Disclaimer:

The game is mine, the rights are not

concept, O.C.s, Venagai, Everwinding River, all mine

Authors Little Tid-bit Thingy: OMG I'm sooo sorry for not getting this out sooner. I've been working on it, I swear. I won't bore you with explanations and excuses as to why I couldn't get it up before now, I'll just let you read because that's why you're here, right?

Chapter Four: First Impressions

Some time later, with his feet pulsating from being so overworked, Sora returned to the pub to find only one table being occupied. Okay, that wasn't so bad. Shuffling his weary feet and trying to ignore everything except his destination, Sora made his way toward the bar to sit. Climbing into the seat, he noticed that the two men from before were now gone. Perhaps the darker-haired one had gotten too drunk and had to be escorted out by his friend. Those two seemed like an odd pair . . . he wondered vaguely where they were now.

A deep sigh escaped Sora as he let his head fall on the counter with a resounding THUNK.

"Don't hurt yourself, there." That deep voice crooned, with a touch of concern woven within.

"At this point," Sora groaned, leaving his head planted on the counter, "Well, at this point, let's just say that there's not much else anyone can do to me that'll hurt."

Without another word there was a sharp pinch and his ear felt like it was going to be torn from the side of his head to leave a gaping bloody hole.

"OWW!! " he exclaimed raising his head once more.

Leon let out a faint scoffing sound, "I had to test that theory." He shrugged.

Sora only glared at him, too tired to even make a snide remark.

There was a shuffling behind him, as the last table seemed to stir. "Hey, Leon!" A laughing, slightly boyish voice called, hiccoughing slightly, "We're heading on up, 'kay, Dude? I'm sick of waiting for you!"

A blonde young man, in what seemed to be a blue leather ensemble, staggered toward them. His blue-green eyes were glassy and he seemed to be in a sort of daze. A small part of his hair was pulled into a short pony-tail that was no longer than the length of his neck. The rest hung loosely around his face, framing it as a bonnet would. Helping to guide him was a smallish woman with short black hair and an orange jumpsuit. If anything, she seemed more concerned about her friend than anything else at the moment.

"Whatever." Was Leon's terse reply, "Don't break anything."

"I'm hurt!" The man laughed, "You think that I would honestly be so irresponsible as to destroy the property of the almighty, innkeeper?"

The man and his friend stopped just short of the countertop and it was only at this distance that he even seemed to notice that there was another person there.

"Oho! And who's this?" he cooed leaning inward to get a better look at Sora in his frozen spot at the bar. Blue-green eyes bore into his own as if trying to fish out his soul using telepathy.

After a while, of not saying anything, and barely blinking, Sora was beginning to think maybe the man had fallen asleep right there or malfunctioned or something. He shied away and was deeply tempted to wave a hand in front of the other man's face, just to see if he was still conscious. However, reason won over curiosity and he held himself back.

"I like him," the blonde said out of nowhere, nodding his head, "He's sorta cute."

Sora frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying you're lucky I'm only into chicks." The man stated as if Sora was a slow-learning child, "Or else I may just try to take you right here." He laughed again, heartily reaching out to pat Sora heavily on the shoulder. He leaned forward to "whisper" something in his ear, "You might have to watch out for Leon though. I can't give you any guarantees about him. You look as if you might just be his type, too."

Leon frowned as well glaring directly at the blonde, but kept his mouth shut as he returned to his closing duties.

The woman in the orange jumpsuit had released the man, deeming him fit to stand without her help, and took a stool at the bar, rubbing her temples in exhaustion. A notion to which Sora could completely relate, though he had not had to cope with a drunken fool, like the one laughing over him at the moment, for an entire evening as she had. She removed her red gloves that seemed as if they were a couple sizes too big for her and ran her elegant slim fingers through her shoulder- length black hair, tugging at the ends in some internal struggle. In a show of kindness, Leon placed a complementary drink before her. She grinned up at Leon, taking the drink and nodding in silent thanks.

Sora turned his attention back to the person in front of him. The weird man was watching him again, studying him intensely, and drawing conclusions about him, no doubt. Sora cringed, drawing away from the strange man. He crossed his arms and tried his best to relay a deep scowl. The expression only made the smile on the man's face even wider.

"Though, I think you might just be cute enough to make me forget you're a dude." He turned to the woman winking, "Wha'd'ya think, Dagger?" he chided, "Pretty enough, isn't he?"

Said woman, "Dagger" as he had called her, quickly drank the remainder of the contents of her glass, politely covering her lips as she swallowed, "Let's leave this young man be for the moment and get you off to bed." She hesitated before adding the last part as if trying to decide just what to say, "Man, you look like crap."

At this, Sora put on a faint smile. It was obvious that this woman had pretty much had no prior experience in an environment like this. She was, in more ways than one, in the same boat as Sora. Unlike the blonde man, Sora felt that this woman was actually likeable, but he could not, for the life of him, figure out why she was in league with such company as this.

Sighing, Dagger stood to take her friend's arm over her shoulders and lead him to a door in the back of the pub. Halfway there, a long, thin, tan- colored appendage wrapped itself around her waist, attempting to pull her even closer to the blonde before she swatted it away harshly . . . was that . . . his tail?!

"That's just Zidane." Leon said after the two had left. "Zidane Tribal. Don't take him too seriously. He's always acting out like that. He thinks he's the most charming thing to ever walk the face of this planet."

Sora stared after them through the closed door. He wondered vaguely what his story was and why he had taken refuge with Leon in the first place. Leon only seemed to tolerate him and was far from actually liking the blonde.

As if reading his mind, Leon continued, "Hunters have been after him for months now. But they haven't been able to track him. He makes sure never to stay in one place too long, but he'll comeback and crash here for a few days before he's off again."

Sora blinked, listening intently and nodding when he felt there was something that made sense. Though there were still a few questions he need answered.

"But why is he being hunted then?" Sora asked simply, bringing up a hand to rest his head in.

Leon hesitated before he answered, debating whether or not he should disclose such information with Sora. After a while, however, he concluded that it shouldn't be a problem with someone like Sora, who was new in all of this, to know.

"D'you see the girl he was with?" Leon continued in a low whisper.

Sora nodded.

"A princess from some place called Gaia."

Sora's eyes were wide when they snapped to Leon, his mouth slightly ajar and his head had jerked forward slightly when his hand fell limply to his side.

"A-A princess?!" Sora gaped.

Leon nodded, "Princess Garnet til Alexandros . . . the 17th I believe. Zidane and his crew kidnapped her from the palace in Alexandria and they've been on the run ever since."

"17th . . ." Sora repeated blankly, "I guess it's a popular name in their family, huh?" His brows furrowed, however, when a thought dawned upon him, "So, if Zidane 'kidnapped' her, then why did they seem so . . . friendly with one another?"

Leon sighed, obviously getting tired of the topic, "She was the one who hired him to take her."

"So, she hired someone to kidnap her?" Sora sighed dazedly, absently scratching the back of his head, "Why not just run away? It'd save a lot of trouble and no one else would've had to have been involved."

Leon shrugged, cleaning out Dagger's glass and stowing it away for later use. "She wanted to be taken." Leon said dully, "And I can only guess that she knew she couldn't do it on her own. So she left with him and changed her name so no one would be able to track her. Besides, a kidnapped princess looks better on the residence than one who has run away."

"That's why he was calling her 'Dagger'." Sora concluded nodding in understanding, "I can understand why she would change it."

Leon raised his eyebrows; eyeing Sora as he removed his gloves, "Do you now?"

Sora nodded, "'Princess Garnet til Alexandros the 17th' would get tiresome after a while, wouldn't it?"

Leon let out a chuckle of amusement shaking his head slowly.

Sora smiled as well as he mentally patted himself on the back for getting a laugh out of the "introvert".

"You look terrible." Leon noted suddenly, removing his apron to set it in a cupboard behind him.

Sora's smile faded instantly.

-t-

"How do you know what I look like normally?" Sora groaned as he let his fingers slide along the railing of the stairs that led upward to "the inn", "What if I always look like this? What if you've just offended me?"

Leon shrugged slightly, "The Fire's gone."

At this, Sora's head snapped up again to look directly at Leon's back. "Fire . . .?" Did Leon already know that he was a Witch? If so, how did he find out, and know his Element no less?

"Your enthusiasm is gone." Leon said dryly, "When you first stepped into the pub, you were full of energy- nearly snapped my head off in our first meeting. Now, though, it's just gone."

Sora shrugged, "I give it until morning."

The rest of the walk was taken in silence as they climbed the stairs and trekked down a narrow hallway, passed what was obviously Zidane's and Dagger's room. The light was still on and there were distinct sounds of giggling coming from the other side of the door.

"I give it until morning." Leon said dully, taking wider strides to pass the doorway. Sora was right as his heels.

When they reached the end of the hallway, Leon stopped and Sora stopped as well.

"This will be your room until you get your bearings around here." Leon said briskly gesturing to the door to his right.

Before Sora had had a chance to respond, Leon passed and was on his way back down the hallway, "Wait, Leon." He called after him.

The taller brunette stopped and turned his head slightly to the side, wordlessly acknowledging Sora's call.

Sora hesitated, unsure of how to ask his question without seeming too . . . suggestive about it, "Um- where – where will you be . . .? Y'know, in case I need to find you."

"Around." Was Leon's short reply.

And he left, disappearing into the shadows and becoming one of them instantly.

'Well that was useful.' Sora thought to himself, shaking his head and opening the door to his room. With an effortless flick of his wrist, he was able to ignite a lantern that was mounted on one of the walls. It was a modest place, furnished with only the essentials. Of course if it was a room to hide people, there would be no need for anything more than the bed that was there along the wall and said lantern mounted on the adjacent wall next to a small rectangular hole cut out for a window, with a thick cloth covering it for privacy purposes. He shuffled his way to the straw- filled "mattress" and wooden frame on which he was to sleep. Upon reaching it, with all other thoughts, including those of wonder as to where this new world was or how he was to return home, far from his mind, Sora collapsed and welcomed the softer, if still a bit lumpier than he was used to, surface on which he had fallen.

Within one minute, Sora was asleep.

-o-

Weaving and stumbling, Riku was finally able to navigate Hiro into their little house, Hiro trying to grope him the entire way. After about thirty minutes after tailing Sora on their "walk" Hiro was complaining about being tired and how much he had wanted to go home. Begrudgingly, Riku had obliged, postponing his surveillance to guide Hiro home.

Once inside, he sharply pushed his elder aside, making him stumble onto the couch as Riku passed to the kitchenette to get a "hangover potion" for him, which was, in all actuality, only a placebo. Hiro's vocabulary, which had been reduced down to incoherent gibberish, faded down to no more than a whisper as Riku rummaged through the cabinets and drawers of the kitchenette. After about a minute's worth of hunting, he had found the object of his search and made his way back over to the couch where he had planned to drop the small glass vile on Hiro's head and proceed onward to the bathroom for a long hot shower.

Upon reaching the couch, however, there was a sharp pull on his wrist and a harsh tug that made him collapse onto his knees to level himself with the rank stench of Hiro's alcohol- laden breath. The vile slipped and fell silently to the rug beneath him.

"You know you can't lie to me." Hiro's slurred drawl sounded. Expelled was any sense of playfulness, or enjoyment that had been there before entering the house.

"You're drunk." Riku replied attempting to rip his arm away only to feel the hand around his forearm tighten enough to make him wince. "Hey, Hiro, let go!"

Hiro sat up slowly, trying his damnedest to focus an intent glare at the younger man. The motion, however had twisted Riku's arm even more into a rather uncomfortable position, causing a pained hiss to escape. "I saw what you were doing tonight, Riku."

"What are you talking about?" Riku groaned still trying to pull his arm away. "I didn't do anything."

"It was that little boy, wasn't it?" Hiro growled pulling Riku harshly to him. "Damn Riku, that's fucking disgusting. I didn't know you were into little punks like that. He can't be more than, what, fifteen."

Riku only glared at Hiro, unable to do anything else. He desperately wanted to spit out "Oh yeah, look who's talking!" at him, but after years of experience of dealing with Hiro, Riku knew better than to lose control of his temper, especially around Hiro. Instead, he glared daggers at him.

Hiro scoffed, pushing Riku backward and releasing his arm finally. Riku landed on is back, his eyes never leaving Hiro's and the disgusted frown painted on his face. It was better to remain silent and take it, than to endure another one of Hiro's tirades . . . wasn't it?

Hiro stood on unstable legs, shaking his head at the man lying before him who was wearing that look on his face that spelled murder. It was this look that Hiro loved the most. It was the most passionate emotion he was ever able to extract and it was that emotion that fed his power. If Riku needed a reminder of that power, then so be it. But Hiro would be damned if he was going to let his partner's attention be stolen by a twit like the boy in the bar.

Towering over the form on the ground, Hiro stood straighter and used a booted foot to pin one of Riku's wrists to the floor beneath him. Riku winced in pain, but kept his composure.

"If this is how it's going to be now." Hiro stated, an odd sense of stability in his voice, "If you need to resort to ass-hunting to get your kicks around here nowadays, then maybe you should just stay where you are; on the ground where you belong, you sick pussy!"

Riku averted his eyes to his wrist, where Hiro's boot was beginning to cut off circulation and his fingers were growing numb. Anything to keep his attention away from Hiro, himself. One more word and Riku was afraid he was going to explode on Hiro and, above all else, Riku knew he could not afford to lose his temper. Instead, from his humiliated position, he focused on feeling the pain in his hand.

"Get off." Was all he said. He was trying to remain calm and at this rate, it was admittedly difficult to get more than two words out without sounding enraged.

Hiro seemed taken aback by this show Riku was putting on. He was still so composed, though, it seemed, as if it would be just a little bit further before he broke. Just a little bit more.

"Why?" He chided twisting the toe of his boot into the softer underskin of the pale flesh beneath him. He swore he heard something crack. "It's what you are. No more above the dirt I walk on."

"Get the Fuck off of me, Hiro!"

There it was! The anger that had been harbored inside of him for who knows how long had finally reached its breaking point. However, it was no more than a crack. In order to feed off of it, Hiro needed the whole dam to burst.

Riku looked away again, focusing on anything- anything else but Hiro's words. 'Focus, Focus. Damn he's going to break my arm! My hand. I can't feel my hand- my fingers. Get off get off getoff getoff!!'

"Do you ever wonder why you were the only one who made it out of the fire, Riku?"

Riku's eyes widened. No, he wasn't going to bring that into this. Not this time.

"Shut up . . ."

"You were alone there too. No father, your mother probably off again fucking some random perv from the street. It was how she got enough money to support herself wasn't it? She really didn't care if it was enough for her son as well." Hiro scoffed lightly shrugging his shoulders dismissively. "Hm, she probably wouldn't have made it back again that night anyway. And then, there was you. You were not much higher up than that perv you mother was fucking . . . "

"Shut up!"

"You were alone again that night, weren't you? Probably crying in some corner like the pansy you've always been. Probably thinking again how to end your life. Sad really, for a nine-year-old to be thinking such things. But I guess after growing up worthless and unwanted, living completely on the mercy of others and the pity of strangers, you come to seek an escape from it all don't you?"

Riku shut his eyes tightly against the man over him, fighting back the familiar sting coming from behind his eyes. "You don't know what the fuck you're saying! So SHUT UP!"

Hiro wore a dark smile on his face as he released Riku's captive wrist and watched the younger one cradle it gently, obviously finding it difficult to contain his primal rage. Riku remained on the floor however, unmoving from the spot where he had been thrown. Hiro lowered his body to straddle Riku's hips, reaching a hand out to brush loose strands of silver hair away from the trembling boy's pained face. It was all utter beauty, in Hiro's eyes.

"And I guess you were welcoming the raid, then. When Kiba came. It was your big chance to stop your suffering for good. Heh- and you couldn't even do that right!"

"I SAID SHUT- THE- FUCK- UP!!" Riku raged swinging up at Hiro only to have his fist caught in a larger hand. Hiro's thumb stroked over his knuckles in a smooth motion before pinning it above Riku's head. Riku attacked, then, with his injured right hand and that too was pinned with its twin, however not without another pained hiss.

Hiro leaned over Riku's helpless form, pressing their bodies firmly together and tilted his head to whisper against the shell of his ear as he had done so many times before.

"No one would've missed you, you know. If you had died with the rest of them, no one would have even noticed. You're lucky. If I hadn't have been there to find you after it was all gone, you would've been dead. Probably even within the next day."

Riku turned his face away as far as it could go and still could feel Hiro's breath on his neck. His eyes were shut tightly, but he still felt the tears rolling over his cheeks and over the bridge of his nose and he was powerless to stop any of it. He had done it again, taking Riku's past and shoving it down his throat, choking him with pain, just to prove a point. He owed Hiro for his life. Hiro owned Riku's life now and Riku was never to forget it. There were fingers pressing over his injured wrist now and he winced.

"Ooh," Hiro chided pressing in a faux caress, "Did I hurt you? Look, Riku-baby, you know that I don't want to hurt you, but when you pull shit like this, I have no choice. You're mine, got it!"

That pressing hand found its way over to Riku's face and sharply turned his face for Hiro to watch. Through the tears, roughly wiped away with his thumb, and the pain purposely planted by the elder, was that unbridled anger, that undeniable rage that he could only get through Riku and Riku alone.

"Say it." Hiro demanded.

Riku growled, turning his eyes away from him. Hiro could be absolutely disgusting sometimes. And there was no doubt that the alcohol was only enhancing the effect.

"No!" Hiro demanded, "Look at me and say it."

"Fuck you . . ." Riku spat in response.

"Riku." Came the warning as the sharp prod of thumb against wrist returned.

Riku cried out in pain.

"Well . . ." the thumb left the wrist and traveled down the frame of the body beneath him outlining the tense wind of the muscles and the pure hatred radiating within every nerve of this form. Experienced hands pulled on fabric, searching for and finding unprotected flesh.

"I hate you for this Hiro." Came the strangled reply, "I always have."

"I know." And the hand traveled to press into the hips under him, going for the fastens of his pants. "Just say it already."

Riku closed his eyes in defeat as his fastens were expertly undone. "I belong to you."

Hiro's smile widened.

-t-

It was complete darkness now and the moon was bright as it shone through the blinds on the window and illuminated the unmoving lines of Sora's peaceful features. Though it was a warm night, his skin was cold and a bit clammy. In response, the blankets had been pulled over the body, in hopes of returning the warmth that once resided within.

It was nearly midnight when Lin arrived to find two sleeping forms and one who would not be getting any sleep for a long while.

"Ms. Taiyo," Lin greeted quietly as he made his way into the room. Anxiously, he ran his long pale-ish fingers through his disheveled black mane, as it hung down to about the middle of his neck, trying desperately to make a difference in its appearance. "How's he doing?"

Taiyo raised her tired and worried eyes to observe Lin as he entered. Her thin hands were grasping one of Sora's, stroking his cold fingers. She let out a sigh before continuing.

"Well, his condition is stable, but he is still . . . "

Lin nodded in understanding as Taiyo's voice trailed off and her eyes moved back to her son's expressionless face.

"What about Nia?" was the next question as Lin moved to her side of the bed. He looked down at her unconscious form and the thin blanket draped over her shoulders. Her arms were brought up around her face as a sort of pillow, unfortunately enough, though, was that this position covered her features completely.

"Poor thing," Taiyo replied, "She's still blaming herself for all of it, even though I've told her a thousand times already that she hasn't done anything wrong. She insists that it was all her fault and that she is solely responsible for whatever happened today. She refuses to let it go."

Lin sighed at that as he focused his attention across the bed instead and straightened out his black slacks and white uniform jacket, shifting his weight from foot to foot, causing a slightly squeaking sound of his shoes against the linoleum, "And what about you?" he asked softly, clearing his throat, "How are you holding up?"

Taiyo chuckled at that, "Well, I'm doing absolutely super. No one is telling me anything and there is no explanation about what's going on with my baby. Why he isn't waking up yet. So, yeah, I'm great, considering."

Lin hung his head and focused on Nia once more, his dark eyes attempting to see past the barrier of her arms. He gave another sigh, "I'm sorry, Taiyo."

"Oh no, not another one." Taiyo chided with a sad smile painted on her expression. "You haven't done anything either, so you have no need to apologize. Let's just leave it at that. I don't want any arguments from you like Nia had, got it?"

Lin put a small smile on as well, "Okay. Look, Ms. Taiyo. I've come to take Nia home. It's on the way back from work, and I think her parents prefer that she sleep in her own bed."

Taiyo nodded in agreement. "I know where they're coming from." She said quietly, giving Sora's fingers a soft squeeze.

Lin gave Nia's shoulders a gentle shake, in attempt to wake her without alarming her. It took a little bit, but Nia finally stirred and wiped at her eyes, clearing them of the haze that was sleep. When she noticed Lin, standing above her, Nia gave a small start and straightened her posture immediately.

"Lin!" she gasped, absently pulling the blanket more tightly around herself as if it was a shawl, "What are you doing here?"

Lin stepped back a bit in order to give Nia some room to stand. "I'm here to pick you up." He answered in a matter-of-fact tone, "It's just about midnight right now."

"Oh God, really!?" Nia started, pulling out her cell phone to check the time, 11:53, "Woah . . . well, anyway, my parents know I'm here, so they shouldn't be too worried about me, should they?"

Lin shook his head, "Actually, they called me at the end of my shift and asked if I would pick you up on my way home. I told them that it would be no problem."

Nia sighed as she willed herself to wake properly, stretching and stifling yawns. Her attention was on the elder female on the opposite side of the bed. "Will you be alright here on your own, Ms. Taiyo?" she asked softly.

Taiyo smiled as she watched the pair of them readying to leave. "Oh, I'll be fine. I've got Sora after all. Hey, I'll see you guys later then?"

The two teens nodded and gave unconvinced smiles as they reluctantly edged closer to the door, each seeing straight through Taiyo's tough-girl routine as Sora had used it frequently.

"Oookay," Nia said slowly, "I'll come see you tomorrow, okay?"

Taiyo nodded, "We'll be here."

Lin nodded his good-byes, "I'll see if I can find anything in the books or on the computer about what's going on with Sora for you."

Taiyo nodded in return, to show her thanks though, than for anything else. "Right, thanks, Lin, Anything you can find will help a lot . . . Goodnight, you two and I'll see you both later."

Nia and Lin left without another word, walking together almost silently through the hospital corridors. The only accompaniment to the sounds of their footfalls on the shining floors was the hushed sound of their whispers.

"Do you really think she'll be able to last like this for very long?" Nia was saying, more to Lin's shoes than to his ear, "She doesn't seem to be doing so good."

Lin shrugged in response, "Dunno."

Nia shook her head. "There was something about her that seemed- broken."

"Well, Sora is her son. Of course she'll be upset. We can't expect anything less really. Besides, for Sora and Taiyo, they're all each other have. If Sora doesn't come out of this, Taiyo will have lost everything . . . but she and Sora are both strong. Neither one of them will give in without a fight. They'll be fine tonight, don't worry."

"I know," Nia sighed, "I'm still just . . ." a deep yawn, "really worried."

Lin nodded.

Sure enough, as soon as the two teenagers had left the hospital room, Taiyo curled over her son's body and buried her face into his sheets, unable to hold back her tears any longer.

-h-

With the rise of the sun, Sora stirred once more, squinting through uncooperative eyelids toward the sudden weight increase on his chest. Sora forced his eyes to focus.

Only to find a bright pair of cerulean eyes staring right back at him. Blond hair was blinding his vision to everything except to the face a mere three inches in front of him.

Sora jumped to full consciousness and, if he had had a bit more room, he was sure he would have backpedaled at least a good five feet away. But seeing as he was still lying in bed, a good five centimeters would have to suffice.

"'Mornin' there, kid." Zidane greeted with a sort of half wave as he stood up completely from over Sora's mattress, "How ya doin?"

Sora was set with a quick retort about how perverted Zidane was for actually watching him sleep instead of waking him up and how rude it was for entering his room without his consent, but before Sora could even draw a breath in to make the retort, Zidane was talking again as if he had never asked a question at all.

"Look, Leon says you should change out of your clothes if you're gonna be around here. You blend in about as well as blood in snow, if you know what I mean. Anyway, Dagger says I should let you borrow some of my stuff and I'll be damned if I let you wear my stuff looking like that. So—" He gestured to the pile of clothing on Sora's chest and tossed a large terrycloth over him as well, "Go wash up."

Sora sat up in bed, letting the clothing fall from him, a slight frown was present as the towel fell.

Zidane's smile never faltered, however as he turned to leave Sora be. A few steps later, he turned as if he had just remembered something only vaguely important.

"I assume you know where the Everwinding is, right."

So, now, Sora trudged through the Venagai forest once more in search of the Everwinding River, as Zidane had called it, to wash up. He clutched the fresh folds of cloth closely to his chest as if afraid they would be stolen from him if he was to loosen his grip. He stepped over the roots of the trees as not to trip or disturb them as they seemed to have all been still sleeping.

If any of Sora's prior experience regarding this forest was to be trusted, the river was less than a ten minute walk from where he was now. Considering he had walked about an hour to get where he was now, another ten minutes was asking a lot.

Finally, he was able to hear the sound of running water, good. This way, Sora could have his bath and get back to the Inn in time to eat something before the pub opened up to the public. He remembered what the tree, Mori, had told him the day before about listening for the river and decided to see if he could smell water instead. To his pleasure, the smell of water was distinct against the other smells of the forest. Sora was vaguely reminded of the Fruit Loops commercials from his childhood.

"I guess I really do have to 'follow my nose' wont I?" he muttered to himself as he turned to follow another direction to the smell of water.

Dodging a few more roots and plants, Sora found a clearing leading to the riverbank. Along the bank of the river, there was something else Sora had not expected to find.

There was a figure, a silhouette, male from the look of it, crouched in the river about waist-deep. He was bent over so low that it looked as if he was going to try to drown himself in the current. His form was trembling slightly as he busied himself with the water. Sora stationed himself behind a tree's trunk as he watched. The man's hair fell in sheets around his face the ends of it brushing the surface of the water, shielding his features from view. It fell down to just below his broadened shoulders, giving off a silvery limn. From the look of it, he was not trying to clean himself. Instead, he was working diligently on something beneath the water . . . he seemed to be favoring one side as well . . . it all made him seem a bit uneven.

Sora looked more closely at the man and his movements trying to figure out what he was doing exactly. He even strained his ears to try and hear if he was saying anything about it. However, he was unable to hear much more than a faint muttering before a very loud, "DAMN HIM!!!"

Sora recoiled.

The man punched the water, fuming. It was a clumsy punch that lead Sora to believe he was not very skilled with his left hand. Beneath the water, the man cradled his arm gently, hanging his head as if staring intently at his reflection through the water. He let go of his arm and punched at it again, letting out a furious scream. Sora listened and watched as the scream died down and the man fell face forward into the water with a splash

"What the . . ."

A minute went by and the man had not resurfaced. Frowning, Sora edged out from his hiding place to get a better look. There was no one doing the "dead-man-float" so that was a good sign. Sora moved closer to see if there was any other sign of him than what he could see at the forest's edge. Looking down the small incline of the river's bank, he saw a mound of what seemed to be long silver grass, that is, all except for the paleish colored human body attached to it. It looked as if he had only just washed up on the bank. His face was expressionless and his eyes were void as he stared blankly upward toward the sky. His body was limp and he didn't seem as if he was in any hurry to breathe again anytime soon.

"HEY!" Sora jolted forward, dropping his clothes in the process as he rushed toward the bank, "Hey you! Are you—"

The man's head turned slowly to look upon the intruder on the land, his blank green eyes locking with Sora's worried blue. The man made a slow blink as he made the effort to sit up to look at Sora properly, though it seemed as if whatever this man looked at, he would look through it as opposed to actually studying. Sora looked down at him, confused completely by his behavior. He stood completely to face Sora, his now- dripping hair clinging to the sides of his face and neck, his features giving Sora the most bored expression he had ever seen, including those he had seen in the political science classes he had taken the semester before summer, that is, except for the slight cock in the man's head that showed some form of interest at least. His thick muscular arms were down, loose at his sides, though, Sora noticed one was bent as if it was unable to straighten itself completely. There was also a black/ bluish tint to its coloring. Thin green shorts adorned his hips and clung to his thighs, soaked with river water.

Sora tore his eyes away quickly before he could make another staring faux pas as he had done to Leon the night before.

"What d'ya want?" he asked sounding as bored as he looked, maybe even a bit fatigued.

Sora shook his head and forced himself to look back up with him, trying again not to stare at one place too long.

"You . . ." he began, pointing at the river than the man, "and then you-" he made a motion showing the fall, "and you." He pointed to the sky, "I thought you were—"

"Eloquent, aren't we?" the silver- haired man wryly interjected putting on a faint smirk. "Hey, you were in the pub last night weren't you?" he continued approaching Sora inexorably, "Aren't you a little too young to be drinking?"

Any sign of Sora's nervous attitude was gone instantly and he could feel his cheeks growing warm with defiance. Before he could retort, however, the other man continued as if he hadn't asked a question at all.

"What do you want here, Fire Witch?" he stopped in front of Sora towering over him by about a foot.

Sora's eyes narrowed as he glared at the scrutinizing green eyes on him. Leon had made a fluke judgment and stumbled across Sora's Element, but how was it that this stranger knew exactly what he was just by looking.

"You really must be a dumb one then." The elder male continued, "Look," he explained as if for the thousandth time, "The bands on your arm show what level you are and the color indicates your Element. Got it?"

Sora was fuming by now. No, he had not known that bit of information, but that gave no right for this idiotic stranger to lecture him, right. Sora noticed a single black band across the other's arm, the blueish arm, Sora noticed, was badly bruised, "So, what are you? A witch of the dark?"

The elder scoffed, "No. An Ice Warlock, though I still don't seem to get why it's any of your business."

"You were in the bar last night, right?" Sora demanded, switching the subject, "Where's your friend?"

The green eyes glaring at him narrowed dangerously, as if in disgust. "He's no friend. How about you get back to answering my question, Fire Witch?"

Sora narrowed his eyes just as dangerously, "My name is SORA!" He raged, "Get it right!"

The green eyed man seemed unfazed by Sora's little display of emotion and simply stared pointedly at the younger man, sizing him up.

"Sora, huh?" he inquired placing his banded left arm on his hip. He seemed to move to outstretch his bruised arm, however thought better of it as a brief flash of pain flitted across his face. "Weird name. I'm Riku."

Ending Little Tid-bit Thingy: Okay, there it is, chapter four. So, any good? Let me know in your reviews, kay? Thanks

OH! And congratulations to Ari Emraldstar for getting the answer right to last chapter's quiz. The trees use their leaves, roots and branches, in conjunction with any wind that may be available to imitate human speech. One-Thousand Points To Ari!!! Congratulations. Stay tuned for more challenges, because there WILL be more. To the person with the most points at the end, a prize will be bestowed. So give it your all.

Quick question: I have an idea for a lemon scene in my head regarding this chapter, but I fear it's too soon in the story to have one. Let me know what you think and judging by the number of readers who want it, I'll post one somewhere (Though probably not on this site for fear of being reported and deleted I'll let you know if/when that time comes, kay)

Till next time, much luv

-Anigo