DISCLAIMER: The only thing I own are my own copies of Kingdom Hearts I and II. I don't own anything else in this fic.
Past
Previous parts in chapter or another voice
Thoughts
"That was a pretty big crash we ended up in," Riku recalled, "I thought that was it for us."
"I'm so sorry," Kairi apologized, embarrassed for her action.
"It's my fault, everyone," Sora tried to take the blame for Kairi, "I should have taught her some more."
Donald jumped down from the snowboard game, giving Goofy the chance to try it out. "If that were a real race, you all would have been hurt," reminded Donald, as he watched Goofy play the snowboarding game, "With that prize on the line, this race is going to be dangerous, too."
"Are you sure you won't withdraw, kupo?" asked the worried Mog.
"Princess, I'll retrieve the Fragment," insisted Sora.
"I'm lending a helping hand, too," Riku spoke up.
"Me and Donald will be there, too, Princess," said Goofy, "There's no need to force yourself to enter this race." As Goofy was playing the snowboarding game, his character had accidentally ran into an incoming tree, shocking Goofy. "Gawrsh, hit a tree..."
"Thank you, everyone," Kairi smiled, appreciating everyone's concern, "But if there is something I can do, I'd like to at least give it a try."
"Yes, I'm sponsoring this race!" smiled Selphie, "And as the representative of my school, I'm going to record the entire race. From the big fancy start, to the ultimate finale when that checkered flag waves at the end." Selphie seemed to be pretty excited that she was literally dancing for joy, getting some weird looks from Sora, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. "And that's why I need a heroine for this race." Selphie then grabbed Kairi's hand, and showed her off to her group, as if Kairi was the shining hope for the entire world. "And Miss Kairi, that heroine must be you!"
Selphie and Kairi took a knee--with reluctance from Kairi--as if they did a splendid performance. Selphie's group applauded Selphie for her "performance." Sora and the rest of his friends were still confused of Selphie's hyper behavior. For a young girl, Selphie had a lot of energy.
Chapter 36: First Race, First Trouble
Later that night, after Kairi's harmless accident, Sora, with Mog, helped Kairi out in the chocobo stables, helping the Princess take care of her pink chocobo, as well as giving the teenaged girl a few pointers of how to ride a chocobo. Sora helped Kairi hop onto her chocobo. As Kairi held onto the reins, Sora continued to instruct her on how to ride her chocobo with no problems.
"When taking care of chocobos, it's important to feed them a balanced diet so they can stay fit and be able to move faster," Sora instructed, as he helped feed Kairi's chocobo with some vegetables, "And it's also good to know what kind of vegetables can be effective for them."
"Okay," nodded Kairi.
"And when you're racing, whenever you want your chocobo to go faster, use the proper leg pressure," Sora continued to explain, "And when you want to slow it down, just tug on the reins."
"You mean, like this?" Kairi asked, pulling on the rein a bit roughly, which only made her chocobo uncomfortable.
Sora placed a hand on Kairi's hand, easing her action. "You'll need to be a little gentler than that."
Kairi was left speechless when she saw Sora's hand on hers. Soon, Sora and Kairi were staring deep into each other's eyes. Time seemed to have frozen for them, as they continued to stare into each other's eyes, not realizing that their cheeks were starting to turn a little shade of pink.
Sora quickly withdrew his hand, finally realizing what was happening. "I-I'm so sorry!" stammered Sora.
"No, it's okay..." Kairi shyly drew her hand close to herself, still blushing to the fact that she practically held hands with Sora.
Mog seemed to enjoy the scene, as he was giggling to himself on the scene. "Lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey, kupo!" Mog sang.
Donald, Goofy, and Riku stood indoors in the stables, taking care of their respective chocobos, while watching Sora and Kairi's interaction together.
"Kairi seems to be pretty brighter than before," commented Riku.
"I agree," nodded Goofy, as he was feeding his green chocobo a piece of vegetable.
"It's something that would make you smile, right Donald?" asked Riku.
"What do you mean?" questioned Donald.
"When you mentioned your girlfriend, you seemed to be pretty nostalgic about it," noted Riku.
"That's because Daisy and Donald have been together for many years now," informed Goofy, "And Donald misses her, too."
"Well, that's something," Riku smiled a little, "For a guy who blows his top off for small things, you actually have a soft side."
"So I have a girlfriend," Donald defended, "I bet you have someone you miss back at your home, Riku."
Hearing this caused Riku to freeze up as he was grooming his white chocobo. Riku lowered the brush down to his side, as if he lost all will to even take care of his own chocobo. Riku's face turned grim when he remembered the world he came from, as well as the reason why he was running from it in the first place...
"Do you have someone you miss, too, Riku?" asked the curious Goofy.
"......Actually..." Riku paused for a while, as if he were trying to find himself the answer. Then, Riku turned to his friends, putting on a reassuring smile. "...I've never had a family before. So, in other words, you could say that I was an orphan."
The next day, the audience roared with anticipation. Today was the day of the Garden Racing Championship. Sora and his friends arrived on the center stage with their chocobos ready. The party looked at their surroundings to see that there were many chocobo jockeys dying to be a part of this big race.
"Can't wait to get my hands on that energy source!"
"Just think about what I can do with that thing!"
"I wonder what I should use it for?"
"Everyone here is serious, kupo," Mog observed.
"Yeah..." replied Kairi.
And, given the honor of waving the starting flag is the representative of Balamb Graden, Selphie Tilmitt!
Selphie appeared next to the starting line, holding the black and white checkered flag in her right hand. "Riders, get ready!" announced Selphie.
The riders placed their headgears, ranging from helmets, goggles, or combined versions, got on their chocobos and rode up to the starting line, where Selphie awaited everyone. The riders got themselves ready, as the red light appeared before them. Sora and his friends got into positions for a good start. Everyone waited anxiously for the chance to get this race underway.
"Riders, on your marks!" announced Selphie. "Get set!" Selphie then had her checkered flag raised up high.
It was red at first. Red. Red. Red. Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. And finally...
"Go!!" Selphie yelled, as she wave the flag down.
Green. The chocobo racers immediately dusted off of the starting line. Sora and his friends got themselves to a good start, despite some overwhelming group of chocobos racing passed them.
And we're off! The preliminary race for the Garden Racing Championship is under way!
The race was off to a good start. Every racer kept their focus on the road, as they commanded their chocobos to change various speeds. Every chocobo jockey commanded their chocobo to speed up on straight roads and slow down on curves and hairpins.
Sora and Kairi rode side by side on their respective chocobos. Sora rode by himself on his black chocobo, while Kairi rode on her pink chocobo, with Mog on her shoulder. Everything seemed to be going well, until Kairi messed up on her footing. Kairi, once again, wasn't too familiar with using leg pressure and hit her chocobo too hard, causing her chocobo to wiggle out of control, scaring Kairi. Kairi screamed in panic as she was about to lose control of her chocobo.
Uh oh, folks! It looks like the cute new entry is about to lose this race quickly!
Sora, responding to her distress, immediately sped up to her pink chocobo. "Princess, try to slow her down!" instructed Sora.
"O-okay!" responded Kairi. Kairi, remembering what Sora taught her, pulled her reins gently, slowing down her chocobo, and regaining its composure, before running again in the usual speed.
Oh, but wait! It looks like she's got everything under control!
"When your chocobo acts up like that, just slow her down so she can rest, and then try again," Sora instructed further, as he rode on his black chocobo next to her pink one.
"Okay!" nodded Kairi.
"Let's continued," said Sora, before he and Kairi began to ride off into the race once again.
Ahead of the race, various chocobos had their places changed as the fastest chocobo would pass up one chocobo or another. Donald, Goofy, and Riku were handling their chocobos well. They had no problems whatsoever. It was only a matter of time before the three of them could qualify in this race.
As we expected, the main chocobo jockeys are the ones who have earned high ranks in the previous races! And following up behind these jockeys are these up-and-coming trio! Goofy, riding his green chocobo, Spring! Next, we've got Riku, riding his white chocobo, Blur! Finally, among these new jockeys is Donald, with his blue chocobo, Mother Goose!
"Why are you giving me all the dumb names, Riku!?" yelled the angry Donald.
"Well, your chocobo is a girl, so the only thing I thought of was 'Mother Goose,'" smiled Riku.
"We're in the middle of the race, stop messing around!" scolded Donald.
"Donald's right, Riku," agreed Goofy, "This is our only chance."
"Yeah, you're right," nodded Riku, "Well, I'll see you two at the finish line." With that said, Riku used proper leg pressure and made his white chocobo gain full speed, leaving behind Donald and Goofy, who watched the silver-haired teenager ride off, passed a few racers, before disappearing into the crowd of jockeys.
"One of these days, Riku..." Donald swore to himself, grumbling. Donald and Goofy then used proper leg pressure of their own and soon, their chocobos went full speed to catch up to their friend.
Meanwhile, a little ways behind, Sora and Kairi continued to ride their chocobos with some jockeys trying to catch up to the lead jockeys. While the two teenagers rode the race track, Kairi hadn't expected obstacles on their way. For instance, in Kairi's way, there was a big boulder that blocked her way. Kairi didn't know what to do. She can't slow down or she will risk getting passed up by other jockeys. Yet, speeding up was too risky, since there was a boundary line and Sora on either side. Fortunately, Kairi's chocobo seemed to notice it. Thinking for itself, Kairi's chocobo made an incredible leap into the air, avoiding the boulder and surprising Sora, who was doing everything he can to make sure Kairi was safe.
Kairi yelped in great surprise. She hadn't expected her chocobo to jump so high. Mog, thankfully, was holding onto Kairi's clothes to prevent himself from flying off. As her chocobo landed, the chocobo had a little difficulty regaining its footing, before continuing its pace. "Princess!" Sora called out, worried about Kairi.
"I'm okay," Kairi assured. "You should go on ahead, Sora."
"What?" asked the surprised Sora.
"Do your best to get there," advised Kairi, "I'm going to give it all I got, too."
"Princess..." Sora was hesitant to leave Kairi behind. Kairi still had to learn about riding her chocobo. However, a smile of assurance from the Princess said otherwise. Sora then decided to place his trust on Kairi. "Okay," nodded Sora. Sora then commanded his chocobo to move at full speed towards the leading jockeys, trusting in Kairi to qualify in the race.
Watching from the JumboTron, Selphie watched just how loyal Sora is to Kairi. Seeing this type of loyalty seemed to impress the young teenaged girl.
"I know I want this to be a fair competiton," recalled Selphie, "But, it would be wonderful to have someone like that win."
The leading group is now nearing the finish line. Here they are!
As expected, a group of jockeys were now visible. The crowd watched in suspense as the jockeys were riding full speed towards the finish line. As they focused on the finish line, they didn't expect someone passing them up so fast. From out of nowhere, Donald sped passed the leading group, followed by Goofy and Riku. Donald, Goofy, and Riku were now the top three leading jockeys in the race. By a miracle, the trio were the first to reach the finish line, followed by the first wave of jockeys that they sped passed.
Wow, this is unbelievable, folks! These three new jockeys have made it to the top three!
Donald, Goofy, and Riku got off of their chocobos, as their chocobos danced for joy for their victory.
"You did it, Donald!" Goofy congratulated.
"No problem!" Donald crossed his arms in triumph. Suddenly, from out of the blue, his blue chocobo seemed to have passed out. Donald jumped off of his sleeping chocobo and checked up on its condition.
"I think he might be sleeping, Donald," noted Goofy. However, soon enough, Goofy's chocobo had passed out as well.
Riku was no different. For some odd reason, as they looked around the area, even the jockeys' chocobos had passed out. No one could figure out why their chocobos had fallen asleep.
"What's going on?" Riku wondered.
"There's something screwy around here," realized Donald.
Sora and Kairi continued to ride their chocobos, nearing the finish line. Unfortunately, as they rode, Sora's black chocobo began to feel very ill. The black chocobo almost lost its footing, but by a way of showing strength, Sora's chocobo tried, with all its might, to stay in the race and keep going, despite feeling very ill.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Sora asked his chocobo. Sora saw in his chocobo's eyes that it was getting very tired. His chocobo was barely trying to stay awake, but whatever was ailing it was fighting against its strength.
"Sora, what's wrong with him?" asked the concerned Kairi, as she rode alongside him.
"He's getting sick for some reason," replied Sora, "I don't know why."
On Kairi's shoulder, Mog received a communication. Apparently, the moogle had a small earpiece in his right ear. Mog received communication from Pluto, who stay behind to clean up their chocobos' stables. Pluto barked some indistinct messages to Mog, which he was able to understand. "Sora, Mog just received a message from Pluto, kupo," Mog informed, "He said that there was something wrong with the vegetables that you, Donald, Goofy, and Riku fed your chocobos."
"What was wrong with them?" asked the surprised Sora.
"Those vegetables you fed them were drugged," Mog answered.
"Drugged!?" exclaimed the shocked Sora. So that's why my chocobo was feeling sick. Sora continued to watch his chocobo struggle to stay in the race. "Hey, hang in there!" Sora pleaded his chocobo. Sora then looked up ahead to see a chocobo jockey checking on his fallen chocobo. Sora and Kairi immediately moved out of the way of the fallen chocobo, before riding side by side again. "It looks like the other chocobos have been drugged, too," said the observant Sora.
"My chocobo didn't eat anything, because she wasn't hungry this morning," Kairi noted.
"She ate a lot last night, so it only makes sense," said Sora.
"Sora, what are you going to do now, kupo?" asked the worried moogle.
Sora turned to Kairi and Mog, who continued to show worry for the Keyblade master. Then, Sora gave them a smile of confidence. "I'm going to do what the Princess would do." Kairi was surprised by Sora's answer. What she would do? "Princess, please don't worry about me," advised Sora, "Please go on ahead."
"Sora..." Kairi was truly surprised by Sora's decision. However, she could see that Sora was giving her the go-ahead. "Okay," Kairi nodded, "But, please promise me this: no matter what, you have to make it to the main race."
"I promise," Sora vowed.
Kairi nodded in confirmation. Then, using proper leg pressure, Kairi commanded her chocobo to run full speed ahead, leaving Sora behind to finish the race on his own.
Ten people have made it to the finish line, folks. But for some strange reason, all of their chocobos have fallen asleep. What could happen next? There are only two spots left. Who will make it in time!?
The crowd watched in suspense on the track and on the JumboTron. Nobody knew who the next person was going to make it to the finish line. Then, from far away on the track, they saw a small pink image coming into view.
Oh, who is this?
Kairi continued to ride on her pink chocobo in full speed. Kairi's chocobo had finally crossed the finish line. Kairi then pulled on her reins to stop her chocobo's dash. Her pink chocobo had started to skid, trying to halt itself. Luckily, for the Princess; Donald, Goofy, and Riku were there to catch her and her pink chocobo, effectively halting the giant bird.
Kairi, with Goofy's help, hopped off of her chocobo. Kairi then gave her chocobo a well-deserved stroke on its head, before turning her attention to the race track. She could see a small black spot on the race track, before identifying it at Sora and his chocobo.
"Is Sora okay, kupo?" asked the worried Mog.
"He'll be okay," assured Kairi, "I trust Sora."
Despite Sora's ill chocobo, he managed to make it far enough to see the finish line in the distance.
"There is it!" Sora exclaimed to himself.
Before Sora could make a final run to the finish line, Sora immediately found himself surrounded by three chocobo jockeys. Two on each side, and one leading the race. "Hey, whatever you two do, don't let him through!" commanded jockey number 1.
"Yes sir!" jockey number 2 and 3 responded.
The first jockey sped up ahead, leaving his flunkies to block off Sora. "Wait!" yelled Sora, trying to speed up with his sick chocobo. Unfortunately, the two jockeys took advantage of his sick chocobo and took the lead in front of Sora, blocking the young teenager off.
Kairi and the rest of the party watched on the JumboTron what was happening to Sora, and were watching in suspense.
"That's not good," commented Riku.
"Hey, that's cheating, kupo!" exclaimed Mog.
"Not if they hit him," Donald corrected Mog.
Kairi watched in fear for Sora's safety. Not only was she scared for Sora's well-being, but she was also scared that Sora won't be able to keep his promise to her. "At this rate, Sora won't be able to make it in time. But, his chocobo is also too weak," said the observant Goofy, "Hey, Donald, what would you do if this ever happened?"
"I'd do the same thing he would do," answered Donald.
Sora saw little choice on what to do. But it was now or never. Using powerful leg pressure, Sora commanded his chocobo to use all strength it probably had left and jump over the two chocobo jockeys, once again taking the lead over them. The chocobo jockeys could only watch in disbelief. How could a sick chocobo find the strength to make a jump that big?
Now it was Sora and the leading jockey. Sora's chocobo continued to dash at full speed, struggling with all of its might to stay awake, despite being drugged. Sora's chocobo zipped right past the leading jockey, surprising him. "That kid! Is he trying to put a strain on his chocobo!?" exclaimed the surprised jockey, "All right, fine! I'll do the same!" The jockey then forced his chocobo to make a full dash towards the leading Sora. Soon, Sora and the jockey were now side by side. "I'll be the one to take that last place, kid!" the jockey declared with a cocky attitude. Sora seemed to ignore the jockey's declaration. "Your chocobo doesn't look so good," noted the jockey, trying to hint to that it was useless for Sora to keep racing, "You'd better quit while you're ahead, kid."
"I'm not going to quit, and neither will my chocobo," proclaimed Sora, showing his determination. The chocobo also showed fierce determination to win this match, despite its illness. "I have something that I must do."
Sora and the jockey's chocobo continued to make a full charge towards the finish line. Unfortunately, for the jockey's chocobo, it soon gave out, due to the drug in the vegetables it ate this morning. Soon, the jockey soon yelped in surprise as his chocobo soon fell asleep on the spot, leaving Sora to continue speeding up.
Sora's black chocobo used up the last of its strength and began to slow down on the track. Fortunately, Sora's chocobo still had the strength to make it into the finish line, before falling asleep on the line. Sora jumped down and knelt besides his chocobo, stroking the sleeping chocobo's head. "Sorry you had to push yourself," Sora whispered to his chocobo, "But...you did it."
Medics appeared on the track and ran towards Sora's chocobo. "We'll take care of him, young man," the medic said, as he took a look at its condition.
Leaving the medics to check up on his chocobo, Sora walked to where Kairi and the others were awaiting his arrival. Kairi was so happy to see that Sora had made it to the finish line. Sora walked up to Kairi, who was still smiling to the fact that Sora is there now. "Princess, I kept my promise," Sora informed with a proud smile.
"I'm so glad, Sora," Kairi nodded, still smiling towards her friend.
"That was an intense thing you did there, Sora," Goofy complimented.
Sora nodded on Goofy's compliment, before dropping his smile as he looked at the jockeys around them. Sora couldn't help but notice that it was strange for everyone's chocobo to fall asleep in the middle of the race.
"What's wrong?" asked Kairi.
Selphie, along with some of the men and women of the public health services of Gold Saucer, took a look at some of the vegetables that had the drugs in it.
"We didn't detect any abnormalities with today's shipment of vegetables before the race," notified a public health service worker.
"That means that someone is trying to interfere with the race," realized Selphie, "Not only that, but that saboteur..."
Sora now knew the truth behind the sleeping chocobos. Not only was the saboteur trying to interfere with the race...
"That saboteur is one of them..." said Sora, facing the jockeys.
Sora watched the jockeys in suspicion. Sora realized one thing about this incident. Sora and the others were not the only ones after the Heart Fragment. Someone else is after it as well.
But who?
To be continued…