Adrian: So, I'm bringing you all another story. Another multi-chaptered one that I'll hopefully remember to update on a regular basis…Although, I have always been good about that when it comes to Kingdom Hearts fanfiction. Don't ask me what inspired this, though the title and the continued premise (that what's important to Sora is not necessarily important to everyone else) comes from something one of my professors said when we were discussing a poem, as well as the painting, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus. So I ran with that and added it in. Basically, this is practice in description and an attempt to improve my (relatively poor) writing skills.

I also wasn't sure whether to file this as "Cloud S. & Leon/Squall L." or "Sora & Riku". Ultimately, I decided to go the Cloud/Squall route because while the POV and main character may be Sora, it's ultimately about Cloud and Squall and the horrible influence they have on his life.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't care.

Original Summary (the sentence that started the plot): Sometimes, like now, Sora was absolutely certain of one thing: he hated his life.

As the World Keeps Turning

Chapter 1

"You know, Sora, sometimes I just don't understand you at all." Riku said this with utter conviction, leaning over the edge of the bed he was sprawled out on in order to see the boy he was talking to.

Said boy huffed, crossing his arms and slouching lower in his seat as he ignored his best friend. Riku told him that enough on a daily basis that Sora had pretty much just learned to tune those amused comments out and focus only on what he wanted to hear.

"I mean, really," the silver-haired teen continued, blithely ignoring the younger boy ignoring him, "What have you got to be upset about? You're the keyblade master, you have the most kickass best friend in history (me, by the way), the coolest big brother figure/guardian anyone could ask for (even if he does tend to stay a little on the constipated side), and you've even shared a paopu fruit with the most popular kid in school (once again, me). I mean, yeah, you may have issues with that whole 'evil twin' cliché you've got going on with Roxas, and you may also have an insanely badass, slightly creepy, slightly crazy mercenary on your tail all the time—not to mention living with you—but compared to, say, Vincent? You've got it easy."

Sora frowned, sliding farther down into the dark blue beanbag chair he sat on. The two boys sat in Sora's bedroom, participating in their weekly bonding ritual. Mainly it consisted of Riku griping at Sora, and Sora griping back at Riku twice as much once he'd pondered things over and come up with a suitable response. The whining sessions (as Leon tended to call them) had, in all actuality, been a monthly occurrence until the crap in Sora's life had hit the fan last year, prompting an immediate need for more "get it off my chest" time. The problem, however, was that no matter how many times the younger boy had tried to explain himself, Riku just didn't seem to get it. He didn't understand how Sora's life had plummeted from Mt. Olympus to Hades himself's chambers, simply because of one person appearing in his life. One person who, under any other circumstances, was a pretty decent guy (decent possibly being too nice a word), but in the glassy perfection that had been Sora's world was like a bullet that had caused the whole thing to shatter.

No matter what, Riku had never understood (and probably would never understand) that it had all started with Squall Leonhart (even though really it had all started with Cloud Strife).

(9 Months Ago)

Aerith Gainsborough was a beautiful, kind-hearted, amazing, upbeat woman. She went around to everyone she met, spreading joy and happiness through the bright pink bow she always wore in her hair and the flowers that were never far from her hand. A gentle smile was permanently etched onto her face, and everyone she met could instantly tell the type of person she was. She was also, luckily enough, Sora's mother. That's why, when Sora bustled in from school and smelt the wonderful fragrance of his favourite type of brownies (double chocolate chunk) fresh from the over, he didn't think anything of it. He figured it was just Aerith being Aerith and satisfying her innate need for baked goods and cuteness and making her son happy in every way possible. It was when he stumbled into the kitchen, half-high from the wonderful smell, and saw her standing there with a serious expression on her face (and, more importantly, no smile) that he realized something was wrong.

"Zack!" the woman called softly to her husband upon seeing him. "Sora's home."

"Umm…is everything all right, mom?" he hazarded.

"Everything's perfect!" she replied dandily, still no sign of a smile gracing her perfectly soft face.

Sora frowned and scratched his head. Opening his mouth to continue, the fifteen-year-old was cut off by his father, Zackary Fair, fumbling his way into the kitchen through the door from the living room. The spiky-headed, black-haired man grinned widely upon seeing his son—somewhat reassuring the boy that he wasn't in trouble—before casually leaning back against the kitchen counter.

"Sora, sit down," Aerith ordered (gently, of course—the same way she did everything else) as she placed a plate of brownies on the table. "You're father and I have something to tell you."

Darting his head back and forth to take in both of them, the brown-haired boy blurted out the first thing that came to his mind as to why his mother could look so serious.

"Are you two getting a divorce?" It's not like it would be that strange. Almost all of his friend's had had to deal with that. Why, just last week his friend Namine's older sister, Larxene, had finalized her divorce from her pink-haired, flower-obsessed husband, Marluxia. However, the scandalized look that crossed both his parent's face from the suggestion was answer enough.

"What?" Zack cried in outrage, slamming his fist against the counter (and there was a distinct crack left behind when the hand was removed). "A divorce? Where the hell would you get an idea like that? No, we're not getting divorced!"

"Oh. Sorry, just a guess."

Aerith sighed softly, wiping her hand on the dishtowel she carried tucked in her pink apron. "Sora…Zack and I…well…we have a confession. We're not your real parents."

"So I'm adopted? Sweet! Riku's adopted, too!" And…that definitely didn't play over the way both parents were expecting, Sora could tell. But, hey, anyway that he was more like Riku was a-okay in his book for sure. Riku was, like…the epitome of coolness. He just oozed awesome from every deep-cleansed pore; every perfectly conditioned strand of silver hair; every clear polished, well-manicured nail. Not to mention that the older boy, despite displaying some slightly metro-sexual tendencies, could still wipe the floor with Sora every time they mock-dueled.

"Um…no, Sora, you're not exactly adopted the same way Riku is," Zack took over, completely ruining all of his (not) son's fantasies. "We're actually just…temporary guardians. Like foster parents, kind of. Except a lot better at fighting. See, we know you know you're THE keyblade master. Like, not just A keyblade master, THE keyblade master, since you summon Kingdom Key and all, and it really has to do with that. When you were little, the King gave you to us to take care of and raise in the relative safety of a pretty normal life, with Aerith here using all her power to keep you shielded from the darkness all the time. Are you getting this so far?"

Sora nodded. In all honesty, it wasn't too much to take in. After all, Riku wielded a Dark Keyblade. Anything was possible after that one!

"Um, yeah," Zack continued a little nervously, "So, basically, at the head of the darkness, there's this evil organization—they call themselves Organization XIII—and somehow they've figured out who and where you are. So you're mother and I are moving out by the end of the week because the King feels like you'll be better protected with someone more…capable…than us because I've been out of practice for so long and the Organization has pretty much hired the best of the best to kidnap and/or kill you, whichever's easiest. So you're getting a new legal guardian who's going to teach you the ins and outs of, well, everything you need to know to survive." And that was all said in one long, nervous breath.

Sora blinked. "So, um…my new guardian. Is it anyone I know?"

"Uh…not specifically, no," his father replied.

The Keyblade Master's brow furrowed. "What do you mean by 'not specifically'?"

Aerith finally smiled, and a burden on the boy's heart was lifted that he hadn't even realized was there. "Sora…you remember how we always used to talk about cousin Squall, right? Well, let's just say he's not actually your cousin, and he's very good at what he does. Which is something not entirely pleasant."

Sora grinned. Riku was going to be so jealous!

Little did the teen know that meeting Squall Leonhart was going to be the beginning…well, not of the end, but certainly the demise of the young man's optimistic outlook on life. No one really blamed him, though, because as he later realized, it was practically impossible to keep a cheerful outlook on life with such a mood killer living in the same house as you.

Sora began to realize this—though he didn't recognize that fact until many months after—two days later, at that first, fateful meeting.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Today's the day!" Sora babbled excitedly, all but running through the crowded hallways in his rush to get home. As soon as the final bell had rang, he'd shot out of the classroom without even a second's hesitation.

"Calm down, Sora!" Riku called after him. The older boy, being larger, was having a hard time keeping up as he kept bumping into people. "And slow down already!" he huffed, grabbing his friend's arm right as they made it through the school doors.

"I'm sorry, I'm just—excited! I mean, I'll miss my not-parents and all, but this is going to be so cool!" The brunette was happily slaying heartless in his mind, he was so excited.

"Not to burst your bubble or anything, but you don't even know the guy! He could be, like, the worst thing to ever happen—whoa, who is that?" Riku cut himself off. Sora followed his friend's stare down to the parking lot where a blonde man (one much too old for high school) sat against the absolute coolest bike either teen had ever seen in their relatively short lives.

"I don't know, I've never seen him before. I'm pretty sure I would remember him, too, no one on Destiny Islands wears that much black. He must be new in town."

"Yeah, that'd explain the sword," Riku added, glaring as one of the other students bustling by bumped into him. A smile was back on his face when he turned once more to face his friend. "No one just walks around with their weapons in the open like that around here."

"Hey, we should go talk to him," Sora suggested, and Riku realized at that moment that their path had moved in the man's direction.

"No, Sora! We don't talk to strange men dressed in all black with dangerous swords and cool motorcycles! That practically just screams out 'evil'!" The older, more reasonable boy tried to, well, reason with his younger friend, stepping into the other's path. "What would your paren—Zack and Aerith think?"

Sora sighed and looked off to the side forlornly. He knew exactly what Zack and Aerith would think. "Okay, fine, we won't talk to him. But can we at least just…walk by? Because that is hands down the absolute coolest vehicle I have ever seen in my entire fifteen years of living."

Riku frowned (partially in contemplation and partially because people just would not stop knocking into him!). "Well…I guess that'd be okay. C'mon."

As they approached the strange man and the bike, both felt themselves shudder. Neither could guarantee it, what with the dark shades on the stranger's face and all, but both felt like he was staring straight at them. They held their breath as they passed, trying to secretly ogle the machine as they went, but afraid they'd find the blonde still looking at them. As they made it all the way through, the two began to breathe in unison, sharing a secret grin, as they continued to walk away.

"Hey, kid!" the voice caused both of them to freeze up, and both boys slowly turned around to find electric blue eyes (were they glowing?) fixed intently on Sora.

"Um…yeah?" the brown-haired teen responded warily. Up close like this, the man seemed a little on the creepy side with the combination of the shockingly blue eyes and the ice cold look on his face.

"Are you Sora Gainsborough-Fair?" the man continued to stare fixedly at the fifteen-year-old's face.

"Um…why do you want to know something like that?" Sora asked, completely flabbergasted.

"No reason, really," the blonde replied, finally removing his eyes as he turned and straddled his bike. "I just happen to know your parents. Name's Cloud. You should tell them I stopped by."

"Okay?" he tried. Sora turned to Riku for support, except the silver-haired teen looked just as taken aback by the whole thing.

"I'll be seeing you around very soon," Cloud concluded with a smirk that was downright evil. The black-clad man kicked up the stand, revved the engine, and then sped out of the school's parking lot, barely missing hitting the boys as he went.

"Woah," a new voice cut in, and Sora and Riku turned to find their friend Kairi approaching. "What was that about?"

"No idea," Sora said in reply, staring after the strange man.

"You coming to my party tonight?" the redheaded girl asked after a moment. And that was the thing about Kairi. The only thing ever on her mind was parties. It annoyed Riku sometimes (all the time), but Sora thought she was the most fun person at school, and so she had been submerged into their little group.

"I don't know if I'll be able to make it, but I'll definitely try!" Sora exclaimed. His eyes shone as bright as usual.

"Sorry, can't make it. I've got important stuff to do tonight," Riku replied snootily. He and Kairi were locked in a staring contest, neither blinking, and Sora could feel the ninja stars being thrown back and forth through their eyes.

"So, anyway, guys!" the brown-haired boy interrupted cheerfully, a nervous laugh stuck in the back of his throat. "I, uh…have to go! Later!"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Riku.

"Bye, Sora." Kairi.

Neither one even turned to look at him as he waved them goodbye. With a forlorn sigh, the boy turned and began the long trek home, always ready to summon his keyblade should heartless become a problem. Luckily enough, no heartless crossed his path that day.

Creepy blonde men with cool bikes stalking him, though? Yeah, that might be a problem.

"What does this guy want with me?" the young Keyblade Master wheezed out, panting for breath. Gasping a couple more times, Sora straightened up to try and figure out where he'd ended up. It was a relatively small street he'd never seen before, with no discernable features around to help him even recognize where he might be, that the high schooler found himself after almost an hour of running nonstop from his pursuer. Now exhausted, though, and wheezing, not even the vroom of the kick-ass bike in the distance could spur him back into action. Instead, the boy turned in the direction of his adversary and stood up straight. With a determined look on his face, he called forth Kingdom Key, feeling the magic tingle throughout his body as the blade began to form in his hand. The screeching of tires from behind caused him to jump and swing around, weapon at the ready to defend himself.

Instead of creepy blonde guy with super spiky hair and cool bike, though, Sora found a completely disinterested looking brunette in a (still cool) convertible, both hands on the hweel. The man's shaggy hair fell around his shoulders as he moved to shoot Sora a blank look, but the brown-haired teen had a hard time drawing his eyes away from the neat scar that practically split the driver's face in two.

"Get in the car," said driver demanded, causing Sora to snap back to attention as he realized he'd been staring.

"Huh…?"

"I said get in the car."

Raising his weapon, the teen glared at this stranger. "No way. What, do you think I'm stupid or something? You don't get into cars with strangers, that's just asking to be kidnapped!" And the roar of the bike was getting louder by the second.

"Look, Sora," the man began, rubbing his forehead in a way that made the boy suspect he had a headache, "Kingdom Key's a nice weapon and all, but if you really think you're going to be taking down either me or him with it, you're more of an idiot that Zack made you out to be. Now get in the damn car."

Sora blinked, lowering his keyblade. "Squall…?" he asked tentatively, a quiet realization creeping up on him.

"I go by Leon." And that annoyed stare was really beginning to get to Sora, so he did what any sensible person in this situation would do. He jumped in the car—and not a moment too soon, either, because that's when creepy Cloud turned the corner on his not-so-creepy bike, swerving to a stop when he saw the car.

Sora glanced back and forth between the two men, sensing an odd vibe, but not quite sure of what it was, as the two sat locked in a staring contest (though it was hard to tell because psycho-creepy-stalker had those shades back on, but Squall—oh, wait, that's Leon—seemed to think so, and that's what counted in Sora's mind at least).

Finally, after what seemed like seconds (and actually were), the blonde man shook his head sped off in the direction he came from. Squall—Leon glanced over at Sora, where the boy had crawled into the front seat. He felt himself begin to shrink up from the piercing, scrutinizing look the older man levelled at him. It was a good two minute of studying him before Leon huffed and looked away, allowing Sora to let out the breath he'd knew he'd been holding in.

"Well," came the first proper sentence Squall Leonhart ever spoke to him (because bossing him around and insulting him did not count as proper talking in Sora's book), "You're alive."

…The sad thing is, Sora wasn't quite sure whether that was meant as good or bad…

TBC…

Review! :D

First five to review get a prize! No, seriously, you'll get a prize. I've got one all picked out and everything.

And if anyone wants to beta this story for me, I seriously need one.