It's late, but we're college students heading into midterm week. So, cut us some slack.

Enjoy! Some interesting stuff goes down this chapter.

November 6, 2011

Leon was on the late shift, so Riku was fixing up dinner. He was whistling and manning the skillet when Leon finally walked in.

"Hello," Riku said, smiling. "How was your day?"

Leon looked at Riku strangely, eyebrow raised. "Someone's cheerful today."

"It's just been a really good week," Riku said, taking the food out and putting it on two plates.

"Has it?" Leon asked skeptically.

Riku's bright tone did not waver. "Yup. Ventus was turned into a vampire, which was bad, but at least we know that he doesn't plan on hurting anyone. He's back with Axel and Roxas now, so they're relieved. I don't know if they're going to become more involved with helping out with the vamps or not, now that Ven is safe, but I told them the option is open to them. That little problem was tied up nicely." Riku set Leon's food down on the table at his spot.

Sitting down, Leon said, "And just that makes it a good week and provokes whistling while you cook?"

"Well, that was a large part of it," Riku said, taking his own food to the table and sitting down.

"What's the other part?"

Riku shrugged, indiscriminately shoveling food into his mouth. "Just a good week."

"It wouldn't happen to involve a certain neighbor of ours, would it?" Leon smiled knowingly.

"Maybe," Riku said, grinning sheepishly.

"Well, it's about time."

"Oh shush, Mr. Omniscient." Riku normally would have been annoyed by Leon's smug tone, but he was clinging to the happiness while it lasted. Leon was not going to rain on his parade.

"It's not my fault people talk to me about things."

Riku couldn't help but deflate a little, in spite of himself. "You saw this coming a mile away, didn't you?"

Leon nodded.

"Evil," Riku said, narrowing his eyes and taking another bite of food.

All he got in reply was a shrug as Leon ate.

"You could have warned me, you know. 'Oh, by the way, Riku, the overly cheerful, short, 200-year-old vampire next door has a crush on you.' I wouldn't have minded."

"It's not like the kid wasn't obvious about it," Leon said. "And, technically, I did tell you."

"He wasn't! You weren't exactly blunt about it, either."

"No, but saying that I think he likes you more than me should have been a clear clue of something."

"Everyone likes me more than you here," Riku said, grinning slightly. The words felt strange, but they were true.

"I'm going to send you out on 24-hour patrol if you ever say that again."

"Seriously, though," Riku said. "It's really weird. Usually you have ten times more friends than I do when we settle down somewhere. The fact that it is the other way around worries me a bit."

Leon shrugged.

"I can introduce you to Axel and Roxas, if you'd like," Riku said. "They're kind of ridiculous, but I think you and Axel would get along. Roxas would love you, but Roxas loves everyone. That's just the way he is."

"Alright."

Riku nodded. "We'll have to figure out a way to get to Vanitas, though, still. We'll have to work out a plan, but we can do that. Having two vampires on our side should help. I told Sora I intended to kill his brother."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "How did he take that?"

"I think he kinda expected it. He said Vanitas wants to kill me, too."

"Vanitas knows about you?"

"Not by name, but by reputation, apparently." Riku did not like the idea of Vanitas knowing who he was at all, and he knew that Leon would not be crazy about it, either. However, it was best that they both knew.

"Oh. Huh."

"Yeah. I don't know how. Sora wouldn't tell me."

"Do you think Sora mentioned you?" Leon asked.

"He said he never mentioned my name, but that doesn't mean he never mentioned me," Riku said, frowning slightly.

"That could be how, then."

"Either way, we are going to need to be a bit more careful," Riku insisted. "I know it's silly, but I think we should start doing our rounds together. Sora is right there, and I don't think he'll let anyone near our house. We shouldn't have to worry about that. We can split up on some things, but I don't want to take any major risks."

"The only problem is, for most of them now, one goes while the other rests. If we do them together, it cuts the amount in half."

"True..." Riku frowned. "If we had more people, this would be much easier. I would suggest dragging Axel and Roxas into this, but I don't know that they're ready or willing."

Leon nodded. "Yeah. They aren't experienced enough, if they did agree. I would be uncomfortable dragging them around with someone as dangerous as Vanitas after us."

Riku pondered the possibilities before finally saying, "We could always send them on information gathering missions. That should not involve much fighting, and if they get caught, they could use the excuse of going to visit Roxas' brother. He'll probably have to check in every once in a while to get blood and give reports on his progress and all."

"Yes, but that wouldn't require him being away from home long enough to need to visit."

"True," Riku admitted. "I just wish we could do something. I have a bad feeling about this, Leon. If one of us runs into him on our rounds, I don't know that even our years of training will be enough. We were both born into this world, but we've been around one tenth of the time that Vanitas has."

"The simplest solution would be to train up Axel and Roxas some more."

Riku nodded. Leon was right, of course. "They both have taken to it fairly well. I'll talk to them about whether they want to keep training, and if they do, we will pick up the pace a bit. Ventus or Sora could probably help, some, if they didn't mind. Practicing against real vampires is actually the best thing for them."

"Makes sense," Leon agreed. "Although, I don't think Ventus would be able to help them. He's too new. Sora would be the best bet. He's nearly as old as Vanitas, right?"

"Yup," Riku. "To the best of my knowledge, he doesn't do quite as much fighting as Vanitas, but he's plenty strong in his own right, regardless. He doesn't use compulsion, though, whereas Vanitas does. That is a substantial difference."

"So train them to avoid eye contact."

"I've been working on that. Roxas has more trouble with it than Axel. He likes looking people in the eye."

"That's kind of weird and a bit awkward," Leon commented.

Riku laughed. "You would think it is, but he manages to make it work. He's like a human lie detector at times."

"Interesting."

Nodding, Riku said, "When you meet them, you'll understand."

"That should probably be soon. It'd benefit them to learn from both of us."

"Yeah. You and I received the same training, but we have completely different ways of approaching things, when it comes down to it."

"Exactly." Leon nodded. "It'd be best for them to see different styles and approaches, because one might work better for them."

"I think you'll probably be better with Roxas than I am," Riku stated. "Axel took to the way I do things like a fish in water, but I don't think Roxas entirely gets it. He's a bit too impulsive, and you know how big I am on caution."

"Yes, I know," Leon said. "Although, I don't know that I like your implication that I'm impulsive."

"You're not. You're just more go with the flow than I am."

"That's better."

Riku laughed. "Either way, I'll call them tomorrow and see if they want to keep going. If they do, we'll arrange something."

"Sounds good."

"Yeah." Riku finished eating and went to clean up. "We've got something to go on now. We might have to stick around here for a while, though."

"Fine by me."

Riku started washing off his plate, and for a few moments, the only sound that was present was the water rushing from the tap. When he was almost done, he asked, "Do you like it here?"

"It's better than some. Do you?"

"I do," Riku said. "Sora might have something to do with that, though."

Leon chuckled. "Maybe a little bit."

"Just a little."

"I'm sure Sora would be glad to hear that."

"Shhh. You aren't allowed to talk to Sora anymore," Riku insisted, pretending to still be sore about Leon's gossiping habits. "Dirty, rotten informant."

Laughing, Leon said, "As if you could stop me."

"Evil. As revenge, I'm making you do your own dishes."

"Then they will never get done. I am not a housewife."

Riku scowled at Leon, taking offense at the implication that Riku was a housewife. "You are old enough to take care of your own dishes."

"Why should I, though? That's what you're for."

"I'm not your maid," Riku insisted.

"Sad day."

"Leon actually having to do his own dishes," Riku said dramatically. "The world is ending."

"The streets are crumbling as we speak."

"Are they overrun by vampires?" Riku teased.

"Nope. Penguins."

Riku grinned. "Oh, damn. We're really in trouble."

"What? You weren't trained how to fight penguins, too?"

"I never said that," Riku said, though, of course, he was not. "I'm saying that if they're this far down south, though, we're screwed. Hollow Bastion must be freezing over, and I do hate the cold."

"Not all penguins live in the Arctic, Riku."

"So the zoo penguins escaped?"

"Sure."

"Damn zoo penguins," Riku muttered, struggling to keep a straight face.

"Be nice. They're cute."

"Doesn't mean they can't be evil."

"Just because you got attacked one time..." Leon was practically smirking at Riku.

"One time is enough. The bloody things are bloodthirsty, I swear."

"Poor Riku."

"Shush, you," Riku said. He was very tempted to throw the dish towel at Leon's head.

Leon, being the jerk he was, just laughed.

Riku sighed. "Well, I need to start my rounds soon. Make sure the dishes get done."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Get some sleep, too. You need it."

"I know."

"Lock the door before you go to bed," Riku instructed. "I have my key."

"I always do."

Riku managed not to smile at Leon's tone. "I know. I'm just being careful. Gotta watch our backs right now."

"I know."

Riku grabbed his stakes and lighter. "Well, I'm heading out. Night, Leon."

"Night, Riku. Watch your back out there."

"Will do." Riku closed the door and walked out into the night.

November 12, 2011

Larxene knew from the moment the boy opened his mouth that he was trouble. She wasn't interested in him one little bit. He was too short, his hair too dark, his eyes unnatural. When he walked up to her in the club, she told him to shove off. When he didn't listen, she turned around to walk away.

He was persistent. He grabbed her wrist, his grip unnaturally tight. Larxene drew attention to herself, accusing him of molesting her. People rolled their eyes-they were in a club. Of course there would be a few creeps that got a bit too close for comfort. It got enough attention that he was forced to release her wrist, though.

The one thing Vanitas did not intend to do was to draw too much attention to himself.

Her first mistake was annoying Vanitas.

Larxene got out of the club. She didn't know who the guy was, and she didn't really care. She was a freaked out, though, and she decided that the money she had paid to get into the club was not enough to merit her staying with a creep like him in the crowd.

It could have been the rush of adrenaline that came with the strange guy grabbing her. It could have been her slight intoxication. It could have been her inability to make good decisions on the fly.

Regardless, her decision to leave the club and safety in numbers was her second mistake.

When she heard the back door slam behind her, she started getting nervous. She turned around, but no one was there. She was just a bit jumpy, she figured. It was okay. She reassured herself and walked down the alleyway to get to the front entrance, where her car was parked.

Well aware of the fact that she was walking down an alleyway alone in the dark, Larxene kept a tight grip on the small bottle of pepper spray in her pocket.

Her third mistake was assuming that her attacker was human.

She was halfway down the alley when a figure stepped out of the shadows. "YOU!" she said, narrowing her eyes as Vanitas walked closer. "What the hell are you doing there?"

"I think we had a bit of a misunderstanding," Vanitas said, smiling slightly. "You seem to think I care whether you want me to touch you or not."

Larxene glared at him. "Go away. Leave me the fuck alone."

"I don't think I will," he said, walking closer. Larxene walked slowly backwards, trying to avoid the dark-haired boy. She realized he was backing her into a corner, and she wasn't going to have any of that. She pulled the pepper spray out.

"Stay the fuck away from me," she said, holding it up.

Vanitas merely laughed, lunging forward and grabbing her arm before she even had time to spray it at him. "Don't be silly," he said. "You're not at all threatening."

"I said, stay the fuck away from me," Larxene growled, trying to move her arm out of his grasp. His grip was too strong, though, and within seconds flat, he had wrestled the pepper spray away from her.

The boy looked her straight in the eyes. "Calm down. Don't be so hostile."

Larxene felt her limbs relax without her consent. Her breathing calmed; her body seemed to trust this stranger, even though she was panicking on the inside. It was like her thoughts did not reach outside a small corner of her brain, though, and she felt a small smile work its way onto her face.

"There. Isn't that better?" Vanitas asked, grinning. Larxene wanted to scowl at him, but the only expression that her face could wear was vacant and relaxed.

"I do not want you here," Larxene calmly told Vanitas, but he only laughed.

He got closer to her, practically touching her forehead to his. "Yes, you do."

Larxene managed a small frown, but she felt her mind shift. She didn't mind that the boy was there. He was not as bad as she originally thought he was. Something about the thought didn't feel right. The tight grip on her wrist would have normally sent her into a vicious frenzy. However, she couldn't help but feel that him being there was okay.

"You're right," she said, smiling her vacant smile. "I do."

Vanitas grinned. "I thought so." He started to pull Larxene along back down the alley, and although the voice inside Larxene's head was screaming to break loose and run, all she could do was follow after the boy. After all, she was calm around him. She wanted him there.

They were almost to the end of the alley when Larxene pointed. There was a person walking down the road, and it looked like he was headed towards him. "It's a person," she said, her voice almost conversational. "Do I want him here?"

Vanitas turned his head, and the wind blew some of the stranger's scent towards him. He narrowed his eyes. He recognized it.

That was the person who had been inside the home he used to meet Ventus.

"No," Vanitas growled. "You don't."

"But he's hot!" Larxene argued, frowning slightly. Vanitas ignored her, pulling her out of the alley more roughly than he needed to.

Leon caught up to them before they got too far. "Let the girl go."

Vanitas spun around, yanking Larxene's arm. "Why should I?"

"Because I said so, Vanitas."

"Oh, so you know my name," Vanitas said, suddenly sounding interested. "How do you know who I am?" he asked. He maintained his grip on Larxene's wrist, but he had almost completely forgotten the girl was there.

"Take a wild guess."

"What were you doing in my home?" Vanitas demanded. "If you think I am careless after my many years, you are a fool."

"One can never be too careful," Leon said simply.

"Are you the human Sora knows?" Vanitas walked closer to Leon, dragging Larxene along with him.

"Let her go," Leon repeated, not answering the question.

"Answer my questions."

"Let the girl go first."

Vanitas walked closer to Leon, looking him in the eye. "Answer my quest-"

Leon had already averted his eyes. "I'm not stupid, bloodsucker."

"No," Vanitas muttered. "In fact, I think you know too much for me to want to keep you alive."

"Let the girl go. Now."

"Don't threaten me," Vanitas growled. His mood was quickly turning sour.

"It wasn't a threat. It was an order."

"I don't take orders from humans." Vanitas pulled Larxene in front of his body and wrapped his arms around her. His fangs emerged, and he placed them near the girl's neck. Although Larxene was frowning confusedly, she did nothing to stop him.

"Let her go," Leon said once again. "The second you try anything, you will find yourself with a stake piercing your skin. She doesn't know a thing about this world. You gain little from hurting her."

"If you try and stake me, you're going through her," Vanitas pointed out.

"Not necessarily."

"Your threats mean little to me." Vanitas pressed his fangs in closer, pressing down on the skin, but not puncturing it.

"Hurting her has no purpose."

"It makes me happy." Vanitas slowly sank his fangs into her neck. Larxene's face screwed up in surprise.

The second Vanitas bit her, Leon had a stake out and ready. Seeing the stake, Vanitas threw the blonde girl to the ground, taking a defensive stance as he licked the blood from his fangs.

Leon couldn't help but make a disgusted face.

It was two seconds before Vanitas lunged, attempting to pin Leon to the wall. However, Leon managed to move away just enough to avoid the vampire.

"Training?" Vanitas asked, trying to tackle Leon from behind.

"Hm?" Leon couldn't let himself get distracted. He didn't have the added speed or strength that a vampire did.

"How long have you been training?" Vanitas asked, lunging for Leon again.

Leon continued dodging, looking for an opening. "For the better part of 18 years."

"If I kill you, am I ending a long line of hunters?" Vanitas asked, reaching for Leon's neck.

"I don't feel obligated to answer that."

At the last minute, Vanitas shifted his weight, grabbing Leon's arm instead. "I am, aren't I?"

Glad that he was mostly ambidextrous from his training, Leon quickly had a stake in his free hand and aimed at Vanitas.

"I'll snap your arm," Vanitas said, sounding almost bored.

"Do it and you'll end up dead."

"You can't kill me."

"Why not?"

"Because," Vanitas said, sweeping his foot under Leon to knock him off-balance. He seemed to think that was enough of an explanation, and he grabbed the stake from Leon's hand.

Leon hissed softly at the pain from the maneuver. Vanitas laughed and threw the stake down the alley. He pinned Leon to the wall, keeping the arm still holding a stake from moving.

Keeping his eyes averted enough to avoid eye contact, but still able to watch Vanitas' body movements, Leon just stood there, taking a moment to catch his breath.

"What's your name?" Vanitas asked.

"You don't need to know."

Vanitas dug an elbow into Leon's chest and grabbed Leon's chin with his hand. He brought his face up to Leon's. "Tell me your name."

"I said, you don't need to know."

Vanitas' face grew closer and closer, to the point Leon could feel his breath. "Look at me."

"No."

"Look at me," Vanitas repeated, his voice soft and smooth.

"No."

Vanitas sighed, moving away from the brunette. "It would be much easier if you just obeyed me. We don't want to resort to drastic measures, do we?"

"Why the fuck would I ever obey you?"

Vanitas shoved Leon's arm into the wall, putting more pressure on the limb. "You're not exactly in a position of power right now. If you want to survive, you should learn to listen to me."

Leon snorted. "I'm not naive enough to think you'd just let me live if I did what you wanted."

"I can kill you now or later. It's your choice. You're a threat, either way, and you are dying."

"What's the difference?"

"If you obey me, you can have a bit of fun before you die," Vanitas said, his tone almost suggestively even.

"I'll take my chances." Leon whipped out a third stake with his other arm and plunged it towards the vampire.

Vanitas hissed, moving backwards and releasing Leon to get away from the stake. "Tricky bastard."

"You didn't think I'd leave home with only two weapons, did you?" Leon asked, smirking and flexing his arm now that it was free. That was probably going to bruise by the next day.

Vanitas lunged while Leon was still distracted with his arm. Vanitas pushed the boy backwards, watching as his head collided with the wall.

Slightly dazed, Leon had to steady himself again. "You obviously don't know the meaning of fair," he said, freeing up one hand and reaching into his pocket. There was a lighter in it, and Leon knew he needed to end this soon. All he had to do was light up the end of one of the stakes and have it hit Vanitas.

Seeing the lighter, Vanitas froze. He wanted to move in and finish Leon off, but there was no way he was risking getting lit up. He had damaged the brunette enough. He had a clear image of what the intruder looked like, and an even better idea of his scent. He would have no trouble detecting it after that.

It was time for a retreat.

"I may not know your name now, but I have connections. You will not be alive much longer," Vanitas promised.

"We'll see."

With that, Vanitas faded into the night.

"Are you okay?" the blonde girl from earlier asked. She looked a bit battered, but she did not appear to be seriously injured.

Leon looked at her. "Oh, I'm fine," he said with detectable sarcasm.

"We should get you to a hospital," the girl said, frowning. "You look like you hit your head pretty hard."

"No need for a hospital."

"But... you might have a concussion or something." The girl folded her arms. "I'm not letting you save my ass only to get a serious, untreated injury."

"I've had concussions before. I know how to take care of one."

"If you've had them before, that's even more reason to go to the hospital."

Leon sighed. "You're not letting up until I say yes, are you?"

Larxene shook her head. "I'm taking you somewhere. Either you're going home and calling a doctor or I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Fine."

"Which would you prefer?"

"Home. Although, I'm perfectly capable of getting myself there."

"How far away is it?" Larxene asked. "I can drive you there. I don't want to leave my car here, anyway."

"I have a friend I can call to come get me," Leon insisted.

"Are you positive?"

Leon nodded and regretted it. "Yes, I'm positive."

"Fine. Call them up. I'm staying until they arrive, though."

"Okay." Leon pulled out his phone and called Riku.

"Hey," Riku said, sounding slightly out of breath. "Everything alright?"

"What have YOU been doing?"

"Erm... nothing?" Riku did not seem sure of his answer.

"Right... I need you to get your ass in that car that we never use and come get me."

"Where are you?" Riku asked, his voice turning serious.

"The alley over by Emerald Blue."

Riku did not question Leon. "I'll be there as quickly as I can."

"Fantastic. Tell Sora hi for me."

"Damn, how'd you know?" Riku kissed Sora and waved goodbye, heading over to his own house.

"Because I have a brain capable of thought, no matter how dizzy I am."

"Dizzy? Shit." Riku sounded scared. "What the fuck happened?" There was the sound of a car engine turning on.

"I'll tell you when you get here."

Although Riku was terrified, he trusted that Leon could take care of himself long enough for Riku to arrive. "I'm going to hang up now. Don't want us both to end up injured."

"Okay."

"Stay alive."

"I will."

Riku hung up and drove over to Emerald Blue. He pulled up next to the building, walking over to the alleyway. Sure enough, Leon was there, as well as a blonde girl Riku didn't recognize.

"Everything okay?"

Leon looked over at the sound of Riku's voice. "You're here. Fantastic. Let's go."

"Wait a second," Larxene cut in. "You're not concussed. Mind telling me what the hell happened? This kid wouldn't tell me anything."

"I'm not a damn kid. I'm probably older than you," Leon snapped at her.

"Concussed?" Riku asked, ignoring Larxene. "Damn. Not again."

"Excuse my head for liking walls."

"SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!" Larxene shouted at the two.

"Well, apparently my friend is concussed, so I am getting him back home," Riku said. "And you're going to go run off and live your merry little life."

"I was attacked. He had fangs."

"She's a genius," Riku said sarcastically.

Leon snorted a little.

"That was a vampire, and you knew how to fight it," she said to Leon.

"Congratulations. You have a brain."

"Teach me," Larxene said, like it was the most natural conclusion for her to draw.

"Um, no."

"Yes," she insisted.

"Nuh uh. Now I need to go deal with my concussion. Can you stop stalling that?"

She sighed, clearly not happy with having to give him. However, she gave in, recognizing the fact that rsking the health of the person who just saved her life was not the best idea. "We'll meet again."

Riku rolled his eyes. "Goodbye, stranger. Thanks for watching my friend for me." He got in the car.

Leon also got in the car.

"Bye," Larxene snapped, and they drove off.

"Okay," Riku said. "Details now or later?"

"Can you drive calmly if I tell you now?"

"Yeah," Riku said. "I can. Unless it's too awful. Then you should wait."

"It was just Vanitas. No big deal."

As soon as Riku heard the name Vanitas, he visibly cringed. "Fuck."

"He doesn't like me very much because I broke into his house."

"He recognized the scent," Riku said flatly. They had been careless. "Shit."

"Basically yeah."

"How'd he find you?"

"I was rescuing the stupid blonde girl."

"Fucking blonde girls," Riku muttered. "More trouble than they're worth."

"Blondes are trouble in general, girls or not."

Riku normally would have laughed, but he was a bit too on edge at the moment. "I would argue that, but I am not entirely sure you're wrong."

Leon smirked. "I'm never wrong."

"That's a lie."

"Nope."

"You are human. You're definitely wrong sometimes," Riku said, though his heart wasn't really in it. His brain was focused on other things.

"Nope. Now hush, you're making my head hurt worse."

Riku frowned. "You're not allowed to do rounds for a while now. You need your rest."

"I know," Leon said, frowning too.

"I'll just add some of your hours onto my rounds," Riku said, mentally adjusting the schedule. "I can handle longer periods of time."

"That's not fair to you. It's not your fault that I got hurt."

Riku shrugged. "But someone has to cover the rounds, regardless."

"I know."

"You just focus on that head of yours." Riku went through the checklist of questions that was rapidly forming in his head, picking out the most important one. "Were there any other injuries?"

"Just a bunch of bruising."

"Where?"

"Back, arm, chest," Leon said.

Riku winced again. "Yikes. How'd that happen?"

"Well, let's see... he grabbed my arm, pressed his pointy ass elbow into my chest, and then threw me into a wall. The wall is also how I hurt my head."

"Damn. He didn't compel you, though, right?"

"Didn't give him a chance," Leon said.

Riku breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I figured. You're better than that."

"He kept trying to make me tell him my name."

Snorting, Riku commented, "That's a waste of time."

"Yep. He seemed interested on if he'd be ending a line of hunters, too."

"Damn. He worked that out quickly."

"It was probably easy once he noticed that I knew what I was doing."

"Probably. Still. There are only so many big hunting families. Once he knows you're part of one, it narrows things down for him. Knowing you're the only person at the end of the line... that should make his job much, much easier." That made Riku nervous.

"Yes, but I don't have time for making babies."

Riku took his eyes off the road for a second to look Leon in the eyes. After a second, he started cracking up. "Your babies would be terrors."

Leon frowned. "Rude."

"The last time I saw you with a girl, she was psychotic, no offense. Your taste in guys doesn't tend to be much better. You like the kind that doesn't talk too much."

"I'm going to hit you."

"No you aren't." Riku pulled up to the house. "You're going to go get in the house."

Leon reached over and hit Riku's arm. "You were saying?"

"Jerk," Riku said, turning the engine off.

"You know you love me." Leon opened his door.

"Taken, sorry." Riku smirked.

"Hmm, pity. I feel bad for Sora."

"You're just jealous I have hot vampire ass and I'm not sharing." Riku unlocked the door and let Leon in.

"Nope. Sora looks like jailbait too much to be hot."

"He doesn't look THAT young."

"Yeah, he kind of does."

Riku was going to argue, but he really couldn't. "I guess it's that I think of him as older."

"He is older, but he doesn't look it. At all." Leon shrugged. "He looks about 15, honestly. Which officially makes you a creeper."

"I disagree and am going to excuse your rudeness because you are probably concussed," Riku commented. "Are you hungry?"

"No. I'm tired and in pain."

Softening slightly, Riku said, "Sleep. I'll wake you up every few hours."

"Sounds good." With that, Leon disappeared to his room.

Riku sighed. It was going to be a long night.

[TBC]