Long time no see! I took the liberty before hand to revise the previous chapters. You'll notice that my writing style has changed, if only slightly. Expect longer chapters out of fresh habits.
Last Name
Chapter 11: Second Eldest
Riku thought he found Ansem peculiar, but he didn't have a word for Xemnas. He didn't find him quite as intimidating, but mysterious all the same. Xemnas didn't say much unless he needed to, and like his father, he had an obvious knack for reading minds. Maybe it ran in Riku's new family? He hoped a bit of it would rub off on him. His dad and uncle were able to do so many interesting things. He wondered if there were any weird habits he hadn't seen yet.
"Do you have any other dogs?" Riku opened up conversation, patting Xemnas' Doberman on her sleek head. He had gotten so used to the two of them in Ansem's apartment, and the week was hardly over yet. Lucky for him, Xemnas wasn't overbearing and his four legged companion was comforting to have around. Riku never got to interact with a dog up this close before. It was hard to resist patting her whenever she sat near.
"Nope." Xemnas stirred a large plastic bowl in the kitchen, licking brownie batter from his pinkie finger. The spoon he used scratched noisily against the bowl's worn insides, filling the kitchen and living room with faint resonances.
"Any other animals?" Riku asked hoping he would say yes. Then, he could bring him all his other pets to mingle with.
"Nope." Xemnas repeated placing his batter bowl on the counter. The oven beeped behind him, indicating that it was done with its pre-heat.
Riku slumped on the couch. Oh well. He could do just fine with what Xemnas had. She was a pretty neat dog anyway; the kind that sat, and lied down, and rolled over, and did much else when you asked her to.
"She's a cool dog." Riku decided out loud. He pulled her paws onto his lap to examine them. Her knobby little nails were trimmed beforehand to avoid scratches on the hardwood floor. Riku curiously spread her toes. They were slightly webbed, and the pads were dusty and worn from whatever work she did.
"Thank you." Xemnas poured batter in a small pan and slipped it on a rack in the oven. Humming, he closed the oven with a thump and looked over the counter to see where the other two where. "I've had her for a while now. Since she was a pup." Xemnas dusted flour from his hands. "Don't let her fall asleep. She hasn't ate yet, and it's hard to wake her up once she doses off."
"I won't." Riku made sure her brindle eyes were still open. They were, if only partially, and focused on whatever it was that he was doing with her paws. "What's her name?" Riku had failed to ask in the two days that they had been here to watch over him.
"Kingdom." Xemnas rinsed his hands in the sink and paced over to the couch to turn on the T.V.. That was another thing Riku liked about Xemnas. He didn't make him wait until after dinner to watch what he wanted.
"Like with Kings and Queens?" Riku folded his legs next to her, tapping her ears every now and again to keep her alert.
"Precisely. She's my service partner." Xemnas sat with crossed legs on the arm of the couch. He found something interesting to watch and tossed the remote on the coffee table. "Dinner and desert will be ready in a few minutes. Make sure you wash your hands."
"Oh, yeah..." Riku looked to his hands. Kingdom wasn't a dirty dog, but her dark hair tended to fall in random places. It was proper to wash your hands after handling pets wasn't it? "I'll be right back!" He hopped off the couch and darted down the apartment hallway toward the bathroom.
It made Riku excited to see that Kingdom had stirred and followed after. Hands soapy, he peered out the side of the door to watch her waddle sleepily down the hallway. Her nails clicked over the hard wood and tile as she came to stand nosily at his side. When his hands were rinsed and dry, she followed as she did before. Riku had to twist out of the way to keep from falling over her.
He paused for a moment to look at the hall's picture frames. He recognized a picture of Xemnas, and it reminded him of something he'd been meaning to ask his father. "Hey, Xemnas?" Riku trotted toward the kitchen. Xemnas was already there fixing bowls and setting the small dining table.
"Hm?" Xemnas placed a fork in what Riku assumed was his bowl stuffed pasta shells.
"Um, Ansem says he makes planes, right?" He sat at the table and Kingdom came to lay under his feet. He ran a bare foot over the soft fur of her back.
"Yes, that's right." Xemnas sounded as if he was just remembering. He sat full gasses of lemon aid on the table for both of them, and took a chair.
"What kind of service do you do?" He asked before taking a forkfull of dinner and stuffing his face.
Xemnas thought for a moment, moving strands of his grey hair out of his face. " Kingdom and I work in the K-9 unit as police. She's used as something called 'intimidation'. You know what that means don't you, Riku?" Xemnas ate just as ferociously as Riku did. It made him feel even more comfortable than he already was.
Riku nodded his head. His eyebrows raised eagerly. He wanted to ask more questions, but he didn't want to chatter with a full mouth.
"We should go back to work in a month or two. Kingdom is going through a new set of training. She'll be able to detect illegal substances when she's done. Isn't that right?" Xemnas peered under the sable. "It's not as sophisticated as my older brother's line of work, but I enjoy it." He stood from the table for a moment to check tonight's desert on top of the oven.
"Sounds stressful." At least that's what Riku thought. The job seemed pretty draining from what he'd seen on reality television.
"At times it is." Xemnas agreed. He returned to the table, sat, and placed a full tray of warm brownies between them. Riku's mouth watered even though he was already eating.
"These are great!" Sora smacked. Riku assumed the normal lunch-time-trade-off and brought brownies to add to their little stock market. He had an easily satisfied sweet tooth anyway.
"My uncle made them." He spoke over the shrieking to his right. Someone had dropped a scoop of mashed potatoes down another girls bra in some sort of cat fight. He watched for a moment before turning his attention back to his own table. He took the fruit snacks Sora offered him in exchange and popped a few gummies in his mouth.
"These are pretty good." Kairi agreed, taking a bite of her own piece and setting it aside to eat after she'd finished her thermos of spaghetti. "Better save one for Axel. He should be headed this way any moment."
"Emerging out of the depths of helllllll." Roxas made a dramatic impression of a zombie. Everyone, including Riku, knew which clique of girls he was referring to.
"Fiiree, hell fireee!" Kairi whaled, swinging her arms as if she were summoning dark incantations. "This burrnninngg desire." Xion finished joining in her invisible witchcraft. Riku snorted.
"Don't they ever quit?" Riku asked. He could hear the small bundle of girls giggling. Of course, Axel was there bartering for food and using his attention as an unit of exchange.
"I heard girls get grabby when they get older." Roxas commented. Sora replied with a 'yuck', and Kairi and Xion added their own 'Whatever's.
"Speaking of Axel." Riku began, leaning over to take a bite out of Xion's sandwich when she wasn't looking. "What kind of tutoring does he do? He tutor's other kids, right?" Riku's assessment in Mr. Lupin's class did in no way go well today. It annihilated the struggling grade he had. Ansem would probably look down on him whenever he came back. He had yet to see the man mad, and he didn't want to experience it first hand. A math tutor was certainly in order.
"HEY!" Xion narrowed her eyes for suspects around the table, noticing the bite in her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She sighed. "Axel can tutor science and math. He tutors me since our moms know each other. Maybe he'll have time to tutor you if you ask?" She reached over the table and snatched Roxas' caprisun pouch out of his mouth. "Thanks." She crinkled her little nose drank what was left; mocking him for not being quick enough to stop her.
"Ha-ha!" Sora laughed at Roxas' misfortune. "Hey Riku! Are you going to come over again today? I hear from first period that we have homework in Mr. Yuselt."
"Ew." Riku balled his lunch sack and tossed it into a rolling trash can. "I guess. I'll have to ask Xemnas." Suddenly, a long arm reached over Riku's head to rummage through his zip lock back of brownies.
"Premium goods to-day." Axel looked down over Riku's forehead. "I can 'ave one right?" Riku noticed Axel's slight accent for the very first time. He wonder why he hadn't heard it before.
"Go ahead." Riku took the empty bag and threw it into the same can as his lunch sack.
"Hey Axel, Riku was wondering if you could tutor him?" Kairi handed Axel a bag of popcorn she hadn't bothered to open.
"Hmmm." Axel rubbed his chin, shooing a group of younger girls who were aching for him to wonder over. "Just a sec." He called to them before turning his attention back to Riku. "What class is it?"
"Math."
"Big Bad Wolf?" Axel's green eyes went wide.
"Yeah." Riku knew exactly who he was talking about. He wondered why he hadn't thought of the nick name himself.
"One huff and puff and blows your whole grade down. Or so I've heard." Axel joked, leaning against the clammy lunch table. "Still hasn't softened up for younger kids. huh."
Riku had heard rumors from Twilight Town seniors. They called him a 'bloody murderer'. He couldn't say that the title didn't fit him.
"I was a victim today. We had an assessment." Riku sighed. Xion and Roxas hung their heads with him. They didn't survive either.
"Ouch. Yeah, I can help you, kid. Just let me know when you're free. Wouldn't want your 'rents snapping at you heels so early in the year." Axel stood. "I'm coming, geeze hold your prissy little horses." He waved off the table that beckoned him yet again. "I'd love to stay and chat, but duty calls. See ya."
Though apprehensive to Riku running out of sight, Xemnas allowed him to venture to Kairi's apartment on the condition that he got to check to his homework when he returned. That was probably just to make sure Riku would do what he said he would. He assured Xemnas that he wasn't a procrastinator. Unfinished work left Riku antsy and uncomfortable.
Riku bent over the small table in Kairi's bedroom to grab his soda. He found it hard to concentrate on his work because he kept getting caught up in looking around. Sora seemed familiar with her apartment, and moved as if he knew where most things were. He wanted to be on the same status.
"I don't know what this question is asking." Sora huffed, returning from the kitchen with his own soda. He cracked open the tab and sat at Riku's side.
"Me neither." Riku had read over the passage three times and he still had very little understanding of what it was about. The questions didn't help either.
"This is taking foreverrrr!" Sora doggy eared his text book and snapped it closed. "Maybe we should work on something else and come back? We only have an hour to work on it together."
"That would be smart. Riku, why don't you give us your phone number and we can call you if we get any answers." Kairi followed after Sora and closed her book. Quite frankly the whole thing was giving her a head ache. She really did hate her science work book.
"Okay. Give me a second, I think my dad wrote it into my planner." Riku rummaged through his book sack for his spiral planner. He flipped through the contact information and found the space where the apartment number was written. "Here it is." He sat it on the table for both of them to see. "But um, if you call, Xemnas will probably answer."
"That's okay." Sora scribbled the number onto a stray piece of note book paper, and Kairi etched it into her room's small white erase board.
While he waited, Riku allowed his curiosity to guide his attention. Kairi's apartment was far different in contrast from Sora's and his own. There were flowers, real flowers, and sea decor in just about ever corner. The neat living area smelled of fresh potting dirt, cold mineral water, and citrus. The decor color scheme followed warm opaue colors, even in Kairi's room. Speaking of her room, it wasn't as pink as he was expecting. Actually, it was a very calming light blue. It reminded him of the breeze that rolled over the beach early in the morning.
"Hey Riku?"
"Huh?" Riku snapped out of his daze.
"Mr. Lupin was trying to show us how to foil today, right?" Sora put his science book away and traded it for math. He took out another clean sheet of paper and filled out his heading.
"I think so. He was going kind of fast. I think they teach this kind of stuff to us too early. I didn't have a really good idea of what he was talking about." Riku scratched the back of his head and peered over Sora's shoulder. He was already starting.
"Ugghh! I was hoping you knew. I was half asleep!"
"Settle down boys, we'll just have to figure it out together!" Kairi shushed them both.
Riku had the feeling he would be going home a little late today.
"Yes, I'd like to reserve that testing area." Ansem balanced his phone between his neck and shoulder. He sat at the edge of his bed to tie on one dress shoe, while searching for the other. Much of the hotel room floor was littered with his personal items. He wasn't really this disorganized, he was just in a hurry. His thoughts had kept him up late the previous night, making him late to rise in the morning.
"No, I can't take a later date. I need that area sectioned off today for a test flight. I have a team of operators who need to make a demonstration." He sighed heavily into the receiver. "Yes, I can take that time, but no later." Being away from home usually never stressed him out this much. He had no real reason to worry, but it was something he couldn't help. He hoped his worry wouldn't follow him into today's string of presentations.
Maybe one call to see how things were doing wouldn't hurt? When his scheduling call had ended, he didn't hesitate to start another. "Transfer me to my younger brother." He spoke into his phone's voice recognition. Today was going to be another long day in his even longer week.