If I Only Had a 'Hart'

[Squall Leonhart]

The cold breeze that rustled throughout the odds and ends of Hollow Bastion were inferior to the significance intended to be had during these fleeting few moments.

"But, Leeeeeeeeeeon~!"

"We're on a mission, so keep quiet and deal with it."

"But, but, but...!"

"Yuffie!"

".... O... kay."

The older male glanced over his shoulder, taking only a moment to acknowledge that, maybe, he had offended or even hurt the younger female.

"I don't like missing out on the action either, but..."

He smirked, turning his face back around, allowing some loose strands of hair to brush across his eyebrows.

"... this is something we, I have to do. If this is as big as Cid claims, we're going to need all the help we can find."

"Huh? Is this person that important?"

He only made a slight snort escape from his nostrils, and the Wutai ninja took this as a bother. It annoyed her when the others, especially their so-called head organizer treated her like a little girl.

"Fine! Be that way, Mr. Fearless Leader! I'll look over here!"

"There's a wall over there."

The female flushed at the cheeks, like someone had ignited a barrel of twigs, reaching up with her gloved hands to conceal them, but instead stopping to begin pointing and swinging at the one with a lion's heart.

"You! You! Ooooooh! I... hate yoooooooou~!"

But before she could get that out, the SeeD elite had already begun walking elsewhere, already having located where he believed this individual to be. Having done so, he called out in the direction of their presence, announcing himself.

"Faster than a bolt of lightning, stronger than a stampede of buffalo, that's you, right? Tifa Lockhart."

Sure enough, following right behind, as predicted by the male, came Wutai's finest with a grin on her face, stopping only a few inches ahead of Leon to catch sight of his word's directions.

"Tiiiiiiiifa~!"

The ninja lunged forward intending to tackle her, but before that could occur the gleaming sharpness of his Gunblade cut her short of that goal, remaining pressed against her exposed flesh, all held by the grimly facial expressions of a battered and experienced warrior.

"We don't have time for hugs and kisses, this is serious."

The female, despite knowing how sharp the blade was and that it made the perfect barrier, discarded Leon's wards with a verbal defiance, kicking at the ground below her.

"Awww! But, I... Leeeon! You're SO mean!"

[Tifa Lockhart.]

Faint clank!s could be heard within the building set at her back, the all too familiar sound of dishes being either carelessly washed, or outright breaking under unexperienced hands; Hollow Bastion was having a crisis alright, and she almost sighed at the thought of replacing yet another set of the delicate chinaware.

Oh, not again...

It came with no surprise that the team almost chuckled in amusement at her thought of creating a tavern to relax in between regular restoration duties (If she remembers correctly, Cid actually called her something on the lines of "crazy" before storming out to his airship), they were probably thinking about how she might spend a mini fortune on the slightly unskillful employees. For once, she regretted being so hard-headed.

Raising delicate fingers to the side of her head, the female took ahold of a few loose strands to tuck them behind her ear as per her usual habit, giving the hostelry a dubious look. "This is almost like home." A lie, it was missing a key element, a person who was on a sort of journey to find himself. It was necessary, and although she worries, she had always believed he could find peace or the "light" he so desperately seeks; he has always had it, and maybe he hadn't realized it yet.

Tifa turned on her heel, her boots tapping on the cobblestone-paved walkway on her way back to her duties when two voices reached her ears, one considerably louder than the other and recognizably female. They weren't very far, and she could almost clearly make out the words of the ninja, instantly determined to be the Wutai... And guessing from how she was acting, the other was Leon (or Mr. Fearless Leader, from what she had heard).

"Hmm, I'm not sure about being faster than a bolt of lightning, but that's me." A playful smile curled her lips, arms being casted out to brace herself for a sort of Yuffie tackle-bomb that was cut short by Leon's quick movements. "Yu-- Serious? What happened?" The businesslike atmosphere Leon seemed to radiate caused her arms to drop, remembering her posture and straightening out with the apparent graveness of the situation.

[Squall Leonhart]

The male wasted no time, lowering his Gunblade-carrying limb to the ground, allowing the gleaming sharpness to cast its shadow upon the floor below the trio.

"There's been a defiance of security within Hollow Bastion, in the sub-levels. Right now Cloud and the others are dealing with it, but I don't know how much longer they can hold out, so I came to find you."

Though he didn't say it, one could already acknowledge that the brunette gave the spikey-haired warrior the extra burst of power he needed in a time of crisis, an unparalleled force of motivation, and perhaps that is why the lion-hearted one sought her, to insure the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee did not falter.

"Yuffie, let's go."

With that, the older one turned his backside to the two females, preparing to make his way towards the entryway to the basement, which was a good walk aways from where the three of them were currently located, but when the SeeD elite took off into a bold dash, it indicated the urgency of the situation facing them. The sound of his lion's medallion thwapping against his chest, followed by the echoing clicks of his boots were the only sounds emitting from his figure.

[Yuffie Kurasagi]

Yuffie had been nodding the entire time Leon was explaining the situation, but once he had burst off, she was quickly reminded of his remark of no hugs and kisses. Once his back was turned, Yuffie would stomp forward, fists behind her, and stick out her tongue as far as she could at him. "Nyah!"

Sighing, as she was apparently annoyed that she couldn't give a joyous greeting to her long lost friend, Yuffie would turn back and peer at Tifa. "Just like old times! But.. let's just hope Cloud and his head hasn't gotten him into too much trouble, hm!?"

Snickering, Yuffie would bring a hand forward and point after Leon. "Let's go!"

And the Wutia ninja would dash off after Mr. Hardass, her shoes clacking against the floor with little to no rhythm. However, she would shout aloud to him, obnoxiously, "Coming Squaaaaaall!"

[Aerith Gainsborough]

<<.__.Once again, always lagging behind the rest. 'Twas the way it possibly had always been. The figure of a familiar girl in pink took shape, indicating now that her shadow mingled with the darkness of the approaching night. Her outline of her body was slim, those engaging emerald green eyes glimmered in the darkness make an illuminating glow.

Still, with the letter clenched in her nimble fingertips, she would search about the area. A rather gentle expression about her fragile features. "HEY! Leon...Yuffie?!" Once again, NOTHING. Limits were reaching within the breaking point for Aerith.

Just then she heard a shuffling sound ahead of her, were they headed up towards the most innerpart of Hollow Bastion? A type of knot knitted its way into Aerith's stomach. She knew that somehow, something wasn't right. The darkness, had grown stronger over the light which she so highly spoke of . . . but now, it felt like the light was dimming . . .


Aerith's eyes would then caught sight of raven colored hair and a distinct but remote feeling of rememberance would ensue over her body. "Tifa...!" Is all she could say, for Aerith quickly tucked the letter for Leon from Rinoa in the side of her cloak as she hoped to catch up with the fist-fighter.__.>>

[Tifa Lockhart.]

Tifa's head canted to the side slightly, following Leon's words as her hands raised to her hips in a mixture of curiosity and tentativeness. The ebony haired fist-fighter had to admit, when she first heard their voices she was expecting a nice visit, not another quest to redeem a city or save a world (that seemed to happen a bit much).

"How bad is this 'defiance', exactly? If you came to get me... then it must be bad. If Cloud and the others are having trouble with it." Giving the male and then the Wutai a rather serious look, her lips parted in continuation, "And, if that's the case, then we should hurry. We can't waste any time dilly-dallying here while they're fighting."

Turning, she mirrored the SeeD male's speed in all attempts of catching up to him, Yuffie running only a slight distance ahead of her. He hadn't given much detail to what they were facing, though she had guessed it was Heartless, and many of them by the hasty speed in which he was running. "Yuffie, I think Cloud is fine," though concerned, she still managed to smile. "Yeah, he's fine."

I haven't seen him in such a long time, and he seems to be growing distant and more confined. There's so many things I want to talk to him about. Oh Cloud, keep the others safe.

Distinct thuds of boots could be heard from the trio's movement, almost drowning out the Cetra's voice that seemed to fade as they progressed. "Wait, stop! Aerith, that was her voice."

[Squall Leonhart]

The lion-hearted one stopped, but only for a moment when Tifa's voice cried out about Aeris being around, and in that passing of time it was discomforting to know the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee was lacking formal organization.

"Yuffie, I'm leaving you in charge of bringing Tifa and Aeris to Cid and Vincent. I'm going to find Cloud."

With that, the SeeD elite disbanded, taking off ahead and around a corner, disappearing from sight as he continually made progressional advancements towards where he believed Cloud to be. However, in those fleeing moments fate would intervene and several idle thoughts crossed his mind, but shaking them off continued forward.

"... Damn."

[Aerith Gainsborough]

<<.__.It did seem a long good distance away, Tifa's, Yuffie's, and Leon's forms seemed like little ants on the horizon. But she picked up her pace, sprinting now with haste.

After running for a few moments, she finally got to the group.

The Cetra then accidently tumbled on her cloak, her breath heaving, the letter then unbound itself from her cloak and lay on the ground. She reached out and quickly retrieved the letter, gently putting it away into the folds of her cloak.

Looking up, a bit dumb founded yet relieved look was upon her face. She was glad that Tifa and Yuffie had waited for her . . . but where was Leon? Aerith gave out an agonizing sigh. How was she suppose to deliver the letter now?!

Slowly getting up, Aerith brushed off the dust that had gathered onto her dress and made sure it was gone. Her emerald green eyes now adjusting to Tifa as she wiped her beads of sweat which occupied her brow. Cheeks quite flushed from the running, but her breathing then eased as did the beating of her heart.

"Tifa...Where is Leon?" Her voice was calm. That was one thing about Aerith, even if at times she seemed she wanted to loose her temper, she kept herself in an orderly manner.__.>>

[Tifa Lockhart.]

(I think the real reason Leon ran away was because he realized he'd be the only male in a group with three females. Haha.)

[Squall Leonhart]

tifa said:

(I think the real reason Leon ran away was because he realized he'd be the only male in a group with three females. Haha.)

(Actually... well, you'll see why he "ran away".)

[Yuffie Kurasagi]

Yuffie skidded to a halt at the voices of Aerith and Tifa. Teetering on her heels, the Wutai ninja would swing her arms about in a circle, nearly losing her balance. "Waaah!?"

Her shoes finally teetered forward and hit against the floor flatly. Balance was regained. But a moment later, Yuffie would start to spin around on a heel and lift her arms high into the air. "Aaaaaaaery!"

Once the girl was close enough, Yuffie would latch herself upon the female and give her a light hug. "We missed yooooooou!~" Releasing Aerith, the ninja would step back and blink, peering from Tifa then back to Aerith. "Leon? Wh-what so special about him all of the sudden!? HMPH!"

Folding her arms stubbornly across her chest, Yuffie would turn about and place her back to the other two females, wiggling her nose in detest.

[Aerith Gainsborough]

<<.__.Before Aerith could really properly stand, she smelled a familiar scent and could sense a change in the air. Now steadying her balance, she saw a younger girl around the age of eighteen before her form.

A smile appeared onto Aerith's lips.

"Hello, Yuffie! It's been quite awhile, yes - I know, but . . . " Before Aerith could immerse herself into a conversation with Yuffie about good old times, she held out a letter.

"This is for Leon, from Rinoa. But it seems, in all truth - I'll never be able to give it to him!" Just as easily as she had brought out the letter, she gently placed it back into her cloak.

Seeing now the stubborness from Yuffie she merely shook her head, smiling lightly. Aerith then averted her gaze over to Tifa, "What is exactly going on? Or do you have no time to explain about the situation? For I sense something is about to happen . . . ".__.>>