Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. These ditties are mine, as are Duke and McCallister. On a random note, I've developed a mild Brad Paisley addiction. That is all. Enjoy!
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022 – Idol Curiosity
"Go on, ask."
"I'm not asking. You ask."
"Chicken."
"I am not!"
Tifa looked up from where she had spread the map of the Borough on the Bailey floor. The two little boys couldn't have been older than ten, squatting behind the broken stair wall and peering down into the Borough, where most of the clutter from the recent Heartless attack had been shucked. Busted concrete, twisted bits of steel, and splintered wood: it was a mess.
None of that disaster was what was keeping the boys' attention though. Standing and dusting off her knees, Tifa sidled up to stand behind the two boys, hands on her hips, looking down over their heads. Leon had been down there for two hours and barely managed to clear himself a walkway through the mess.
"I heard," One of the boys was whispering as they stared down at the man. "that it shoots flames instead of bullets."
"That's dumb. I saw it once; it has chambers in it."
"What? You never saw it!"
"Uh huh!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Uh huh!"
Leon must have heard them and looked up. The boys gasped and ducked below the wall. Tifa snorted and Leon gave their general direction a flat look, getting back to work.
"It's impolite to stare, you know." Tifa said, unable to hide a grin.
The two boys stayed on their knees, looking up at her. "Sorry, ma'am." They sputtered.
Tifa glanced around, "This area is still unstable. Children shouldn't be running around here."
"Sorry, ma'am." They repeated.
Amused, she tilted her head, "He's not really THAT interesting, you know."
They looked at her like she'd smacked them in the face.
"Blasphemy!" One of them gasped.
"Are you kidding?" The second one gushed. "Who else do you know who fights with a gun and sword in one?"
"Does it really shoot flames?"
"Yeah, flames or bullets?"
Tifa looked down at their wide-eyed expressions, waiting for some epic detail about their hero. She didn't have it in her to tell them it didn't shoot anything, that the 'trigger' only instigated vibrations through the blade. Dealt more damage that way than with bullets or flames…but to a little kid, there was nothing cool about a sword that vibrated.
"Neither." She said, then added. "It's something better."
Their eyes grew even wider.
"Now…scuttle on, savages," Tifa waved them off, "Adults have work to do."
"Yes, ma'am." They turned and started back toward the residential district to make their mischief, though their conversation carried.
"Told ya it wasn't flames."
"Well, then what else could it shoot?"
"I dunno, but I bet he could knock your head right off! One swing! Boom!"
"No he wouldn't!"
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023 – Wishful Thinking
"McCallister, what are you doing?" Tifa asked.
The private started slightly at being addressed, her hands dropping the object under her desk. "Brigadier General, I—"
Tifa walked over and bent down, snatching up the folded up piece of paper: an origami paper crane. Leon had told her about the private's bizarre hobby about folding cranes, but she'd never actually caught her in the act.
"I'm sorry. I know I'm supposed to finish those reports—got distracted—" McCallister yammered.
"Which one is this?" Tifa pulled the end to make the wings rise and fall.
"Sorry?"
"How many does this one make?" Tifa asked, happy for the distraction from paperwork.
"Er…267, ma'am."
"Two sixty…You've made 267 of these?" Tifa blinked, "What in Kingdom Hearts for?"
McCallister reached out and took the crane back, cheeks warming as she dropped it into one of her desk drawers. "…It's stupid…"
"The thousand cranes wish trick, right?" Tifa folded her arms, a habit of Leon's that was starting to rub off on her. Realizing this, she unfolded them and opted for shoving her hands in her pockets.
"I…I know it's not real…there's no real magic to it." McCallister sputtered. "It's just a hobby…a stupid…wishful hobby." She averted her eyes in embarrassment.
"Nothing wrong with that. We all have wishes that need granting." Tifa shrugged.
McCallister gave her a weird look that she couldn't read…but it made her uncomfortable.
"…What do you wish for?" The private asked.
Tifa pursed her lips and went back to official mode, "Get back to those reports."
"Yes, ma'am…Sorry, ma'am." McCallister scattered.
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024 – Explode
That little vein in Tifa's temple was sticking out. Leon was just beginning to wonder how much more of this she would be able to take when she stood up abruptly.
"That's it. I can't take this anymore." She barked, stomping across the room and out of the apartment and into the hallway.
Leon watched the open door idly, listening to her stomp a few paces down the hall and knock on the door of their neighbors…their neighbors who, for the past twenty minutes, had been indulging in loud rap music that failed to completely cover the sound of them…procreating.
The music dropped a few notches and he heard the door open.
"Yes?" A breathless woman was asking.
"I've had it!" Tifa screamed. "If I have to listen to you two humping like water buffalo every time I come home—"
Leon tuned out the rest of the rant and got back to what he'd been working on, occasionally hearing her shout some made up word that seemed to encompass what known swear words couldn't articulate. Tifa could be quite…eloquent…when she was pissed off…and frightening too, if he was being honest.
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A/N 023: Old Japanese legend that after folding 1000 origami paper cranes, the individual is granted one wish.
