A/N: This fic is probably one of the most beloved fanfics that I've ever written. So much so, that I've decided to completely revamp the whole thing and continue it from where it left off six years later, and hopefully make it better than ever. If you'd like to read the original it's posted under my old fanfiction account, Taru Taru Animegal. Yes, the original will have spoilers for this. No, I have no idea if it's going to have the same turn-out or anything, since I didn't (and still don't) actually make the plans before writing. x.x Also, my writing style and views on things have completely changed, and that will reflect in my post-college writing compared to... freiken... sophomore year of high school writing.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Not even my heart is part of Kingdom Hearts. So there.
Morning came all too quickly on the first day of school. I could hear a muffled sound of what seemed like a dying horse pulling me out of the hands of a wonderful, nameless man and back into the reality of my hot bed. Stupid alarm. I groaned, why did school have to be so early? It was like, only six thirty, if that! And the arms of the man in my dreams were so wonderful, too...
The eardrum shattering alarm wasn't going away. Only getting louder and louder, I gave my nice fuzzy pillow one final caress before starting the journey to find the horrible sound. My bed was like my own personal tent, my blue comforter being held down by a THOUSAND pillows!... Okay, five pillows, close enough. The only downside was that I had to wrestle my way out every morning. It was kind of like playing in those really colorful big round kite things that they had in elementary school, only you couldn't just shove it forward to get out of it.
There was a point under there when I couldn't tell which way was up, which probably led to my wall's untimely demise. It happened so sudden, the bed had crawled out from underneath me, sick of my fight on it's nice fluffy surface, and dropped me straight onto the floor. I yelped, a manly yelp mind you, since I was so definitely manly of course, and managed to get out of the death grip of the comforter. I stuck my hands up to stretch, only to find a gaping hole in the wall where my head must have landed. That poor wall, he never stood a chance against my spiky awesomness. Yes, my wall is a he now.
I fumbled through the sea of clothes sprawled out on the floor until I reached the light switch, smiling at the sound of tweeting birds right outside the window. It may have been dark outside, but it was really pretty too with the sun just barely peeking out enough to make the sky blue.
Today was the day that I decided everything was going to change. It wasn't just any old first day of school today, it was the first day of senior year. The year that I would finally break out of my shell and find the man of my dreams, who would come and swoop me away on a magical flying paopu into the eternal sunset of college and jobs and and passionate love making... I couldn't help but swoon at the thought. Wait, do manly men swoon?
I threw on my favorite blue shirt for good luck of course, and some black jeans. Slipping on the oversized packages of comfortable feet holders and grabbing my bag I was ready to go, carefully opening and closing the doors on my way out so I didn't wake my busy parents. Business typhoon and law enforcer equaled did NOT wanna get on their bad side when they worked late nights.
I couldn't help but smile as the fresh morning air hit my face. It felt like cotton candy tickling my face or something, and since I didn't want that feeling to go away, I threw my car keys in my bag deciding not to be suffocated by modern technology and actually WALK to school. Yes, I know, totally rare phenomenon. It really wasn't that far, only a couple of miles away from the neighborhood which also gave me the opportunity to stop by ol' Cid's shop on the way there.
It was a small little shop, kinda a mixture of a mom and pop store with all the benefits a normal gas station or convenience store would have. Cid was an old guy, but he never seemed to age in the twelve years that my family lived here. He knew me and a lot of my friend's names by heart, and sometimes even gave us discounts. I walked in with a cheerful smile and bee lined to the sugary fizzy gold known as soda.
"Eighteen and a senior already, eh? Yer makin' me feel mighty old Sora!" A familiar voice said, making me turn and smile at the old man.
"Good to see you too, old geezer. Thought you would've retired by now." I told him cheekily, He probably wasn't really THAT old, but his daughter did teach at the school quite a while ago when... I brushed off that thought and brought my soda to the counter for him to ring up.
"Nah. Got no one to run the shop. 'sides, it keeps me in shape, unlike you shorty." He jibed back, and I resisted the urge to stick out my tongue at him. Manly men didn't stick out their tongues, and this year things were changing!
It was true though, I wasn't particularly all that muscular, but it just meant that there was more squish to love. He handed me the soda and replaced the toothpick in this mouth with another, scratching his chin.
"I remember the day yer old bud Cloud used to come in here, bless the boy..." I tensed and held back a frown at the sound of my older brother's name. He had gone missing nine – almost ten years ago, right after graduation. Most people thought he had been kidnapped, others believed he left on his own will since a lot of his things were gone, too. I, however, believed it was something entirely different.
The most vivid memories I have of Cloud are the ones where he spoke of his friend. Leon had always seemed so.. different in my opinion when he actually got to show his face around our house, which wasn't often at all. Definitely the polar opposite of anyone in my family. Especially of Cloud, but he was obsessed with the brown haired man. I didn't understand until I was older why Cloud was so wrapped around him, but when I hit puberty, the only thing that made sense had been love. There isn't anything wrong with being in love, I'm happy for him! But... thing is, Leon was a ghost.
And not just any ghost, either. He had been murdered in the eight-hundred hall of the very same high school I attend, over fifty years ago! They say it was bullies, and that he started to torment the other kids to get revenge. But Cloud, being the strong, brave, fearless older brother that he was faced Leon and discovered that he could see, hear, and touch the other man. From that day forward there were many stories Cloud told and fewer reports of ghosty attacks. There are still people around who think that the hall is still haunted, or at least locker 825 where the murder took place, but there sure weren't as many disturbances.
"Sora! Dreamin' er ghosts is gonna get you late!" Cid's gruff voice rang in my ears, and I just gracefully managed to jump out of my skin. I took my drink in exchange for money and pouted.
"Ghosts don't exist..." I mumbled on my way out. Geez, if there was anyone who had any sort of suspicions, it would've been Cid. He thought that Leon was weird, too, though he wasn't ever outright told that the scar-faced man had died over fifty years ago. I shivered at a cold breeze that passed by me, all the talk of ghosts starting to get to me. Keep it together, Sora, There's nothing to be afraid of! Or so I made myself believe.
A part of me wondered if I should stop by Kairi's house on the way to the school... nah, wherever she was, Tidus was bound to be. He had been calling me a pansy since middle school, and once my ex best friend started dating him, she started to back him up on that, too. Though if that was the worst kind of crap I got at school, I would praise the heavens and every school deity around. Though it was still a little sad since the only one I spoke to at school aymore really was my cousin Roxas.
Speaking of, I recognized his spiky blonde hair right away, sitting at the front of the gate with a wrapped box in hand. I grinned, feeling giddy when Roxas looked up from his phone. "Sora!" He called, not that he needed to since he was holding what I could only guess was sugary yummyness wrapped especially for my pleasure.
"Aww you shouldn't have! You do know my birthday's not for three more days, right?" I told him, snatching the box out of his hands and started ripping at the wrapping paper before he could even say boo. Inside was a bag full of chocolate, different types and flavors that made me practically drool all over the sidewalk. "Oh Roxy, you know me so well!"
"Shuttup, don't call me that! And yeah I know, but I'm leaving town before that." Roxas threw back at me with a groan. He hated that nickname, and I took advantage of it so much, but not as much as his boyfriend did. I gave him a hug and immediately started depositing the yummy chocolate into my tummy for safekeeping.
"Oh my Roxas, how will that look on your permanent record?" I asked him sarcastically. His mom loved making him take these trips, and they became more and more frequent the closer he got to graduation. She wanted him to go to a college off the islands that he could study law school at, and as long as he didn't have to become a famous politician and could drag Axel along to college, he was A-OK with that plan.
Roxas rolled his eyes at me, and I could tell he was totally done with the conversation. He pulled out a couple dollar bills and got a sea salt ice cream pop out of the freeze vendor once we entered the building, returning to our spot in the main hall, where I had already safely deposited all of the chocolate. It surely showed on my face as I continued to wipe off the excess around my mouth and lick it off my fingers.
"Have you found a date yet? The dance is in two weeks." Roxas oh so nicely had to go and remind me. I just shook the spikes on top of my head, finding the floor patterns incredibly interesting at that point since I knew what was coming. Here we go again...
"Have you thought that maybe you just haven't looked hard enough? Look at me and Axel, we started dating to avoid being paraded on these god awful trips. Now though I... Well..." He trailed off
"Can't live without him? Don't ever wanna lose your Axy poo?" I said in a sweet voice that I knew would make him cringe.
"You know it helped that you totally suck at math and Axel was assigned your tutor way back when. I'm not lucky enough to get bad grades and have a smoking hot tutor!" No pun intended, of course.
He just rolled his eyes at me, which I totally ignored and got up. "There's only five minutes left until class, and I still gotta go hunt down my locker." I said with a sigh, seeing Roxas again for the first time in weeks was awesome, but sitting through classes was torture. He didn't look like he was ready to move, so I rolled my eyes and waved my hand, digging around the black hole known as my bag for a crinkled paper with classes and a locker number. Up at the top left corner... oh no.
The locker I had was locker 830. Not a big deal... just five lockers away from where someone was KILLED but I already knew who it was. So maybe it wasn't a big deal? I gulped down the forming lump in my throat and headed towards the hall. Not many people went down that hall, save for the custodians and the unfortunate people who had lockers down here. My hands were getting clammy, why was this so hard? Leon had taken off to heaven knows what place with Cloud, no more torment, right? I kept telling myself that as my hands were all but dripping sweat.
Finally, 830... The lockers seemed normal, a couple of dents here and there from wear and tear but nothing that screams 'murder took place 5 lockers away!' I took comfort from that and looked down at the paper in my hand, or at least tried. I couldn't get myself to stop shaking.
"Ok Sora, you can do this... 31... 24...1-" The room went cold as I heard a noise, and I whipped my head around so fast I swear I heard something crack. No one was there. Sighing, I turned the lock back so that I could restart the combo. Stop being such a chicken! You're a manly man now!
"Who is there?" That was it. To hell with manly man. I screamed, like the girl I am of course, falling on the floor with my books surrounding me.
"Please don't eat me Leon I'm sorry!" I called, it must have been an interesting sight, my hands above my head and knees tucked in, whimpering mess. What a man, Sora. Just, what a man. I shakily looked up when nothing happened, head twisting and turning before looking up... Only to see the most gorgeous aquamarine eyes ever.
He looked down at me curiously for a minute, raising an eyebrow that framed his god-like eyes with a smirk. Yeah yeah I know I look so manly, you don't have to rub it in hot guy. "Looks like I scared you a little bit too much." His voice said, like butter cutting through the horribly horrible thick air.
"I'm Riku."
I blinked, for a minute completely forgetting why I was on the ground in the first place. When he leaned over and offered a hand, I finally shook out of it and took his hand. It was so warm... burning almost, and I felt a blush spread up to my ears. It was a nice contrast to the freezing feeling in the hall.
"S-sora." Did I just stammer? No, Sora, down boy. Riku was a good head taller than me, and had the most gorgeous silver hair I'd ever seen, but besides all that I had never seen him before. He looked to be a senior though, at least I hoped he was, it would totally kill my self esteem of manliness if he was a junior or sophomore.
"Where you from? Oh I m-mean it's just-just I've never seen you around before." I said more quickly than my brain could say to me. His smirk never left and he had helped me pick up my books, walking with me on the way to class. I was grateful that the other hallways were much warmer than the one where my locker was. It didn't seem like he was in a hurry for any sort of class, which I didn't question since it just meant I had more time to talk to the sex on le- down boy.
"I'm from... The northern island. Transferred here when a friend told me the academic performance was better here." He said curtly. I had to resist a snort, who went to a school for academic achievements in high school? College maybe, but definitely not high school. I wandered into English and almost skipped in joy when Riku followed me in. He must have the same class! And that means I can ask him more questions. I bit my tongue when the bell rang though, and he took a seat behind me. Not fair, he could look at me and I couldn't look at him! That is, assuming, he plays for our team. Not likely.
The first two classes were a coincidence. But by third period, I was a little unnerved by Riku following me around. It was like he was a zombie puppy, and would only talk to me in the hallways, not that I minded the company. It was more unsettling because he was never called out in class, and three classes together seemed a little bit weird.
More than anything though, I was so glad to be out of those suffocating classes for a while at lunch. Sitting still wasn't something I could do for very long, and tapping your foot and playing with paper could only get one so far. I headed into the lunch room, sighing a little bit. Riku had come up with some reason that he couldn't be there at lunch, leaving me alone for the first time all day. It was almost like I was missing something now, even though I'd only knew him since the morning. I grabbed my food and headed over to the usual spot, where Roxas, Hayner, Pence, Olette and Axel were sitting.
"I thought you graduated last year Axel?" I asked him with a grin, not really caring much. He was obviously there to torment – I mean spend time with his precious Roxy poo. They were so stinking cute.
"Yeah yeah, doesn't mean I can't come spend time with my favorite blonde at lunch." The redhead said, returning my smile with one of his own, where Roxas just rolled his eyes.
"You mean as long as you don't get caught, delinquent." He jabbed at his much taller boyfriend who just laughed. My mind couldn't help but wander back to Riku and if I would ever be able to be that comfortable around him. I sure hoped so.
"Aww Roxy you wound me." I tuned out their banter at that, playing with the food and front of me. It wasn't until Hayner waved a hand in front of me that I realized just how goofy I must've looked. I always was the first person to finish my food, but this time it was still untouched on the tray.
"Earth to Sora! Geez your distracted today." He said and I just shook my head.
"Err... It must be senior-itis. What's up?" I asked, pushing away my embarrassment at the fact everyone was staring at me.
"I asked if your mom was still treating you like a five- year-old now that your an adult."
"Nah, she stopped doing that when she realized that I could drive here wherever she wanted." I told him honestly. My mom hated driving more than anything, and I didn't mind giving her rides. It was just a plus that she let me do what I wanted as long as it was within reason. That, and as long as my father wasn't home, which normally he wasn't
"She never did like operating moving vehicles, did she?" Roxas mused out loud. I nodded and continued to stuff my face with the lukewarm mac and cheese in front of me. Even with all the smalltalk, my mind couldn't let Riku out of it, and I wondered where he had gone. Maybe the roof? Or the library, the second one being more of an option since he seemed to be a know-it-all.
"Hey guys, do you know a Riku by chance?" I asked, to which there were shrugs around the table and solid 'no's. I scratched my head and looked at Pence.
"You must know who he is, he was in second period with us today. Silver hair and stuff?" I asked the slightly chubby man, who just shook his head.
"I have no idea who your talking about. Sorry, Sora." My shoulders slumped at that. Riku was so different, 'least to me he was, and I was sure that so many others would be swooning over him... not that I'd complain otherwise. I didn't miss the look that Roxas gave me though and completely downed my food, opting to head to the locker rooms early and change for gym to avoid his questions.
"I'll see you after school, Sora!" The blonde called after me and I gulped. It was not negotiable.
Gym was never my favorite class. Not because I didn't like to get up and do stuff for a change, but because coach Larxene was awful. She LOVED dodge ball, and usually the balls were charged with electricity. That, and I hated changing in front of other people. Why we couldn't play basketball in our normal day clothes was beyond me.
I set down my bag in front of me and picked out a locker, pulling out a lock and my gym clothes before groaning. I had totally forgotten to drop off half my books when I was at my locker. No wonder my back had been sore all day, and I was NOT looking forward to going back down that hall later. Stuffing my bag in the locker and checking to make sure there were no signs of life, I started to strip, praying I could get changed and ready before anyone came in.
I had just barely managed to shuffle on my shorts when the room started to get cold, making me shiver. That seemed to happen a lot today. Whether if it was because of the cold or because it felt exactly like it did this morning by my locker I didn't know, and really, I didn't WANT to know. I wasn't really given the chance to get scared this time though, Riku's warm hand grabbing mine and dragging me away.
"Uwah! R-riku, where are we going? How did you know where I was?" I asked him. He didn't take me far, only a couple of rows of lockers down to an open locker. Stupid Sora that must've been his locker! How did you totally miss the sexy man!? Riku was already sporting his gym clothes, and suddenly I was overly aware that my squishy whole top half of me was showing.
"Saw you walk in here. You're not very coordinated, are you?" He asked me, pulling out some sort of small, plastic case from his gym locker and handed it to me. I furrowed my eyes and opened it, scrunching up my nose. It was a stupid mouth guard.
He sighed at the look I gave it. "Wear it. It's brand new and I certainly don't need it, and coach Larxene is merciless. At least from what I've heard." I cringed and popped the stupid thing in my mouth. There were a lot of close calls I had in her class, and only in the sense that my teeth weren't knocked out. I was almost always hit in the face when she played her favorite game, 'lightning', code word for dodge balls that zapped you. Still, the way my mouth jutted out made me really rethink it.
"Ay ook shuupich" I told Riku, shrugging on my shirt and headed back to throw the rest of my clothes in my locker. He followed and gave me his signature smirk, which for the first time all day I thought was really annoying.
"You look fine... as long as you don't talk with that in your mouth." He reassured me. I didn't believe him, but I couldn't get myself to argue with the sexy man.
"Au rye."
He smiled at me and turned, leaving for the gym when the bell rang. Classmates started flooding in, stripping and hounding each other. I did my best to ignore them and crammed everything in my locker, having to shove it closed and hurry with the lock since there were so many books in my bag. I practically ran out of there and onto the bleachers, spotting Riku near the top and raced up to him, taking the infuriating piece of plastic out of my mouth during roll call.
"Back again, Sora Sakai?" The shrill voice of a certain blonde haired coach called. I nodded, saying nothing to her out of fear. She loved to pick me out, or pick on me, whatever floated her boat the day.
"Don't tell me your afraid of a girl trowing a bunch of rubber balls, Sora?" Riku said next to me, and I said nothing. No, I wasn't afraid thank you very much, I was TERRIFIED of that woman and her throwing skills. It could be worse, I told myself, remembering the stories of Cloud's coach, who was ironically Cid's daughter Rikku, throwing balls with grenades in them, and if they touched the ground they would blow up. It was sad to think about, that Cloud's stories were the only things that got me through school sometimes since he wasn't around for me to share with him.
"Sora?" Riku called and I looked at him, giving him a weak smile. I felt better that he was here, and as more people filed in he stayed. Larxene called roll, and I tuned it out up until she called my name, moving to my spot on the bleachers that she pointed out. I never heard her call Riku's name, but I also wasn't paying very close attention. He was sitting at the end of the opposite side, which made me huff. So far away.
"Today we're going to be playing lightning... my way." there were many groans in the crowd, including my own. How did the school get away with this kind of torture? Probably because Ms. Yuna was one hell of a good nurse. I looked over at Riku, who didn't seem fazed by her announcement. I cringed and popped in the mouth guard once more.
Once divided into teams, I was grateful that Riku was on my side. He patted my head and went in front, getting ready to run. I gulped and followed suit, until he started laughing.
"I won't let anything hit you, Sora. You just relax and enjoy the show." I blushed and nodded, though I wasn't very confident that even Riku could handle her lightning balls. He proved me wrong though, the first serve Larxene did was directed, no shocker, towards me. I hyperventilated until Riku came in front and blocked it with his chest, sending it back fast at Larxene. The whole class was silent some with terrified looks and I blinked. Riku wasn't just good, he was great.
The ball didn't come my way the rest of the period.
A/N: Oh wow, that took a lot more time than I thought it would, course it also took me a bit to fall into the swing of writing again. I'm going to be writing this side by side with the original chapters until I'm caught up, so I get the opportunity to change a lot and elaborate on a lot more from the original. Please Review! Was this any good? Let me know to add fuel to push out the next chapter.
