Sora wasn't like most guys. Most guys would be able to read between the lines when the father of the girl you're dating disappears and returns with a shotgun. And cocks it. Usually meant that her father didn't want you near his daughter. A smart guy would know it was time to bail and cut his losses.

But, Sora wasn't a smart man. And that lack of brilliance was what landed him trying to figure out how to hop the stone wall to the Hikari mansion. The time frame between shotgun and this near midnight adventure are hazy at best, and not all that important. The important part was getting into the mansion. The front gate would be the easiest, but also the most obvious.. and very likely it was armed for the night. Very quietly he moved along the perimeter. The ocean breeze and rustling of the palm trees disguising his footsteps.

Mr. Hikari, in stark contrast to Sora, was a brilliant man. Mr. Hikari was a CEO of a major corporation, and had an attention to detail rivaled only by the very best art critics. So the outer wall was pristine and in good shape. Plus, no tree in range to climb and make the jump. However, the contractors Mr. Hikari had hired for some maintenance work were not as detail oriented as the man of the house. They left their ladder in their rush to head home for the day.

A finer detail Sora caught during his very short visit to the mansion when Kairi told her dad Sora was her boyfriend.

Sora climbed the wall with the help of the ladder from his forgetful contractor "allies". Next step was figuring out which of the many rooms was Kairi's. All the lights were off save for three on the second story. One had a very high probability of being Mr. Hikari's office. Kairi had mentioned how he worked hard, even to the point of falling asleep at his home desk. One was surely his dearly beloved, as he was texting her the whole time, consoling her as she bad mouthed her father. The last window was her younger brother gaming with his friend. They were there earlier excitedly gossiping about the game the friend smuggled in. And they wouldn't hesitate to snitch on him for a few good laughs.

67 percent chance if he guessed, he would stir up the hornet's nest and ruin everything. Permanently. 33 percent chance he hits the jackpot. It was a high risk game, and he was stupid enough to play. But to win.. he'd need to tilt the odds in his favor. But how...His phone dinged in his pocket, and he pulled it out. It was Kairi, finally a little calmer. He was about to reply when a revelation occurred.

He wasn't living in the Stone Age. He had the brilliant innovations of the modern world. He kept himself hidden a little bit, and gave her a call. With this he was guaranteed success! The phone rang once... a second time... an agonizing third-

"Why are you calling me, you goofball?"

"Oh no real reason..." he fixated his eyes on the windows with lights on. He couldn't see anything aside from the illuminated window... but that would work to his advantage, "just wanted to say I think you have lovely curtains."

Her cute giggle resonated beautifully through the phone, "Sora you never even saw my room. How do you even know what my curtains look like?"

"That's an excellent question, Kairi," he added emphasis, "how WOULD I know?"

Long pause… silence... then a surprised gasp followed with hurriedly hushed tones, "Sora, you didn't!"

A cocky smirk formed on his lips, "why don't you open your window and find out?"

The rustling of covers and the sounds of muffled movement from her side of the phone redoubled his own focus on the lights. He heard the sound of a... door opening? "Okay, I'm on the balcony. Where are you?"

Well... looks like all the lights would've led him to disaster. "You got the balcony room? I thought that was your parents!"

She giggled again and in a floozy voice, "I'm Daddy's little girl," Well, that made sense as to why she was able to snag the balcony. Her voice went back to her usual, "So I got the balcony. Besides, the bigger one is for the master bedroom."

Smaller balcony.. probably facing the side... "alright I'm looking for you."

"Also, how did you even get in? The gate is locked."

"I'm a ninja, obviously."

Sora could hear her eye roll through the phone, "obviously."

The self-proclaimed ninja made his way around the side, carefully masking his steps with near silence until he finally saw her.

His stupidity that night was rewarded. The cloudless night sky gave way to a half moon that shone a perfect snowy white color down onto his love. Her usual dark red hair instead shined a violet color under the moons light. While he couldn't make out much more than her face, her silhouette was more than enough to demonstrate her beauty. "Hey, have I ever told you how absolutely beautiful you are?"

Kairi's head immediately tilted down. Her face was shadowed by her hair, but he could hear her smile, "once or twice, but you can always tell me again."

Sora gave her a huge grin, "you're absolutely gorgeous." Her hands covered her mouth as she stifled a laugh, and Sora began looking around for anything to climb on. "Hang on, I'll be right up."

He pocketed the phone, and moved to one of the supports for the balcony. Despite the smooth appearance, stone was still stone, and thankfully, it was the one thing Mr. Hikari hadn't gotten to inspecting yet. The weathering from the islands elements gave him what was needed to grip, and climb. With ease he came over the balcony wall, with a quick breath, he beamed at his girlfriend, "told you I'd make your night better." With a confident swagger, he strode up to Kairi and wrapped his arms around her waist and stole her breath away with a deep kiss.

He pulled away as her arms came around his back and kept their foreheads touching. She was trying to sound serious and angry at him, but her smile betrayed her, "do you have any idea how much trouble you'd be in if you were caught?"

A small chuckle escaped his lips as his mind recreated the shotgun, "A lot." He gently started to sway with her a bit, "but I won't get caught."

She gave him a quick kiss, "I'm holding you to that."

They parted from their embrace and sat down[1] on the outdoor loveseat that adorned Kairi's balcony. They sat in comfortable silence for a minute, just enjoying the presence of their significant other. However, Kairi let out a deep sigh, "I'm so sorry about my dad."

"Why?"

Kairi leaned back into the seat and looked off towards the night sky, "He's just so… stupidly overprotective, you know?"

Sora was all too aware of that 'protective' part. "Yeah? So what? I'm here still, aren't I?"

Kairi gave him a small smile and went back to resting her head on his shoulder, "I guess you are." She shifted herself closer into his arms and leaned on his shoulder, resting peacefully, "I'm glad you are… I was afraid that after what my dad did… that'd be it."

If Sora had any ounces of brain cells, that probably would've been the case. Instead, he risked taking a shotgun blast if her dad found out, "There's no way I'd give you up that easy. It'll take a lot more than that to scare me off."

"Sora… you're an idiot." She giggled, her body leaning into his entirely, "but you're my idiot." She paused for a minute, "I guess Riku's idiot, too. But he doesn't have you like I do."

Sora snickered, "Are you sure?"

She playfully slapped his arm, "My boyfriend is not gay for my best friend. I will not be your beard."

Sora laughed a little and lifted her chin up and gave her a chaste kiss, "I'm sure if I were gay you'd turn me straight."

"Damn right." She returned his kiss.

They casually talked for a few hours. The Midnight Hero Sora had done what he needed, and that was make Kairi as happy as she could be. But, those hours started to take a toll on both Kairi and Sora. Despite both of their wishes, Sora would have to leave.

The stupid brunette kissed his beloved good night, climbed down from her balcony, and carefully made his way back home. By the time he walked into his house, the oven clock showed it to be 3:20 in the morning. His girlfriend stopped texting him within minutes of his departure from the balcony, and once his own head hit the pillow, he was out. It was an uneventful rest that ended almost as soon as it started (or so it felt.) His phone buzzed under his pillow as he lazily flung his arm for it, missing. As the phone vibrated, he lazily drug his hand to where it was making a ruckus, and gripped the vibrating piece of technology.

He groggily answered, "Hullo?"

"Sora, I think you got caught."

He bolted up immediately from his bed with all of his exhaustion staying where it was. His mind skipped first gear as his heart started racing, "what? What gives you that idea?"

"My dad... he wanted me to invite you over for breakfast." Sora listened to her voice, trying to find any hint of a smile, or holding back of laughter, but she might as well have been telling him her mother was in the hospital with how serious her tone was.

"O-okay, I'll be right over."

"Sora, I don't think it's a good idea... if he knows..."

"If I don't, it confirms his suspicions, and then we really are in trouble." Sora sighed, and got up heading to the shower. "I'll be there in thirty minutes. Everything is going to be fine."

"Alright... I'll see you soon."

"See you soon." Sora hung up and sped through his morning routine as fast as he could without sacrificing his presentability.

And for added measure, he put on a collared shirt and his nicest pair of jeans. Couldn't hurt, right?

Sora knocked on the front door to the mansion, and was greeted by Mrs. Hikari. She wore a very casual look much like his own, though her clothing brand put his to shame. "Ah! Sora! So glad you came!" She moved out of the door and gestured him to come in, "leave your shoes at the door and join us in the dinning room."

She closed the door behind him, and Sora gave her a nervous smile, "thank you." He slipped his shoes off, noticing the very fancy pair of dress shoes, and their accompanying sports coat. So much for her dad being at work...

He walked into the dining room, at the head of the table sat Mr. Hikari... the man of the house. On the table was his work phone with a few email notifications and a few reminders on due dates. To his right was Mrs. Hikari. Very traditional. She had in her hand a tablet with some engineering calculations on it, namely a power study for an expansion for the local Aegis Industries warehouse.

On Mr Hikari's left... was the only open seat. The seat just after that was where Kairi was sitting. She gave him a shy wave.

Her younger brother and his friend were both completely out of it. Little more than the walking dead for how tired they looked.

With nowhere else to sit, Sora took the seat directly beside Mr. Hikari. Sora had to say, the man carried an air of authority around him, and being within five feet of it was daunting. Especially since it's possible the man was going to tear him apart.

Mr. Hikari looked away from his phone and gave Sora a small smile. "Good morning."

"Mor-" Sora cleared his throat, "good morning, Mr. Hikari."

The older man nodded and gently put his silverware down. All parties at the table gave their full and undivided attention to Sora and Mr. Hikari. The older spoke first, "I... would like to apologize for my behavior yesterday." Mr. Hikari glanced sideways at his wife for a very brief moment, and she appeared to be rather pleased with herself, "It's not easy for me to see my little girl growing up... especially since I used to change her diap-"

"Daad!" Kairi whined, the heavy cloud of dread she had when Sora had first arrived was gone.

"Sorry, dear." He redirected himself at Sora, "anyway, I wanted to invite you over for breakfast as an apology and... a way to get to know you better."

Bullet dodged. Mr. Hikari didn't suspect a thing, and was actually open to the idea of Sora dating his daughter. "Well, it's no big deal." Sora smiled, his body no longer feeling as tense as it was, "she's your daughter, after all."

"I'm glad you understand, and I hope we can put yesterday behind us." Mr. Hikari took one last bite of his bacon before continuing, "so, Sora, what are your future aspirations?"

Sora didn't know what he was expecting from someone as accomplished as Mr. Hikari. The morning was filled with very heavy questions that almost felt more like an interview for Sora to see if he was actually the right guy for the role (role being the boyfriend of Mr. Hikari's daughter.) But, as the younger boys became less zombified, and started engaging in the discussion, it broke down into fun. Complete with stories, and he even saw Mr. Hikari laugh... up until that point he thought the man was born without a laugh.

For the record, it is deep, and it is loud.

Breakfast died down, and everyone started to take their plates to the kitchen for a part time worker to tidy up, but as Sora began to get up, Mr. Hikari interrupted, "excuse me, Sora. I'd like to talk with you a bit more."

In the corner of his eye, Sora caught a glimpse of Kairi's dread return to her face before her mother motioned her to move out of the dining room.

Sora nodded and sat back into the cushioned chair and answered with an apprehensive, "yes?"

"You need to answer me honestly, understood?" Sora nodded his head, and Mr. Hikari hit him with the ultimate question, "did you sneak onto my property last night?"

Sora's heart leaped into his throat, but thankfully it didn't jump out onto the table. Kairi's fears were right. Caught. Sora didn't dodge a bullet, the bullet was actually a missile with lock on targeting. There was never any chance of dodging it to begin with. A heavy sigh escaped him, and Sora surrendered, "I did... but nothing happened! We just… talked."

Mr. Hikari showed no change in emotion, wearing what might've been the best poker face Sora had ever seen, "Why did you sneak in?"

Sora answered quickly, knowing that hesitation would probably lead Mr. Hikari back to the shotgun, "she was upset... you threw her boyfriend out of the house after only meeting him for a few minutes, so... I came back to be with her a bit. Help her see that I was still gonna be around."

Mr. Hikari was stoic in his expression. There was a long pause, and Sora thought for sure he was about to never see Kairi again. Instead, Mr. Hikari smiled at Sora. It was genuine, and it wasn't made with ill intent. "That's a good answer." Mr. Hikari leaned back and checked his phone one last time, "I like honesty. It makes a person trustworthy."

"...how do you know I'm not lying?"

"The morning dew gave you away." Mr. Hikari grinned, "There was a trail of footprints leading to my daughter's balcony from the road, incidentally where a ladder got left behind." Mr. Hikari stood up, and grabbed his plate, "you're rather resourceful, and an opportunist. I like those qualities as well."

Sora grabbed his plate and followed Mr. Hikari to the kitchen, "so... is that a compliment?"

"Very much so." Mr. Hikari put his plate in the sink, "I'll let last night slide, since you did what you did to cheer my baby girl up." His tone changed to a deeper and much darker pitch, "but, now that I approve of you, don't pull that same stunt again. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." Thank god Sora's voice didn't crack.

Mr. Hikari gave a nod, and put back on his cheerful smile, "my daughter has been talking about a movie that she wants to see lately.. it's called... Mobile Gear I think?"

Sora nodded, and the gears in his head started turning as he played along, "sounds like an interesting movie."

"It's not to my taste, but I'm sure she'd love to see it with someone. It's a sort of..." Mr. Hikari rotated his hand in a wheel like motion as he thought, "...guy movie. So I don't think she would bring it up on her own."

Sora's peripherals caught a very subtle movement. There was a $50 dollar bill in Mr. Hikari's hand. Notably in such a way that it appeared as if Mr. Hikari was trying to hand him the bill. Sora decided to push his luck, "but what if there isn't a good show time?"

Mr. Hikari shrugged, "I'm sure she'd think of something." There was a low vibrating sound from the counter. Mr. Hikari picked up the phone and took a second to read the caller before giving a small sigh, "I've got to take this, sorry."

"No problem." Sora moved out of the way as Mr. Hikari answered the phone in that commander's voice Sora was all too familiar with, and the family oriented father disappeared when the Commander appeared. Sora looked at the fifty in his hands, not entirely sure how he it even got passed into his hands. The man had done a complete 180 from yesterday when they first met... yesterday Sora was basically chased off, and now the same man who pulled a shotgun on him not only gave him a date idea, but was also going to pay for it? There had to be a catch… and there was one. The underside of the fifty felt off, and sure enough, there was a small note: 'Curfew is eleven. Give or take fifteen.'

Sora knew that note would apply to all future dates as well… Sora would've tipped his hat if he had one. Mr. Hikari had everything thought out in some fashion.

"Sora?" Kairi appeared in the doorframe that led to the dining room, her eyes still showing worry. "What did my dad want to talk to you about?

Sora turned around, and with a subtle sleight of hand, hid the fifty into a pocket, "Oh. He just wanted me to understand him a bit better." Which Sora didn't. At all.

Kairi raised an eyebrow, "what's that supposed to mean?"

Sora beamed at her, "good things, love. I promise." Sora carefully checked their surroundings before giving her a quick kiss. It would've been longer and more passionate but he didn't want to risk getting in trouble... not after gaining the trust of her dad, anyway. But, her dad did give him an idea, and an opportunity...

"So, there's a really cool movie I want to go see..."