Chibified

Shizuka Usagi

Chapter 4

Roxas awoke the next morning yawning. He stretched his arms out and turned to open his balcony window that revealed the clock tower in Twilight Town. Then… he noticed it wasn't there. Oh—right. I'm in Hollow Bastion now…

He rubbed his eyes tiredly even though it was eight or so in the morning. He forced himself out of bed and did his daily wash-up routine. Afterwards, he changed into his usual attire and placed his pajamas into his suitcase. Then he went to go check up on Yuffie and Sora.

Merlin had given him a supply of potions to heal her wound. He took a container and set it on the nightstand beside Yuffie's bed. She appeared to be fast asleep. Her breaths came in and out slowly. She looked so peaceful and calm that he was afraid to wake her up. Who knew what Yuffie was like in the morning? But he knew it would be easier to administer the liquid if she was conscious.

"Yuffie, Yuffie wake up." Roxas gently prodded her shoulder. However, she didn't stir. He looked at her in confusion. Aren't ninjas supposed to be light sleepers? I doubt she is faking.

Suddenly, an arm came out and grabbed Roxas around the neck. He yelped in surprise as he was pulled in towards Yuffie's chest. She smiled serenely but her hold didn't slacken. She is pretty strong for a girl who just had a near-death experience. Augh…

"Aerith…snore…stop smooching Cloudy…snore…and make me waffles." Yuffie drawled in her sleep. What in the world is she talking about?

"Wakey-wakey Yuffums." Roxas said loudly. Serene my butt. Her snoring is going to make me deaf. He attempted to remove his head from her death grip but to no avail.

"Darn it, Yuff—"Roxas growl was cut off when Yuffie shifted, causing Roxas to be jerked over her bed.

Their position had changed. Roxas was on top of Yuffie with his hands clutching the sides of the bed. She had her arms around his neck. Roxas found himself blushing furiously. He had never been this close to a girl before. I was hoping this wouldn't happen. What if someone walks in on us and gets the wrong impression?

Thankfully, the arms that were around his neck loosened their grasp. Roxas moved carefully off Yuffie, avoiding her stomach. As soon as he was on the floor, he went straight towards the exit of the room. Maybe it's better if I wait till she wakes up on her own. His face still had a tint of pink from the awkward situation from before.

He went downstairs to the kitchen to make breakfast. He had to learn how to cook basic meals since his parents were rarely home. Luckily for him, Olette had taught him how to do so. Given that there was a waffle iron and flour in the pantry, he decided to make waffles. Maybe the aroma will wake up 'sleeping beauty.'

After preparing the batter, he began to pour it into the waffle iron. As he was tipping the bowl, he heard a shriek, causing him to spill the mix all over his shirt. He cursed under his breath and grabbed a towel on the way up the stairs. "Yuffie! What's wrong?"

"Who the heck is this munchkin?" Yuffie demanded. "He came in here screaming, 'Mommy!' at the top of his lungs."

"Huh? I didn't let any—" Roxas felt something tugging at his khakis.

"Daddy, why did Mommy scweam at me? She's acting wiewd." A young boy with spiky brown hair in all directions asked.

Roxas looked at Yuffie and she shrugged. "Excuse me, kid. But we're not your parents. Why are you here?"

The boy looked up at Roxas and became frightened of his stern, unfamiliar tone. "W-what do you mean, D-daddy? I-I live here!"

"The only ones here are Yuffie, Sora, and I—I don't know who you could possible be." Roxas said in perplexity.

The boy's lower lip trembled and he began to cry. Then he ran out of the room bawling, "D-daddy and Mommy don't know me!"

"Way to go, Roxas. You made the poor boy cry." Yuffie said, placing her hands on her hips.

"I didn't know he would react that way. But there's something strangely familiar about him…" Roxas mused.

"You know, you're right. Let's go ask him what his name is. I could've sworn I saw him somewhere." Yuffie replied.

Roxas helped Yuffie out of bed. Fortunately, she was able to stand without any assistance. "Take this potion just in case." Roxas advised.

As soon as Yuffie downed the potion, they ventured out in the hall to find the brunette.

Yuffie picked up faint sounds of sobbing coming from Sora's room. "Roxas, do you heard that? It seems like the boy went in Sora's room."

He nodded and the two opened the door to his room. When they entered, they saw the little boy crouched on the floor, hiccupping and sniffling.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" Yuffie asked with concern in her voice. As soon as she did, the boy launched himself into Yuffie's arms. The ninja patted him on the back awkwardly.

Roxas surveyed the room and noticed that Sora wasn't there. "That's strange. Where's Sora?" He began to feel apprehensive.

As Yuffie was about to reply, the window crashed open and shadow Heartless appeared. The boy screamed in terror. The Heartless, sensing the boy's fear, strengthened.

Roxas summoned his kingdom key and assumed a defensive position in front of Yuffie and the boy. "Yuffie, take the boy and get someplace safe. I'll take care of these guys."

Yuffie nodded and quickly led the boy out of the room. A shadow attempted to go after them, but Roxas slashed it. "C'mon! I'm your target—not them!"

After defeating all the heartless, he dismissed his keyblade. He led his guard down as he was leaving the room to check up on the two. Another shadow snuck up behind him about to slice his back when a black figure darted in, taking it out.

"You should never leave your guard down, Roxas." The cloaked figure said. Roxas whipped around, taking out his keyblade.

"Who are you?" Roxas demanded. "Are you from the Organization? You couldn't be!"

"Of course not." The figure removed his hood, revealing silver hair and piercing azure eyes.

"Riku!" Yuffie exclaimed, from the doorway with the boy beside her. "What are you doing here?"

"You know him?" Roxas inquired.

"He came to the Hollow Bastion not too long along. He's friends with Sora and Kairi." Yuffie explained, although Roxas knew part of this.

"You're that ninja girl, Yuffie, aren't you?" Riku asked but it sounded like a statement.

"Sure am. But what are youdoing in Hollow Bastion? I thought you went at the Destiny Islands—much too far away from this galaxy. How did you get here so fast?"

"When there's a will, there's a way." He responded with a mysterious smirk. "I was getting bored so I decided to check up on the key bearer." His eyes searched the room. "Where is he, by the way?"

"U-uncle Riku?" The boy spoke up surprised. Then he put on a large grin and ran over to Riku, jumping on him.

Uncle? The three thought in unison, staring at the unusually familiar, spiky-haired brunette.

"Who is the squirt?" Riku said, catching the boy and holding him at arm's length. Then he froze as he caught the boy's gaze. Wait a second…those eyes look like—

"Say, little boy, you never told us your name. Mind telling us?" Yuffie asked, bending down to the boy's height.

"Don't be silly, Mommy, you know my name. It's Sora, wemembuh?"

"What!" Yuffie shouted in shock, scaring the poor boy. "You can't be Sora. He's fifteen."

"What do you mean, Mommy? I'm only five years old."

"What's going on here? First, he calls us his parents. Then he claims to be Sora." Roxas said.

"Maybe it is Sora. His condition might've caused him to… become a child." Riku said reasonably.

"What!" Yuffie and Roxas exclaimed. "How do you know about Sora's condition?"

"That's the buzz that's being going around Hollow Bastion, isn't it?" Riku said.

"That was supposed to be a secret. What if someone bad finds out?" Yuffie inquired worriedly.

"That's why I'm here." Riku said. "I'll protect Sora."

"Are you implying that we can't?" Roxas said defensively.

"I never said that. But… you guys look like you could use some help."

"The more the merrier." Yuffie said cheerfully. "We'll take all the help we can get."

"We should take him to Merlin to get him checked out. We don't know exactly what caused Sora to become—"

"Chibified!" Yuffie suddenly squealed. When Riku and Roxas gave her strange looks, she explained, "Ya know, since he's like a chibi (little) version of himself."

"Right… we should get—" Riku began but was interrupted by Chibi Sora.

"Mommy! I need to go." Sora whined, hopping up and down in an odd fashion.

"Go where, Sora?" Yuffie asked stupidly.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Sora whined irritably.

"Oh! Right this way." Yuffie led Sora out of the bedroom and down the hall. Riku and Roxas were left behind.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Riku thumped Roxas on the back before sauntering out of the room.

Inexplicably, Roxas felt inferior compared to Riku. He seemed so cool and composed about everything.

He made me look bad in front of Yuffie.

Why did this matter to him all of a sudden? He didn't know. He merely shrugged it off—blaming it on the rivalry between Sora and Riku. He believed he was experiencing the after effects of being separated from Sora. The effects were beginning to influence his attitude toward Riku.

I will be my usual self in another week or two, Roxas thought confidently. At least… that's what he assured himself.

Another thought was bugging him: Was Sora's transformation caused by our recent separation? If so, will this affect me as well? And how?

He hoped that Sora's condition was just a simple curse that Merlin could cure. Now that they've diagnosed it… to some extent.