite a simple task, really. Mind if I ask why?"

She paused for a moment, clearly mulling over her answer before nodding to herself. "It's for Leon, he's been having a lot of nightmares lately." She hesitated for a moment before elaborating a little further. "They're about his past I'm afraid."

"Oh dear, dear, dear…" Merlin murmured stroking his beard. "Aerith my girl, I can brew the potion for you but Leon shouldn't use it too frequently; it can have some rather nasty side effects in large doses. Besides," he looked at her sternly, waggling a bony finger at her. "The boy should get some professional help if it's that bad. Take the advice of an old man, my dear; one needs to face the past in order to face the future. He can use the potion for now but promise me you'll get him the help he needs."

"I'll try."

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Shortly afterwards, one of his relatives took him to live at the castle, -We've only recently learnt the full extent of what happened. No, I won't tell you that- I didn't see him again for three years. One day Cid left in his car and came back with Squall sitting in the passenger seat. By then the damage had been well and truly done. Squall was turning into Leon. The transition was completed the day the Heartless forced us off this world and he abandoned his name. During those first few years away from home, Leon had terrible nightmares, sometimes we couldn't even wake him no matter what we did; we almost had to hospitalise him a few times…I'm afraid neither of us coped with it very well. There were too many tears during those years. Anytime new arrivals came to Traverse Town with stories of the Heartless and the disappearance of their worlds, Leon would withdraw into himself a little more; the guilt nearly drove him mad. He stopped living, he wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep. He started to fade away…

What changed it?
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He probably shouldn't have brushed Cloud off like that; the blonde was only trying to help. Leon shifted uneasily as he tested a window he'd just installed. After all, he thought guiltily, Cloud had came up and found him having a nightmare a-and…comforted him. Tender blue orbs flashed into his mind's eye. He flushed; the light pink spreading over his face and tinting his ears as he closed the window again.

'Let it out' He'd said and Leon had actually done so. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he made his way to his toolbox. That had been embarrassing. Only Aerith and Cid had ever seen him like that, seen him so weak.

Guilt and a messy tangle of detrimental emotions were still gnawing at him as an old lady tugged feebly on his arm and insisted that he stop work for a moment, sit down and eat some of her freshly made chicken soup. He shook his head, politely declining and thanking her for her concern before picking up his tools and walking into the house where the electricity wasn't functioning properly. As he climbed down the sturdy stairs leading down into the basement he shivered as cold air crept down the back of his shirt, raising goose-bumps. He gripped the handrail tightly as he stepped onto the concrete floor, feeling a little dizzy. Carefully shaking his head, he kept a hand pressed to his temple as he walked slowly towards the fuse box, that nauseating feeling coiling around his stomach as his head throbbed beneath his fingers. His legs suddenly felt too weak, trembling beneath his weight, so he carefully sat down, leaning his head against the cool stone of the wall next to him as he tried to wait out the dizzy spell.

A glint of golden eyes suddenly appeared alongside a familiar hand clenching a familiar knife; he slumped over shivering as his breathing suddenly became a struggle. "No…" He rasped slithering backwards awkwardly into the corner. Silver hair shone in a non-existent light as the knife lifted up into the air in preparation. "Please, no."

Tender blue orbs flashed suddenly through his mind, the apparition vanished. Leon choked back a sobbing laugh as he collapsed, feeling darkness creeping up on him. Suddenly it occurred to him when he failed to stand up that this was it. He'd finally reached his limit, broken it and his last reserves, last defences. He smiled bitterly as his eyes watered. This was it. But it was okay. No one would mourn him.

After all, who would miss the man responsible for the first Heartless to taint their world?

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We met King Mickey who told us about the keyblade and how it could save the worlds. Somehow, Leon came alive after that; he dedicated himself to studying any available information about the key, spending hours pouring over books or having long talks with the King. That's why when Sora came, Leon knew so much about his role as the keyblade master. I also think it's partly why Leon's so fond of Sora; he spent years learning about the fabled keyblade master and then met him, advised him, comforted and encouraged him, fought alongside him. How could he not like Sora? I think the other reason is because Leon sees so much of Squall in Sora. That innocent view on life, optimistic courage and firm loyalty. Squall and Sora would both go to the ends of every world for their friends. Leon would too but it's different. His heart has been closed off since he lived at the castle. He's too scared to open it again.

Maybe he just needs a little help.
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Something felt wrong the instant he arrived with Yuffie in the newly developed western suburb. Cloud paused, looking around him with surprise at the rows of little cottages neatly lining the wide street. It looked charming, peaceful even as small scatterings of children and pets darted over newly laid front lawns. Content elderly rocked on rocking chairs safe from the sun under their verandas as they watched the youth and reminisced about their own childhoods. Peaceful, content.

Why did it feel so gloomy, so…dark?

Something felt very wrong. Cloud thought as Yuffie bounced over to an elderly couple with a charming smile to accompany her sweetly-spoken questions. He suddenly felt like lead rested in his chest, heavy and disturbing as his stomach sank with a sickening feeling.

Worry, he thought. I'm worried…and scared. He took a few steadying breaths as he felt his eyes drawn to a little cottage at the end of the street. Despite its freshly painted white walls it seemed…Cloud frowned, wrong. Something about that house…

He started forward, dimly aware of Yuffie hurrying after him, a grateful shout to the couple as she ran after him, calling his name. His pace quickened instinctively, pants swishing noisily as his boots slapped out a fast beat on the asphalt. The little cottage suddenly appeared in front of him, he pushed the door open, vaguely aware of his foot hitting something before he was introduced to the floor.

Yuffie stood behind him impatiently tapping her foot. "Honestly Cloud, look where you're going!"

He snorted pulling himself into a kneeling position and peering over at the metal box sitting innocently behind him. He stilled. Leon's. That was one of Leon's toolboxes.

He quickly stood up again, eyes darting over the closed doors and lingering on the singular open door. Walking over he peered curiously inside, looking down when he realised it was a basement before carefully walking down.

"Clooouuud!" Yuffie appeared at the top of the stairs just as he reached the foot of them. Her youthful face scrunched up in a scowl. "What are you doing? The lady said Leon hasn't been seen for awhile. He's probably gone for lunch."

Cloud's retort died on his tongue as his eyes fell on a crumpled figure in the corner. He was across the room in a few long strides, kneeling down and carefully turning the familiar leather-clad body face-up. His breath caught in his throat, mouth going painfully dry as Leon's pale face with bluish lips suddenly slipped into view as the dark curtain of hair slid to the side. Cloud tugged off a glove, instantly searching out Leon's weakened pulse.

From the stairs Yuffie called again. "Cloud, what are-"

He cut her off sharply, eyes focusing on a dark tendril curling around a lock of Leon's hair. "Yuffie, get Aerith. Now."

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Is…is it possible?

We'll try.
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