Chapter Eleven

Yazoo

We had arrived home. Graceona was silent the whole ride, Leonard as well. But once we opened the door to the house, Leonard chuckled. "Grace, do you still have that camera you bought a few years ago?" the older woman looked at him confused, as I glared at the older man.

"My camera? It's around here, somewhere. Maybe the attic, the batteries are dead, and I couldn't find my charger to it. Why were there pictures you needed off it?"

"Nope, we have the first Sephiroth junior who is actually becoming their own person. That is picture-worthy. It would seem that Yazoo has a date tonight."

The older woman raised her brow. "Yazoo? With a girlfriend, how did he manage that? The boy does better scaring away the ladies, not dating them. Congrats, Yazoo. Try not to scare her away. I know that is difficult for you. But try to not bore the girl with reading and whatever you have been doing to keep people away from you."

I sighed. "It's not a date. We're just going out as friends for some ice cream and looking at Materia."

"Yeah, because all my friends and I gather for that delicious ice cream and look at Materia, it's every woman's dream to take a man to see Materia. The ice cream is a can't miss. I suppose I have been doing this friend-gathering thing wrong. Instead of stressful meetings, we need to get some ice cream and look at glass ores." She rolled her eyes, not buying the lie that I was trying to sell.

"Grace, dear. You need to have friends to do the meeting wrong. I would quite like a trip to the Materia store, ice cream. Ah, what the heck, it's only going to be one ice cream." Graceona looked at Leonard with a sigh.

"I have friends, Leonard. You guys are family. I have to like you."

"Ouch, that hurt my heart, Grace. Like us. Dang, savage." Leonard's sarcasm made even Kadaj loosen up and laugh a little.

I looked at Graceona. "And that coming from the king of savage. I think he is challenging your ability to beat him. I don't think you can." I looked at her with the challenge to get the heat off me.

"Oh, you don't think I can beat Leonard." She looked at the man sitting at the table, then back at me. "Nice try. You're not getting off that easy. Who is the victim… sorry, I mean the girl?"

"Sierra Sinclair." I sighed.

"Reno's daughter, eh, boy? Lovely girl, however, how can someone live a life of not fighting in the bars at least once. The girl drinks iced tea with lemon. Good luck, Yazoo."

Leonard looked at Graceona. "Grace, not every woman enjoys beating men up for giggles. Some girls enjoy peaceful roles in life. It's not a crime. It's just a bore. Boring isn't a crime."

Grace looked at Leonard. "I don't do it for the giggles. I do it for several reasons."

"Right, I doubt you can blame the brawls with men on my looks. I'm not that much of a catch." Leonard said, taking a drink of water.

"I enjoy beating up men. Is that a crime?"

"No, that's funny to watch, watching a woman who lacks the appearance of most of her competition, putting men who look like they can crush fiend's heads in with one squeeze being put in their place, that makes that place tolerable for me." Leonard took another drink of water.

"From what I hear, everyone in town thinks you and Graceona are dream catches. Everyone wants the poison they can't have."

Leonard almost got choked on his water, as he and Graceona look at me. "I don't want to drown in this water, Yazoo. Anyway, how did this get back on us? We're not the ones with dates. Speaking of which, you're going to be late, just because a woman is fashionably late, we men don't have that say. What do you plan on wearing?"

I looked at my clothes. "What's wrong with what I have on?"

"Dear Gaia, you're not wearing that. You are not sending Sephiroth vibes. Looks like I need to go through my clothes again."

The older man stood up. "Come with me, we'll find you something." He walked from the room, as I followed along behind him. The two of us walked silently down the hall, getting to Leonard's room. He walked over to the closet, opening the doors. Moments later, he pulled out my favorite outfit of his, a long-sleeved crimson shirt, and leather pants with spikes. "This outfit should work. It's brought me luck. I met Grace in this outfit. So here."

I took it from him, looking at him. "You're letting me wear this outfit? This is your favorite outfit."

He looked at me with a raised brow. "Right. I suppose, go comb your hair. Who did you get into a fight with? Did you put a fork in an outlet?"

I looked at him. "Leonard, we fought before going to the party, remember?"

He looked at me. "Sorry, I forget fights I don't partake in. I'm needing to lie down. I'm getting sore. When you go on that date, try to be yourself. The caring self, not the self that is four quarters short of a dollar, save that side for when you need to protect her, alright. Close the door on your way out."

I looked at him as he sat down on the bed. "Are you going to be alright?"

He looked at me. "Yazoo, I'll be fine. Go on, go on your date. Don't worry about me. I'll be here when you come back."

I looked at him walking towards the door, then walking from the room, closing the door behind me. I walked to the bathroom, getting changed and brushing my hair. Looking at the outfit in the large mirror behind the door, I tilted my head.

"Yo, Zoo. Are you coming out soon?"

I opened the door, walking past Loz, who walked into the bathroom with his pajamas in hand, shutting the door behind him. I looked at Leonard's closed door, deciding not to disturb him. I walked downstairs looking at the clock, getting my keys, leaving the home.