I actually cried whilst writing this chapter because you'd think that Maya's always happy and sassy, but she has a totally different side!

The Keyblade's Guardian

Chapter 7

They all walked to the 1st District and saw Leon, Yuffie and Aerith there. They all turned to the other 5 and the man's face turned sour in irritation when he glanced at the brown haired teen. She however just grinned widely.

"Great, the brat is here." He mumbled to himself.

"Squally!" Maya exclaimed and ran to him. She jumped on his back with her arms and legs wrapped around him.

"It's Leon!" He exclaimed.

"Did you miss me? Be honest! I bet you did!" Maya giggled.

"Yes I did, now get off me." He muttered and she got off.

"Awww, Squally missed me." She giggled whilst pinching his cheeks. He just crossed his arms and huffed. Yuki and the others just giggled at this.

"Now make sure you're prepared for you journey. We don't know how far the Heartless have spread." Leon stated.

"Check out the shops here, they have pretty neat stuff!" Yuffie grinned.

"This is from all of us." Aerith gave Yuki a pouch.

"Thanks." The dark haired girl grinned.

"Now Yuki you be careful now, you hear?" The man warned her. "We don't wanna lose you."

"Hahaha, I'll be alright." She said goofily.

"Try not to get hurt now!" Yuffie said. "You're our little Snowflake!"

The 3 surrounded the girl and showered her with so much love. They rustled her hair and told her to be safe; they were all very protective of her as a sign of immense affection.

Maya stared at this and her smile slowly disappeared, as she looked away; this reminded her of how her brother and his 2 best friends would shower her with affection. It was sad because now that all the people who truly cared for her were gone, she had no one. She had no home and no one to worry so much about her. All she wanted was someone to love her very much and care for her no matter what; someone to worry about her when she's travelling to other worlds. There was a gap where all the affection for her used to be, that needed to be filled by someone.

The brown haired teen walked only a few steps away from the group with her back towards them. She took out the picture of her and her family from her pocket and looked at it. It was as if this picture, the image of happiness and affection, gave her hope. The teen put the picture back in her pocket and took her necklace off.

The other noticed Maya standing away from them with her back to them. Yuki couldn't help but frown. They stared at her as she held up her good luck charm up to the sky.

"An unbreakable connection…" She repeated her friend's words with a smile and a tear falling down her cheek. The young woman pressed the good luck charm against her chest.

"I hope she's okay." Donald stated.

"Maya's never this quiet." Yuki frowned.

"At times she can never shut up." Leon stated and they all glared at him.

"I think I know what's wrong." Aerith said and walked up to the girl. "We don't want you to get hurt too."

Maya's eyes widened and she quickly wiped her tear. She turned to the woman with a small smile to hide her true emotions.

"We want you to stay safe." Aerith said with a sweet smile and the teenager's smile dropped.

"You can stop sugar coating everything. I'm just a stranger to you people, you're not my family so I'm nothing to you guys." She stated bitterly and the woman's smile dropped. "Squall wouldn't give a shit if I die tomorrow or I'm swallowed by the darkness. You guys can drop the façade."

"Maya…" Aerith placed her hand on the teenager's shoulder.

"I have no family to care for me. Yuki has family, she has you guys. I've been alone for so long and I've grown used to the fact that no one would care about what was to happen to me." Every word was like a dagger to the woman's heart and felt tears falling down her cheeks.

"I made a promise to your brother, that I'd make sure that his little sister is safe. So of course, I care for you." Maya turned to the woman and felt her heart break when she saw her cry. "You may have grown up and become very strong. But the fact that I can lose you, still scares me. I want to keep the promise I made to your brother."

Instantly Aerith hugged her tightly and Maya just stood there. After a few minutes, she returned the hug and the woman kissed her head. The green eyed teen had tears continuously falling down her cheek. Leon noticed this and walked up to them.

"Why are you crying?" He asked blankly and Aerith pulled away from her. She then turned to him.

"She thinks she's alone and that no one would care if she died, especially you." The woman stated and the teen looked down. Leon just huffed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"We may not be so close to you, but that doesn't mean we don't care." He stated and she looked up at him. "Your brother threatened me to make sure you're safe and that nothing bad would happen to you. So if something was to happen to you, I'd get my ass kicked by your brother."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah, do you know how scared he is of your brother." Aerith giggled and the teenager looked at him as he looked down.

"So if I tell him that I almost died and Leon did nothing about it, he'd beat you up? Hmmm, interesting." Maya stated and Leon's eyes widened.

"What? You wouldn't dare!" He exclaimed and she smirked.

"Try me." She crossed her arms and Aerith laughed at this. Maya also laughed as Leon gulped as his face went pale.

"Please, just try to not get hurt." He said whilst patting her head.

"I'll try not to, don't worry." The teen smiled.

"We love you, Maya. Even Leon does, deep, deep, deep inside his stone heart." Aerith stated.

"HEY!" He exclaimed and the girls started to laugh so hard. Now Maya was sure, there were people who truly cared for her.