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23rd roar [ text ]; backdated to the morning of the 24th
[ Guess who saw the feed first thing upon waking and nearly flipped his shit? Yep. He flips it open to make some calls. ]
The empty base, and now this. Whatever it is they've got planned, it'll be best to stay on our guard.
[Private voicemail to: Cooper, Cooper, Sora, Ventus, Xion, Rise, Kisa, Nanako, Cecil, Yuffie:]
You're not hurt, are you? [ It's probably a good thing they can't see how worried he is. Suddenly--ping! ]
Error: user ID 'Yuffie Kisaragi' not found
[ That's an unpleasant surprise. He checks his pokemon box--and finds Zuzu, looking forlorn. ]
[ Public text message sent out about an hour later: ]
If you knew Yuffie Kisaragi, she's been sent home.
[ He's just going to spend the rest of the day being grumpy and frustrated and torn between flying out to Goldenrod and staying on course to Blackthorn. ]
The empty base, and now this. Whatever it is they've got planned, it'll be best to stay on our guard.
[Private voicemail to: Cooper, Cooper, Sora, Ventus, Xion, Rise, Kisa, Nanako, Cecil, Yuffie:]
You're not hurt, are you? [ It's probably a good thing they can't see how worried he is. Suddenly--ping! ]
Error: user ID 'Yuffie Kisaragi' not found
[ That's an unpleasant surprise. He checks his pokemon box--and finds Zuzu, looking forlorn. ]
[ Public text message sent out about an hour later: ]
If you knew Yuffie Kisaragi, she's been sent home.
[ He's just going to spend the rest of the day being grumpy and frustrated and torn between flying out to Goldenrod and staying on course to Blackthorn. ]
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You know I'm here if you need anything.
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[ He does. She knows how he gets when he's like this, especially when he loses someone. ]
It's just...
[ He hates feeling powerless. He lets that unfinished sentence hang for a moment, then shakes his head, taking a step forward in the snow. ]
Let's walk.
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Okay.
[She removes her hand from his shoulder, falling into step beside him and within reach if he wants to take her hand. Otherwise, she'll just be here. It's the least she can do.]
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I talked to Sora. Looks like your training did some good.
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Her training did some good--Etro take it all, the timing can't be a coincidence.]
He was on the train, wasn't he?
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Sora, Nanako, Cecil, Ven and Xion...Yuffie told me she was going, but...
[ He trails off. She's gone now. He doesn't even know if she made it on the train at all. ]
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It does explain why Ven and Xion didn't pick up their gears when I called this morning. They would have still be in the Center or asleep after that mess.
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[ Make no mistake, it's not that he isn't proud of Xion for taking on the Rocket threat--it's doing it in a dumb way that allowed her to get violently hurt, when she was already weak. ]
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We're going to have to have a long talk with her. Face to face so she can't hide by turning off the gear.
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We won't. She's not a small child. She's making conscious decisions. I don't think there's much we can do to change her mind, if she knows what she's doing is wrong, but she's doing it anyway. That, and she's not... [ Our responsibility. ] We're not... [ Her parents.
But he can't bring himself to say it. ]
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You're right. We're not her parents, and she's not a toddler or our responsibility. But we're probably the only responsible ones she's got right now, and she's still a kid. Kids need help, Leon. You can't say that you'd leave Sora or Yuffie on their own if it was them like this, can you?
[She has a feeling she already knows his answer.]
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But this is different. Lightning...if I didn't know any better--[he isn't sure he 'knows better', in fact]--I'd say she wants to get hurt.
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That's probably because she does. [She sighs, hands falling to her sides.] Leon, when someone thinks that little of themselves, they think they're worth less than people around them. They think they have nothing to lose and that others won't miss them. The only thing any of us can do to help is prove her wrong.
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[ He shakes his head in denial. He has doubts, sure, but it's not exactly something he wants to believe. ] No, no. That's impossible. Her self-confidence isn't that bad, just look at the way she was acting during training.
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But I don't think she'll go that far. Not yet. She cares about her team and her friends, and I doubt she'd leave them behind. But that doesn't mean she puts the same value on her life that the rest of us do. Not when she thinks she's worth less than us.
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...I'm sorry.
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What are you apologizing for?
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Don't worry about it. I'd tell you right away if you were being a nuisance.
[And since she hasn't, well...she's not going to. She knows he's hurting over Yuffie and worried about Xion and the others, and this is just his way of handling that. Not the best way, and there are certainly less bull-headed ways, but...well, this is Leon. Wouldn't be Leon if he wasn't like this.]
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I know you would. You'd probably punch me, while you were at it.
[ Will this be a recurring gag in their relationship? Yep. He turns away from her, and keeps walking up the path, quiet again. ]
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No "probably" about that. I'd knock you flat onto the floor
[Always a running gag with them. Always. But for now she'll just be falling into step again, tugging her scarf up around her mouth and nose to ward off the wind. Coastal girls never really fully adjust to the chill of snow.]
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If he asks why, she'll just say her fingers are starting to get cold. It wouldn't be a total lie, either.]
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You know...if you want to check on the others in person, we could probably make it to Goldenrod by morning if we get back to town by dark. The train might be running again by the time we get there.
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