I am so sorry for not updating in... well, forever. I've been caught up with two other fics, plus other hobbies and yadah-yadah. Anyways... Um, thanks for waiting and enjoying and reading and all that and I better stop now...

Disclaimer: Don't own nothing out of Kingdom Hearts.


Chapter Seven:

Quiet work had continued onwards for nearly a full half-hour. Such concentration led to the miracle of every person reaching the finish line.. well, for the first part of the project anyway.

Unfortunately, no one wanted to take the leap of faith in taking charge and leading the group onto the next step. Instead, they discussed the issue in an informal group meeting, taking place in a semi circle of chairs facing Namine's empty stool.

"The meeting is now in session. Gentlemen, in the broadest of definitions, please be seated." Kairi announced, choosing to ignore how her subjects did not rise out of their chairs at her grand assession to the throne. Er, the All Mighty Stool of the Art Teacher.

Roxas frowned. "Wait a minute... why are you the next teacher?"

"Do you see any other girls in this room?"

Sora glanced around the room, ending up shaking his head like Riku did. Demyx went on whistling his favorite song- the notes covered up the whispered conversation between the other blond and redhead. This time the latter spoke. "What if that could be arranged..?"

The silver-haired teen snorted. "What are you going to do- use the paint as make-up, paper towels and tape for a dress, and the yarn and pipe-cleaners for hair?"

"No," Roxas said, "his hair's long enough once you get the gel out of it." He gestured at Axel..

.. who jumped in his chair in surprise. "What-? You said that you were going to do it!"

"Dude, look." The blond smoothed down his hair, showing off the spikey hair's non-length. "Yours has to go down to your shoulders, at least. Right, Demyx?" His blue eyes flicked onto the older boy in question.

Demyx turned his nervous gaze onto Axel, only to catch a full-fledged 'don't even think about it' glare. In his surprise, he yelped and fell straight out of his chair, hitting Sora's knee with his head on the way down. With blurred vision, he decided to just go with the safer answer. "I-I-I-I... don't.. know.."

The brunette snapped his fingers over Demyx's face. At the lack of a response, he sighed and straightened back into his seat. That guy was lost.

"There- I told you that OWWWWW!!!" Axel had been turning towards his friend's chair, only to find it empty and someone's hands splitting the spikes in his hair and shoving them down flat against his head. "ROXAS!!!"

"NOW tell me his hair isn't long enough!"

"Gerroff of me, you-!!"

Sora and Kairi exchanged looks- Riku just laughed. The brunette glanced between the twisting redhead and his own best friend, and then his mouth just blurted out the first thing that came to mind despite what his brain would have wanted. "Hey, your hair is almost as long as Riku's."

The wrestling came to an abrupt end. Axel finally shook the blond off of him and busied himself with desperately trying to get his damaged hair back into its usual spikes, while Roxas studied a suddenly nervous Riku.

"Can we please get on with the discussion- take a seat, Roxie," Kairi tapped her pencil against the edge of the stool, pleased to find the blond following her orders- albeit moving closer to Riku... who tried edging away, only to find the end of a desk blocking his way- without arguing over the nickname. "Okay, so we're stuck with the second part of the project to finish. Fortunately, I happen to remember the second part of the directions... so we can continue."

Sora shrugged. "What do we have to do?"

"Just set up some glue, according to her notes."

"...she had notes?"

Kairi twisted around on top of the All Mighty Stool, bringing back a legal notepad when she twirled around again. "They were by the phone. And now I quote.., 'Mix glue, demonstrate, give instructions, exetera... exetera...' See, easy?"

"So where's this glue?"

"Over there," she pointed out cartoons with the picture of the Elmer's glue cow on the side, resting next to multiple plastic containers. "You want to help me out, Sora- Riku can keep those two busy here."

Sora grinned. "Sure." He dutifully followed his new teacher, leaving the real chaos behind them.


Riku had barely heard the conversation between the brunette and Kairi. He was too busy trying to ignore the blond inching closer and closer to him, and even succeeded until the latter bumped into him. "What?" Riku hissed, casting the best of all his glares into the blue eyes of the blond.

"You wanna be a girl?"

He blinked. "...what...?"

"Well, it won't take long to style your hair, which will definitely cut down on the total amount of time to set you up," Roxas started explaining in a fast string of words. What he said bounced into one stunned ear and out the other as far as his victim was concerned. "You could be the real next teacher and let those of us who don't belong here, hint hint, out of the room.. without alerting the hallmonitors and all. Ya know?"

"...I'm not a cross-dresser. Go away."

"Think about it-!! You could give yourself a raise in salary, make the others create a statue in your honor... The possibilities are endless!"

Riku glared at him. "Then why don't you do it?"

"How can I enjoy the freedom of summer when I stuck here lording it over everyone else?"

"Go away."

"Are you suuuur-"

"Yes."

"You don't sound it."

Riku upped the intensity on his glare, even adding a growl for extra effect. The blond predictably started to edge away, eyes wide in fear. "Okay, okay... no need to get all flustered..." Roxas soon bumped into the redhead's chair- just about at the same time Sora happily skipped out of the circle behind the girl. He turned towards Axel and stated flatly. "Well.. it's down to you, Aly."

The redhead's eyes flicked over at him, throwing daggers. Neither said a word at first, until Axel broke the silence with a sigh. "Oh... fine." Roxas was up and out of his seat before the words had left his friend's mouth, spilling the plastic chair over and on Riku's toe. Axel left the scene as the silver-haired teen started to growl out obscenities.


Tapping again. That was starting to get annoying, Kairi found, the longer it continued onwards throughout the day. She took her eyes off the box long enough to glance over at a very bored brunette. "Sora... please stop." He did as she had asked, and she went back to searching for the directions. "Did you find them?"

Sora sighed. "No, Ms. Kairi."

"You don't have to keep calling me that. The power trip is over now."

"Okay, Ms. Kairi."

Kairi flinched, reminding herself that sometimes her friend just needed a little push in the right direction in little doses. The type of encouragement that tended to be the direct opposite to being bashed in the head with a box of powdered glue.

"Ms. Kairi?"

She continued her search relentlessly. "Yeah?"

"...maybe there isn't any directions because we don't need to do anything to it... Maybe the glue is supposed to be like it is in the box."

"Sora..."

The brunette's blue eyes lit up in hope, and then he outright smiled as Kairi finished her sentence: "That is the best idea you have had today. Quick- get your project!" He hurried to do as she had ordered, overhearing the rip of cardboard as the box's lid came loose.


With Axel and Roxas mysteriously missing, Sora and Kairi dumping their projects in a bucket of white powder, Riku was left alone to wake Demyx up. "Hellloooooo..." He snapped his fingers directly next to one of the blond's ears- one loud snap after another. There wasn't a response. "Okay then... to the medical ward with you."

Riku got back to his feet, briefly considering how to drag and then lift a person nearly a foot taller than himself. Well, he'd find out soon enough. He got a got hold on the older teen's arms and started to drag him along the floor, until he reached the make-shift tables where Namine was already stretched out, still sleeping or unconcious- one of 'em.

"This is going to be interesting..." He slung his arms under Demyx's arms and tried to lift the guy up like that. Now what... That was when pure genius struck. Riku held tightly onto the blond, lifting him further up off the ground as he stepped up onto one of the desk-table's chairs, and then up on the surface of the table itself.

Demyx was nearly standing upright, fortunately. Riku glanced over his shoulder, finding Namine's legs right behind him. He carefully moved one foot over her legs and started the drag the blond the rest of the way up. The struggle came to an end at the sound of a sigh and a rustle of limbs against the desk surface. He looked downwards, and sighed in relief to find that it was Namine waking up. "Namine?"

Her eyes fluttered open, blinking once.. twice.. and then she shrieked loudly, surprising Riku enough for the latter to let out a yelp. The shock apparently alerted Namine's reflexes- her arms flailed backwards and one leg flew upwards in an accidental kick. Poor Riku never saw it coming.

The pain, to put it simply, was tremendous. He lost his grip on Demyx and stumbled backwards a step, falling in the same direction off the table. Unfortunately for his misery, his shoulder caught the fall, so that instead of slipping peacefully into the sleep of unconciousness, he curled up into a tiny ball, trying desperately not to cry.

Namine edged to the side he had fallen over, oblivious to Demyx falling head first behind her. There was a loud thud as he met the floor, face first. "Riku..? Are you okay..?"

She couldn't help but crack a smile at the new, higher register in the teen's voice. "Just... peachy..."

"Sorry.."

"Uh-huh."

"No, really-" Namine's hand slipped, ridding herself of whatever balance she had leaning over the edge of the table. "AH-!!" Her head nailed the ground- Riku's side was nailed by her knee. "Uhhhhh..." Even he could tell without looking at her that she had sunk back to unconciousness... much to his jealousy.

It took a little work, but he managed to wiggle out of the mess. Riku glanced behind him at Namine, and then to Demyx, and then forwards again. "It's not worth it.." His voice had finally worked its way down the ladder of registers to the normal level again. He got up to his feet, looking around the room. (Somehow he wasn't surprised to find bits of powder now flying through the room from Sora and Kairi.)

He heard the door open and then click shut behind whoever had just walked in or out. Riku glanced over in that direction and froze. His mouth flopped open, and he could feel his face start to burn. Only one thought was recognizable in his head at that moment...

Whoa... She's HOT!


Two words... Evil. Grin. Anyways, you shall see in the next update- which I'll try to get out sooner... so sorry about that again...- and Thank you again for hanging in with me.