Before anyone asks, I made Sora shy.
I don't know why, I just wanted to.
I think it had to do with how annoying his personality is to me but don't worry, happy Sora IS in fact going to come out in this. Just not now.
So he's very shy in this, cause he got the snot beat out of him by the island kids.
... Pfft, the image of Selphie beating the crap out of him with a jump rope still makes me laugh... even if it's horrible to think about...
Disclaimer: ... Hmm. Still not mine. Or else I'd be making those Square Enix guys GIVE ME FREAKING KHIII!
Chapter Three: A New Family
Ven glares angrily at me, even as I wave cheerfully at the hooded boy I had just met. I might not have known the guy, or why he had just tried to take my munny, but I just had one thing to say to him if I ever met him again. What a cool jacket. I chuckle quietly to myself, rocking slightly on the heels of my feet as I look through the crowd, trying to see where the kid had gone.
"Sora... I warned you about this before we left home! This isn't Destiny Islands! You have to be careful! You're lucky that I was here or you would have lost all of your munny!" Ven scolds, smacking me on the top of my head, very nearly knocking me into the map on the wall behind me. I give him a hurt look as I rub at the probably bruised spot on my scalp. Ven really needed to learn how to control his strength. Just what did that Master Eraqus teach him anyway? How to beat the crap out of people? I'm about to give him some sort of sarcastic comeback – at least I hope it was sarcastic, I wasn't exactly good at this sort of stuff since I had practically been like an only child for most of life, since Ven had been away at school – when someone suddenly puts their hand on my shoulder and I stiffen in fright. Who the hell?
"Ventus? Sora?" A woman asks softly as I turn around carefully, smiling as I recognized the voice. Aerith Gainsborough, a friend of our mom, smiles gently at me as her sparkling blue eyes suddenly recognize my face, even though it had been about ten years since she had seen either me or Ven. "Oh my gosh, you two have gotten so big!" She exclaims in delight, wrapping her hands around my waist and pulling me into a tight hug. As my face mashes into her chest, I suddenly feel a burning warmth flush into my cheeks as the very beautiful older woman snuggles with me for a moment before letting me go and going to go give the exact same treatment to Ven, who turns bright red and hugs her right back. I chuckle quietly to myself; who knew my brother liked older woman? And who knew that those things were so soft?
"Oi, Aerith! Save some of that hugging for me!" A chipper voice whines playfully. My ears immediately perk up at the sound of the child-like voice. Uncle Zack! I grin as the spiky black haired man in what looked like partial plate armor suddenly picks up Aerith, twirling her around even as Ven's face falls slightly at his very brief love being snatched away in front of his eyes. Ven then grins, laughing in a goodhearted sort of way as he allows our uncle grab him around the shoulders, ruffling his blonde hair playfully in the same exact way that Ven had done to me. I chuckle. Some things never changed, and our father's friends were one of them.
"You guys are late..." a solemn voice comments next as I feel someone pat my head gently. I look up to see our uncle, Cloud Strife, – he supposedly liked to be called that, even though we weren't actually blood-related – bend down and pick up my red suitcase. His dark blue eyes peer at me for a moment before softening slightly. He bows his head at me before shoving the extremely heavy suitcase over his shoulder as if it weighed almost nothing. My eyes widen in shock at this; that thing had to be over twenty pounds! How could he be that strong? A very amused smirk appears on his face as he notices just how surprised I looked. Oh, I forgot how arrogant Cloud was... I wonder if he could get me to be that strong...
"Whoa, you guys packed pretty heavy! How long are you planning to stay with us?" Zack asks curiously as he picks up Ven's white and black suitcase, shoving it over his shoulder just as easily as Cloud had done to mine. Aerith smiles nervously, putting a finger to her lip. Me and Ven stare at her in confusion for a moment before suddenly understanding. She hadn't exactly told Uncle Zack about our mom yet. And from the look of it, Uncle Cloud didn't know either. Yikes, this was going to be a nasty shock for both of them.
"... Enough talking. Let's just get back home. You sure you can carry that, Fair?" Cloud demands quietly as he walks towards one of the ticket counters, his hand already going for his munny pouch.
"Hey! I said I would pay for the tram!" Zack shouts at him, running after Cloud with Ven's suitcase over his shoulder. He didn't seem the least bit offended by Cloud's hidden insult. Huh. What good friends.
"Another train? But we just got off of one! We spent HOURS on that thing!" Ven complains quietly to himself, scowling darkly at the backs of our two "uncles" as they argued over who got to pay for what ticket. Aunty Aerith sighs and shakes her head before turning to Ven with a slightly stern look in her eyes. I totally recognized that look. Uh oh, you're about to get it! I smirk, totally ready to hear Ven get told off for being a whiner like he had been doing for half of the trip before going gloomy on me; come on, Aerith, let him have it!
"It'll only be for about ten minutes, Ventus. Don't worry. We'll be home soon." She says in her same soothingly quiet voice, putting her hand on Ven's shoulder gently. A blush suddenly appears on Ven's cheeks as he nods eagerly at this new adventure. Damn. I forgot how nice Aerith was. Oh well. There was still hope with Uncle Cloud. I chuckle quietly at the idea of Ven being told off before Aerith turns to me with that same slightly stern (or was it concerned?) look. Uh oh. What'd I do?
"Sora? Are you okay? You haven't said anything yet..." She says with a worried voice, putting her hand on my forehead as if to check for a fever. I give her a scowl, completely not liking that she thought I was sick. I'm being quiet, not feverish! Ven sighs sadly, putting an arm around my shoulder gently as he nuzzles his cheek against mine in a very sad and lonely way. I glare at him angrily. You do that one more time, and I'm gonna take my suitcase and ram it up somewhere where it freakin' hurts, you blonde idiot!
He motions Aerith in secretively and says solemnly: "He hasn't spoken to anyone but me since Dad disappeared. What happened to Mom... he's taking it really hard." I'm right freakin' next to you, you know. I can hear you. "And well, he wasn't exactly really liked on the island by the other kids..." Ahem, still here. Ven, you can shut up now! "And well, he's really shy around other people. But don't worry, I'm sure he'll lighten up soon." Gee, thanks. Way to boost my ego, bro. "Just be nice to him and show him that you won't beat him up." Ven continues with a very sincere smile, patting me on the head as if I was some sort of disobedient puppy. Ven, I'm going to kill you. Shut up!
A startled look appears on Aerith's face as she looks at me in what looked like total shock. "He got beaten up? Why? He's so sweet!" She demands quietly, looking personally offended that I had been bullied on the island. Gee, thanks, Aunty! I have one more person on my side, and she's totally nice! ... Wait, did she call me sweet?
Ven shrugs. "Cause he's such a dweeb sometimes. I mean, he's alright once you get to know him, but none of the other kids liked him much even when we were little." He comments honestly, patting my head again. Okay, I'm quickly getting sick of being treated like a dog.
"Well, Sora, you won't have to worry about that here. The kids here are really nice. In fact, there's this really nice family right next door to us.. One of their kids is your age, I think. If you want, I can introduce you to her." Aerith says sweetly in a well-intentioned voice, smiling gently at me, already lost in her own thoughts of me being best friends with whoever this girl happened to be. Instead, I turn pale at the idea of a girl, a living breathing physically alive girl, being our neighbor. I had stories to tell about girls, and trust me when I say this: Living next door to one would not be good. Especially if she has a jump-rope. I have nightmares about that jump-rope.
"Alright guys! We're all set! Next tram comes in-" Uncle Zack shouts from the ticket booth as Uncle Cloud walks over to stand besides a small sign that read "Tram Stop".
"Now." He says coolly, just as the tram – which just looked like a bus on a train track to me – pulls up next to him. Damn, he had some real good timing. Did it come from being a fighting instructor? As him and Zack start loading up our suitcases, Aerith, me and Ven take our seats inside. I stare out the almost windowless vehicle out at the bright orange sun setting peacefully behind the hills in a far part of the town.
I could only think of one thing while watching it: Was this place really going to be my new home? As Ven shoves me gently to the edge of the bench I was sitting on to make room for Uncle Cloud, I could hear him already making friends with our new guardians, even going as far to say that I had been practically mugged in the station and asking all sorts of questions about what their home was like. I lay my head onto the windowsill of the window I was next to, closing my eyes quietly. I could only hope that maybe, just maybe, we could live here.
