Rating has been kicked up a notch, and title has changed. Any better ideas
for a title are accepted with open arms and a happy smile. ^_^;
Sorry, this chapter is going to be both extremely rushed and lotally lacking in humor. I have exactly thirty-two minutes before lunch ends, and am currently listening to Linkin Park's "In the End". . . so. . . yeah. It's not exactly a happy-happy-joy-joy song. X_x;
Oh yeah, and also. . . poor Kid has gotten sucked up into the shounen-ai craze. She has been a yaoi fan for as long as she can remember (I'm not a homo-phobic! X_x;) and now. . . she has a new favorite pairing. . . RIKU x SORA, YAAAAAAYY!!! Most likely, this story shall become very Rikora. ^_^ So. . . if you don't like the idea of one dude having "feelings" for another dude, no readee. DON'T READ! I will NOT accept flames bitching about "no likee gayness!" or "SORA AND/OR RIKU IS (ARE) NOT QUEERS, GODDAMMIT!!!" I will laugh openly at you, and post your name in the story for everyone else to laugh at, because you are a big, stupid, stupid head for not listening/reading correctly!
So, if you don't like yaoi-ness, feel free to turn back now. I don't mind at all if you never speak to me again, because I "ruined the story". But, it you don't like yaoi, but like me and want to be very nice to me and keep reading, don't flame because of the shounen ai. Please, please, PUH- LEEEAASE!
I'm not turning this into one big, mushy, sugary-sweet love story. X_x; I'm just adding a dash of romance. Hope this doesn't offend you all terribly. (can't you just hear the sarcasm? x_x)
----------------------------------------------------- Response to Reviews (aka: TORTURE FOR REVIEWERS!!! MWA HA HA!) (Aka: Get your name in the story! And get a responce from the loser who wrote it! Oh, my friggin' yayness!) -----------------------------------------------------
Maho Kiwi "Let's see how fucked up I can make this story" story? O_o; I honestly don't think I've ever read one of those. Well, maybe. Any examples? *leans close* Whisper it in my ear so you don't hurt the person's feelings. X_x; lol, never mind. I 'm so confused.
Thank you for the compliments! I didn't intend to have seriousness at first, but know I kinda think it adds a nice touch to the plot. ^_^ Thanks again for complimenting. *sniff* You're so sweet! 8_8
Mwee hee. I also like your little "find the guy who thought that up and knock him upside the head" thing. It caught me off guard, and I was all crackin' up in front of my uncle and little cousin. And she looks up to me, too. *covers face* How embarassing. X_x;
Thanks for da review. *sniff* It was so self-esteem boosing. I'm not used to compliments. X_X
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Sakurako Yume Yesh yesh... it ish very icky yicky gag-me-with-a-friggin- ice-cream-scoop-it's-so-disgusting inside of Monstro. Kinda like Lord Jabbu Jabbu on Zelda, except without the constant beating of a heart in your ears. X_X;
*getting weird stares* Um... yeah. X_x;
Pinocchio singing voice is one of the worst ones in all Disney history. X_x; Seriously. Listen to his "I've Got No Strings" and feel pity upon poor wittle Riku-sama.
Poor Riku. *pats him on da head*
*imagins Pinocchio trying to sing in Japanese, all sounding out the words and crap* O_o; Oh my god. X_x;
I'm so glad you love the story! Thanks for the review!
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Syvia . . . Parody? O_o; I never ment it to be a parody. X_x; Thanks for the review anyways.
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Saya Oh my god, you sound exactly how I did while I was in Monstro. I always attacked the little flying dudes, and went toppling off the edge, back to the first chamber. X_x; And, I always had to attack them. I tried to just run through, but then Donald and Goofy started fighting, and I didn't want to be left out of the fun! X_x;
*sighs* Woo. . . being stupid is so fun. . .
Yes, I am quite aware that chapter was slow. *sniffle* I tried my hardest! *anime-style foutain tears*
Syrupy waffles. . . mmm. . . ^_^
Yes, your review was very funny. Be happy, and thanks for reading and reviewing! ^_^
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Chon Inspired your way of life??? O_o; Um. . . that's a good thing, I hope? ^_^; *goes off to try and write more inspirational* X_x; Thanks for the review. ^_^ I hope my story is a very good aspect of your life! *nervous smile*
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Harle Right on the mark, eh? O_o; I thought I made Sora a bit whinier than usual, but. . . thanks! Compliments fill me with warm fuzzy wonderfulness. *huggles self*
Thanks for the review! I hope my chapters live up to your expectations! X_x;
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Riku Pure genius??? O_o; Well, gawrsh. . . *blushes* I wouldn't go as far as to say that, but thanks anyways! ^_^ Glad you like my characterazation of Riku. ^_^
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Chibi Riku Waa! No sick chibi Riku on me! I'm updating, I'm updating! See! *points* Thanks for review! No hurt me! 8_8
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Misao You're supposed to cry when you watch Bambi?? O_o; Oops. X_x;
*allows Riku to go and murder Bambi for his pretty-ful winter coat and yummy deer meat*
lol, thanks for the review. ^_^
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Phantazy No need to beg, I'm continuing! ^_^; Thanks for the review.
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Snowri Leonheart lol, wooden jukebox. XD Yes, I coudn't make Riku all cold and heartless. X_x; I had to make him a LITTLE sympathetic. ^_^ Thanks for the review.
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Thanks to everyone who reviewed. *sniff* I'm so happy. *-* Sorry if I missed your name. I spent waaay too long on this author's note. Time running low. Gotta go! Well, without further delay, heeeeeeeeeere's the next chappy! ^_~
---~~*~~--
Traverse Town Mayhem: Intro
--~~*~~--
Deep in the void of a water colored universe, a tiny red and yellow vessel speeds away from a huge, floating mass of whale guts.
"Whee! Everyone, lookit me! Ah'm drivin'!" Goofy crowed triumphantly, giving the steering wheel to the Gummi ship a good spin. Donald groaned, trying to swallow away his nausea as the ship took yet another gut- wrenching twirl.
"Good going, Sora." he muttered, glaring over at the seated brunette out of the corner of his eye, smoothing another bandage on his beak. "Thanks to you and your stupidity, I'm too injured to drive, and now we have to let this clown steer!"
Sora sniffed, tossing his head and thrusting his chin defiantly up in the air. "I told you to let me drive, but noooooo. . ." he replied, folding his bandaged arms poutingly over his chest. "You just had to go and give him the keys."
Donald snorted, wrapping another yard of gauze around his head. "He's more capable than you! Last time you made us crash!"
Sora leapt to his feet, which, because of his vastly oversized shoes, had stayed completely untouched despite the explosion. "That's only because we were so busy fighting, we forgot to smile, dumb ass! It had nothing at all to do with me!"
Donald felt a vein bulge visible out of his temple. "What did you call me?!" he screeched, leaping to his scorched little webbed feet as well.
"You heard me!" Sora shouted back. The two were nose to nose. . . er. . . nose to beak (^^;) fists clenched savagely before them, ready to strike the other at any given time. Goofy glanced back over his shoulder at his bitching comrades.
"Hey, guys, lighten up!" he said timidly as the ship took a sickening dip downwards. "You guys shouldn't fight like this. It isn't right. We're supposed to be working together." The ship took another dangerous lurch as the two glared up in his general direction. He grinned nervously, their cold stared piercing him to the core. Now wasn't the time to start preaching about ethics. "Besides, it's also bad for the ship." he finished weakly, hoping the thought of their little vessel crashing to its doom would cool their nerves.
Donald sighed, falling back in his bandage-covered seat, wrappers crackling beneath him. "I suppose he's right," the duck allowed nonchalantly, "Even though frowns are far better for the ship than anything he's doing."
Sora laughed dryly, bracing himself against the wall as Goofy, confident that he had once again single-handedly prevented a fight, went blissfully back to his loop-de-loops.
For a while, they rode in silence, Sora staring blankly out the window into the tie-dye swirl of space, Donald cursing beneath his breath while trying (in vain) to nurse his wounds. Then. . .
There was a loud thud coming from the cockpit, followed by an ear-piercing scream from Goofy. Sora glad for any reason to escape his mind-numbing boredom, was immediately on his feet and rushing to see what was the matter, his feathered companion limping right behind, trailing a couple feet worth of gauze behind him.
Sora screeched to a halt, the fowl wizard crashing into him from behind and knocking the both of them down. Goofy glanced urgently down at them as they groaned in pain.
"Guys! Guys, look!" he cried anxiously, jabbing a gloved finger at the window. When they still didn't rise to their feet, the impatient Goofy swiftly yanked them up by their collars, and turned them toward the windshield.
Sora paused in his whining and griping to glance up from his barely existing bruises. His blue eyes widened as he gazed upon the beaten figure clinging to their front window, "Holy crap. . ." he whispered, voice quaking, "Is that Riku?!"
Sure enough, there lay the silver-haired youth, sprawled out on the window shield like the victim of a terrible hit-and-run. Trails of crimson ran in spidery designs all over their window, obviously being the unconscious youth's blood. Black, dusty splotches of gunpowder ornamented his bare skin, covering up most of his cuts and burns. Most of his clothes had been scorched to crispy ribbons, none of which kept him very decent. In his torn hand he clutched the remains of what looked to be Pinocchio's arm.
"Oh my gawrsh!" Goofy screamed, noticing the dismembered body part for the first time. "He killed Pinocchio!"
Donald coughed nervously. "No, Goof. . . actually. . . WE killed Pinocchio." He followed this remark with a cold glare at the KeyBlade master. "Or, at least Sora did." he added with a sneer.
Sora began waving his beaten arms frantically, squirming wildly in Goofy's grip. "Now's not the time to be pointing fingers!" he exclaimed, the sense of urgency strong in his voice. "Hurry! We gotta pull Riku in!" He glanced around desperately, then seeing his comrades weren't exactly rushing to obey his orders, screamed, "HURRY, BEFORE HE FLIES AWAY!"
Frightened by Sora's sudden explosion, the two jumped into action. Together, the three of them managed to pull the more-than-half-naked Riku in through the side window, while practically getting their heads ripped off by the strong pull of warp space. And, believe me, it was no easy task.
By the time they yanked him in, the last threads of clothing he had on and been peeled away.
Goofy sighed, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Well, that wasn't so --" His sentence was cut off as his eyes wandered to Riku's pale, bare body, and his nose involuntarily exploded in a cloud of red. With a last gasp of shock, the dog's large eyes rolled upward in his head, and he fainted dead away, right in the driver's seat.
Donald grumbled something under his breath, shoving Goofy's unconscious lump out of the chair and taking an unsteady grasp upon the steering wheel with his now clumsy overly-bandaged hands. He regarded Sora out of the corner of his eye.
"You'd better take care of him, Sor." the duck grunted, still straining to keep the ship from capsizing. His hands were wrapped so thick with gauze, he couldn't even make a fist around the bar, much less keep a good grip. "With Goofy unconscious, I'm the only one left to mind the wheel."
Sora nodded, pinching his own nose shut to prevent any sudden bleeding, then he reached down and scooped up the limp Riku. Awkwardly draping the taller boy over his shoulder, he headed for the back of the ship, hoping there were some sheets or something back there so he could throw together a makeshift bed. The icy teen's head bounced lightly against his shoulder blades as he walked, and he tried hard to ignore the fact that Riku's hands often tenderly patted the back of Sora's bright red shorts as they swung.
No sooner had he clumsily exited the cockpit, when there was another dull thump on the window. Donald gave a squawk of annoyance.
"Sora! It's Geppetto."
Sora cursed under his breath, then called over his shoulder, "You get him! I'm busy!"
"So am I!" came the answer. Cursing again, Sora set the bare Riku on the cold metal of the floor, then quickly returned to the control room to retrieve the old man.
"Hurry up, he's blocking my view." Donald ordered, eyebrows furrowed and neck craned as he struggled to see around the frail man's thin body. Sora sighed, exasperated, then opened the window and yanked Geppetto in.
He treated poor Geppetto with a lot less care than he did Riku; dragging the unconscious toy maker across the floor and slumping him in some lonely corner without any sheets or anything, no love or concern in his actions. Then, turning swiftly on his heel, he left the elderly man there, bleeding and shivering, while he searched for a blanket for Riku.
Sora sighed impatiently as he stood on his toes, feeling around the top shelves for anything soft and cloth like that he could use as a source of warmth for his beaten friend. After a few minutes of blindly patting, his burnt fingers closed upon a dirty rag he and the others had used to polish the ship.
He yanked it down, sending any items on top of it rolling across the floor, then examined the soft fabric. It had a few oil stains, and smelled kind of funny, but it could easily cover at least two people.
Sora sighed remorsefully. It wasn't very luxurious, but it was the best thing they had, at least until they got to Traverse Town.
Limping over to Riku, who had involuntarily started shivering like crazy because of the steel floor he was laying upon that was so lacking of warmth (8_8), he whipped the blanket out its full length, and gently laid it over the unconscious teen. Almost as if by magic, Riku's shivering subsided to a few brief trembles. Smoothing the wrinkles in the makeshift blanket tenderly over the youth's firm chest, Sora smiled softly down onto Riku's face, and barely restrained his sudden urge to run his fingers over the teen's silky skin.
He looks so peaceful and innocent when he's asleep, Sora thought with a dreamy sigh, He's like a completely different person.
Without a second thought, he laid down next to his best friend, and promptly fell into a deep sleep.
--~~*~~--
Riku groaned into the darkness. His head was throbbing painfully, and his whole body ached. He moaned softly and groped blindly above him, grasping nothing but handfuls of air.
Where am I? He wondered. The surface beneath his sore back was soft and plush, yielding to his weight ever so slightly, just enough so he could feel a slight dip around him. He gave a weak attempt to sit up, but soon sank back, wincing as pain tore mercilessly through his body. He clutched the fabric clothing him tightly in a fist, waiting for the searing pain to subside.
"Where am I?" he wondered again, this time aloud. He felt a soft hand gently lay itself upon his own.
"Oh Riku, I'm so glad you're okay!" a familiar voice whispered joyously. "For a minute there, I thought you'd left us."
Riku slowly forced his burning eyelids open, and as the black fuzz cleared away, he saw Sora, sitting faithfully at his side, a relieved smile soft upon his face.
"Sora?" he whispered weakly, his voice hoarse. He weakly reached out, as if to confirm by touch that his friend was actually there. Sora gently took Riku's scarred hand into his own gloved one. "What. . . Why are you. . . How did I. . .?" Poor Riku's brain was too muddled to complete any of his questions, the warmth of the hand wrapped around his the only thing keeping him from passing out.
He actually cared, Riku thought absently, He actually left his new friends to take care of. . .
Suddenly, realization snapped the teen out of his thoughts. "Oh my god, where's Pinocchio?!"
Sora blinked, eyes widening and conscience becoming heavy with guilt.
"Um. . ."
--~~*~~--
FLASHBACK!
--~~*~~--
"Okay, I got Riku a room in the hotel." Sora said, jogging up to Donald's side. Donald absently noted his presence as he continued to check over the Gummi ship, clipboard in a bandaged hand.
"I got Goofy to a restroom so he could clean up his nose." Donald replied with a roll of his sky-blue eyes. Sora glanced at the limp figure of the old toy-maker, still slumped in a corner of the ship.
"What're we gonna do with him?" Sora asked, motioning to the elderly man with a jerk of his thumb. Donald regarded his question with little interest.
"I dunno. . . Go find him some house to stay in or something." the duck answered absentmindedly, giving the side of a ship a little tap to see if anything was loose.
"Okay!" Sora said, scooping up the assumably dead Geppetto and dragging him up the stairs of First District, earning him quite a few odd stares.
After a few glances around, Sora spotted an old, vacant house just behind the accessory shop. Smiling triumphantly, he dragged the poor, beaten old man over to the door and tossed him in, along with various other Pinocchio parts.
Sora stepped back, and surveyed the scene he'd just created. It looked as if the old toy maker had just had a heart failure of some sort while piecing together a puppet. With some luck, someone would spot him and rush him to a nearby doctor or something, (since the town has no medical center O_O;) not suspecting a thing.
With a nod of satisfaction, Sora flipped on the light to create a more natural look, and closed the door.
--~~*~~--
END FLASHBACK
--~~*~~--
Riku was speechless. He just laid there, a stunned look on his face as he gazed, unbelieving, upon the youth he thought was always so caring and considerate. Sora smiled sheepishly.
"It was a spur of the moment idea!" he admitted, blushing slightly. "I'm sorry if it isn't all that righteous, but what else could I have done?"
"You could've asked someone to come take a look at him," Riku said, rolling his aqua eyes in exasperation. "If they asked any questions about where you found him, you could just lie." He glanced a Sora pityingly. "It would've been better than what you did."
"Donald told me to!" Sora argued weakly. Riku sighed, laying a bruised arm across his eyes.
"Whatever. Listen, I got one hell of a migraine. Do ya think you could run to the store and pick up some medication for me? And maybe some bandages?"
Sora nodded eagerly. "Oh, sure! Whatever you say!" With a coy grin, he sprang to his feet, and clunked noisily out the door.
Riku groaned, rolling over on his stomach and burying his aching head beneath a pillow, allowing all his thoughts to fade into darkness.
For a brief second, the silver-haired teen wondered what the inn keeper must of thought when Sora dragged in some unconscious, bleeding person, and asked for a room. It astounded him that he was even given a room.
"I wouldn't let some kid with a dead body swung over his shoulder and an oversized key at his waist come into my inn, that's for sure." Riku murmured to himself with a light chuckle. "But, then again, Sora always gets his way."
Those were the last thoughts he spoke before he drifted off into a well- deserved sleep.
--~~*~~--
OWARI. . . for now. . .
--~~*~~--
I know, this part sucked as well. X_x; Bah. Oh well.
Hope you liked it, even though it was pretty weak. The next chapter should be up pretty soon.
I really gotta run now. X_x;
Until next time, buh-baiz! ^_^
Oh yeah, and review!
Sorry, this chapter is going to be both extremely rushed and lotally lacking in humor. I have exactly thirty-two minutes before lunch ends, and am currently listening to Linkin Park's "In the End". . . so. . . yeah. It's not exactly a happy-happy-joy-joy song. X_x;
Oh yeah, and also. . . poor Kid has gotten sucked up into the shounen-ai craze. She has been a yaoi fan for as long as she can remember (I'm not a homo-phobic! X_x;) and now. . . she has a new favorite pairing. . . RIKU x SORA, YAAAAAAYY!!! Most likely, this story shall become very Rikora. ^_^ So. . . if you don't like the idea of one dude having "feelings" for another dude, no readee. DON'T READ! I will NOT accept flames bitching about "no likee gayness!" or "SORA AND/OR RIKU IS (ARE) NOT QUEERS, GODDAMMIT!!!" I will laugh openly at you, and post your name in the story for everyone else to laugh at, because you are a big, stupid, stupid head for not listening/reading correctly!
So, if you don't like yaoi-ness, feel free to turn back now. I don't mind at all if you never speak to me again, because I "ruined the story". But, it you don't like yaoi, but like me and want to be very nice to me and keep reading, don't flame because of the shounen ai. Please, please, PUH- LEEEAASE!
I'm not turning this into one big, mushy, sugary-sweet love story. X_x; I'm just adding a dash of romance. Hope this doesn't offend you all terribly. (can't you just hear the sarcasm? x_x)
----------------------------------------------------- Response to Reviews (aka: TORTURE FOR REVIEWERS!!! MWA HA HA!) (Aka: Get your name in the story! And get a responce from the loser who wrote it! Oh, my friggin' yayness!) -----------------------------------------------------
Maho Kiwi "Let's see how fucked up I can make this story" story? O_o; I honestly don't think I've ever read one of those. Well, maybe. Any examples? *leans close* Whisper it in my ear so you don't hurt the person's feelings. X_x; lol, never mind. I 'm so confused.
Thank you for the compliments! I didn't intend to have seriousness at first, but know I kinda think it adds a nice touch to the plot. ^_^ Thanks again for complimenting. *sniff* You're so sweet! 8_8
Mwee hee. I also like your little "find the guy who thought that up and knock him upside the head" thing. It caught me off guard, and I was all crackin' up in front of my uncle and little cousin. And she looks up to me, too. *covers face* How embarassing. X_x;
Thanks for da review. *sniff* It was so self-esteem boosing. I'm not used to compliments. X_X
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Sakurako Yume Yesh yesh... it ish very icky yicky gag-me-with-a-friggin- ice-cream-scoop-it's-so-disgusting inside of Monstro. Kinda like Lord Jabbu Jabbu on Zelda, except without the constant beating of a heart in your ears. X_X;
*getting weird stares* Um... yeah. X_x;
Pinocchio singing voice is one of the worst ones in all Disney history. X_x; Seriously. Listen to his "I've Got No Strings" and feel pity upon poor wittle Riku-sama.
Poor Riku. *pats him on da head*
*imagins Pinocchio trying to sing in Japanese, all sounding out the words and crap* O_o; Oh my god. X_x;
I'm so glad you love the story! Thanks for the review!
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Syvia . . . Parody? O_o; I never ment it to be a parody. X_x; Thanks for the review anyways.
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Saya Oh my god, you sound exactly how I did while I was in Monstro. I always attacked the little flying dudes, and went toppling off the edge, back to the first chamber. X_x; And, I always had to attack them. I tried to just run through, but then Donald and Goofy started fighting, and I didn't want to be left out of the fun! X_x;
*sighs* Woo. . . being stupid is so fun. . .
Yes, I am quite aware that chapter was slow. *sniffle* I tried my hardest! *anime-style foutain tears*
Syrupy waffles. . . mmm. . . ^_^
Yes, your review was very funny. Be happy, and thanks for reading and reviewing! ^_^
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Chon Inspired your way of life??? O_o; Um. . . that's a good thing, I hope? ^_^; *goes off to try and write more inspirational* X_x; Thanks for the review. ^_^ I hope my story is a very good aspect of your life! *nervous smile*
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Harle Right on the mark, eh? O_o; I thought I made Sora a bit whinier than usual, but. . . thanks! Compliments fill me with warm fuzzy wonderfulness. *huggles self*
Thanks for the review! I hope my chapters live up to your expectations! X_x;
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Riku Pure genius??? O_o; Well, gawrsh. . . *blushes* I wouldn't go as far as to say that, but thanks anyways! ^_^ Glad you like my characterazation of Riku. ^_^
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Chibi Riku Waa! No sick chibi Riku on me! I'm updating, I'm updating! See! *points* Thanks for review! No hurt me! 8_8
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Misao You're supposed to cry when you watch Bambi?? O_o; Oops. X_x;
*allows Riku to go and murder Bambi for his pretty-ful winter coat and yummy deer meat*
lol, thanks for the review. ^_^
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Phantazy No need to beg, I'm continuing! ^_^; Thanks for the review.
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Snowri Leonheart lol, wooden jukebox. XD Yes, I coudn't make Riku all cold and heartless. X_x; I had to make him a LITTLE sympathetic. ^_^ Thanks for the review.
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Thanks to everyone who reviewed. *sniff* I'm so happy. *-* Sorry if I missed your name. I spent waaay too long on this author's note. Time running low. Gotta go! Well, without further delay, heeeeeeeeeere's the next chappy! ^_~
---~~*~~--
Traverse Town Mayhem: Intro
--~~*~~--
Deep in the void of a water colored universe, a tiny red and yellow vessel speeds away from a huge, floating mass of whale guts.
"Whee! Everyone, lookit me! Ah'm drivin'!" Goofy crowed triumphantly, giving the steering wheel to the Gummi ship a good spin. Donald groaned, trying to swallow away his nausea as the ship took yet another gut- wrenching twirl.
"Good going, Sora." he muttered, glaring over at the seated brunette out of the corner of his eye, smoothing another bandage on his beak. "Thanks to you and your stupidity, I'm too injured to drive, and now we have to let this clown steer!"
Sora sniffed, tossing his head and thrusting his chin defiantly up in the air. "I told you to let me drive, but noooooo. . ." he replied, folding his bandaged arms poutingly over his chest. "You just had to go and give him the keys."
Donald snorted, wrapping another yard of gauze around his head. "He's more capable than you! Last time you made us crash!"
Sora leapt to his feet, which, because of his vastly oversized shoes, had stayed completely untouched despite the explosion. "That's only because we were so busy fighting, we forgot to smile, dumb ass! It had nothing at all to do with me!"
Donald felt a vein bulge visible out of his temple. "What did you call me?!" he screeched, leaping to his scorched little webbed feet as well.
"You heard me!" Sora shouted back. The two were nose to nose. . . er. . . nose to beak (^^;) fists clenched savagely before them, ready to strike the other at any given time. Goofy glanced back over his shoulder at his bitching comrades.
"Hey, guys, lighten up!" he said timidly as the ship took a sickening dip downwards. "You guys shouldn't fight like this. It isn't right. We're supposed to be working together." The ship took another dangerous lurch as the two glared up in his general direction. He grinned nervously, their cold stared piercing him to the core. Now wasn't the time to start preaching about ethics. "Besides, it's also bad for the ship." he finished weakly, hoping the thought of their little vessel crashing to its doom would cool their nerves.
Donald sighed, falling back in his bandage-covered seat, wrappers crackling beneath him. "I suppose he's right," the duck allowed nonchalantly, "Even though frowns are far better for the ship than anything he's doing."
Sora laughed dryly, bracing himself against the wall as Goofy, confident that he had once again single-handedly prevented a fight, went blissfully back to his loop-de-loops.
For a while, they rode in silence, Sora staring blankly out the window into the tie-dye swirl of space, Donald cursing beneath his breath while trying (in vain) to nurse his wounds. Then. . .
There was a loud thud coming from the cockpit, followed by an ear-piercing scream from Goofy. Sora glad for any reason to escape his mind-numbing boredom, was immediately on his feet and rushing to see what was the matter, his feathered companion limping right behind, trailing a couple feet worth of gauze behind him.
Sora screeched to a halt, the fowl wizard crashing into him from behind and knocking the both of them down. Goofy glanced urgently down at them as they groaned in pain.
"Guys! Guys, look!" he cried anxiously, jabbing a gloved finger at the window. When they still didn't rise to their feet, the impatient Goofy swiftly yanked them up by their collars, and turned them toward the windshield.
Sora paused in his whining and griping to glance up from his barely existing bruises. His blue eyes widened as he gazed upon the beaten figure clinging to their front window, "Holy crap. . ." he whispered, voice quaking, "Is that Riku?!"
Sure enough, there lay the silver-haired youth, sprawled out on the window shield like the victim of a terrible hit-and-run. Trails of crimson ran in spidery designs all over their window, obviously being the unconscious youth's blood. Black, dusty splotches of gunpowder ornamented his bare skin, covering up most of his cuts and burns. Most of his clothes had been scorched to crispy ribbons, none of which kept him very decent. In his torn hand he clutched the remains of what looked to be Pinocchio's arm.
"Oh my gawrsh!" Goofy screamed, noticing the dismembered body part for the first time. "He killed Pinocchio!"
Donald coughed nervously. "No, Goof. . . actually. . . WE killed Pinocchio." He followed this remark with a cold glare at the KeyBlade master. "Or, at least Sora did." he added with a sneer.
Sora began waving his beaten arms frantically, squirming wildly in Goofy's grip. "Now's not the time to be pointing fingers!" he exclaimed, the sense of urgency strong in his voice. "Hurry! We gotta pull Riku in!" He glanced around desperately, then seeing his comrades weren't exactly rushing to obey his orders, screamed, "HURRY, BEFORE HE FLIES AWAY!"
Frightened by Sora's sudden explosion, the two jumped into action. Together, the three of them managed to pull the more-than-half-naked Riku in through the side window, while practically getting their heads ripped off by the strong pull of warp space. And, believe me, it was no easy task.
By the time they yanked him in, the last threads of clothing he had on and been peeled away.
Goofy sighed, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Well, that wasn't so --" His sentence was cut off as his eyes wandered to Riku's pale, bare body, and his nose involuntarily exploded in a cloud of red. With a last gasp of shock, the dog's large eyes rolled upward in his head, and he fainted dead away, right in the driver's seat.
Donald grumbled something under his breath, shoving Goofy's unconscious lump out of the chair and taking an unsteady grasp upon the steering wheel with his now clumsy overly-bandaged hands. He regarded Sora out of the corner of his eye.
"You'd better take care of him, Sor." the duck grunted, still straining to keep the ship from capsizing. His hands were wrapped so thick with gauze, he couldn't even make a fist around the bar, much less keep a good grip. "With Goofy unconscious, I'm the only one left to mind the wheel."
Sora nodded, pinching his own nose shut to prevent any sudden bleeding, then he reached down and scooped up the limp Riku. Awkwardly draping the taller boy over his shoulder, he headed for the back of the ship, hoping there were some sheets or something back there so he could throw together a makeshift bed. The icy teen's head bounced lightly against his shoulder blades as he walked, and he tried hard to ignore the fact that Riku's hands often tenderly patted the back of Sora's bright red shorts as they swung.
No sooner had he clumsily exited the cockpit, when there was another dull thump on the window. Donald gave a squawk of annoyance.
"Sora! It's Geppetto."
Sora cursed under his breath, then called over his shoulder, "You get him! I'm busy!"
"So am I!" came the answer. Cursing again, Sora set the bare Riku on the cold metal of the floor, then quickly returned to the control room to retrieve the old man.
"Hurry up, he's blocking my view." Donald ordered, eyebrows furrowed and neck craned as he struggled to see around the frail man's thin body. Sora sighed, exasperated, then opened the window and yanked Geppetto in.
He treated poor Geppetto with a lot less care than he did Riku; dragging the unconscious toy maker across the floor and slumping him in some lonely corner without any sheets or anything, no love or concern in his actions. Then, turning swiftly on his heel, he left the elderly man there, bleeding and shivering, while he searched for a blanket for Riku.
Sora sighed impatiently as he stood on his toes, feeling around the top shelves for anything soft and cloth like that he could use as a source of warmth for his beaten friend. After a few minutes of blindly patting, his burnt fingers closed upon a dirty rag he and the others had used to polish the ship.
He yanked it down, sending any items on top of it rolling across the floor, then examined the soft fabric. It had a few oil stains, and smelled kind of funny, but it could easily cover at least two people.
Sora sighed remorsefully. It wasn't very luxurious, but it was the best thing they had, at least until they got to Traverse Town.
Limping over to Riku, who had involuntarily started shivering like crazy because of the steel floor he was laying upon that was so lacking of warmth (8_8), he whipped the blanket out its full length, and gently laid it over the unconscious teen. Almost as if by magic, Riku's shivering subsided to a few brief trembles. Smoothing the wrinkles in the makeshift blanket tenderly over the youth's firm chest, Sora smiled softly down onto Riku's face, and barely restrained his sudden urge to run his fingers over the teen's silky skin.
He looks so peaceful and innocent when he's asleep, Sora thought with a dreamy sigh, He's like a completely different person.
Without a second thought, he laid down next to his best friend, and promptly fell into a deep sleep.
--~~*~~--
Riku groaned into the darkness. His head was throbbing painfully, and his whole body ached. He moaned softly and groped blindly above him, grasping nothing but handfuls of air.
Where am I? He wondered. The surface beneath his sore back was soft and plush, yielding to his weight ever so slightly, just enough so he could feel a slight dip around him. He gave a weak attempt to sit up, but soon sank back, wincing as pain tore mercilessly through his body. He clutched the fabric clothing him tightly in a fist, waiting for the searing pain to subside.
"Where am I?" he wondered again, this time aloud. He felt a soft hand gently lay itself upon his own.
"Oh Riku, I'm so glad you're okay!" a familiar voice whispered joyously. "For a minute there, I thought you'd left us."
Riku slowly forced his burning eyelids open, and as the black fuzz cleared away, he saw Sora, sitting faithfully at his side, a relieved smile soft upon his face.
"Sora?" he whispered weakly, his voice hoarse. He weakly reached out, as if to confirm by touch that his friend was actually there. Sora gently took Riku's scarred hand into his own gloved one. "What. . . Why are you. . . How did I. . .?" Poor Riku's brain was too muddled to complete any of his questions, the warmth of the hand wrapped around his the only thing keeping him from passing out.
He actually cared, Riku thought absently, He actually left his new friends to take care of. . .
Suddenly, realization snapped the teen out of his thoughts. "Oh my god, where's Pinocchio?!"
Sora blinked, eyes widening and conscience becoming heavy with guilt.
"Um. . ."
--~~*~~--
FLASHBACK!
--~~*~~--
"Okay, I got Riku a room in the hotel." Sora said, jogging up to Donald's side. Donald absently noted his presence as he continued to check over the Gummi ship, clipboard in a bandaged hand.
"I got Goofy to a restroom so he could clean up his nose." Donald replied with a roll of his sky-blue eyes. Sora glanced at the limp figure of the old toy-maker, still slumped in a corner of the ship.
"What're we gonna do with him?" Sora asked, motioning to the elderly man with a jerk of his thumb. Donald regarded his question with little interest.
"I dunno. . . Go find him some house to stay in or something." the duck answered absentmindedly, giving the side of a ship a little tap to see if anything was loose.
"Okay!" Sora said, scooping up the assumably dead Geppetto and dragging him up the stairs of First District, earning him quite a few odd stares.
After a few glances around, Sora spotted an old, vacant house just behind the accessory shop. Smiling triumphantly, he dragged the poor, beaten old man over to the door and tossed him in, along with various other Pinocchio parts.
Sora stepped back, and surveyed the scene he'd just created. It looked as if the old toy maker had just had a heart failure of some sort while piecing together a puppet. With some luck, someone would spot him and rush him to a nearby doctor or something, (since the town has no medical center O_O;) not suspecting a thing.
With a nod of satisfaction, Sora flipped on the light to create a more natural look, and closed the door.
--~~*~~--
END FLASHBACK
--~~*~~--
Riku was speechless. He just laid there, a stunned look on his face as he gazed, unbelieving, upon the youth he thought was always so caring and considerate. Sora smiled sheepishly.
"It was a spur of the moment idea!" he admitted, blushing slightly. "I'm sorry if it isn't all that righteous, but what else could I have done?"
"You could've asked someone to come take a look at him," Riku said, rolling his aqua eyes in exasperation. "If they asked any questions about where you found him, you could just lie." He glanced a Sora pityingly. "It would've been better than what you did."
"Donald told me to!" Sora argued weakly. Riku sighed, laying a bruised arm across his eyes.
"Whatever. Listen, I got one hell of a migraine. Do ya think you could run to the store and pick up some medication for me? And maybe some bandages?"
Sora nodded eagerly. "Oh, sure! Whatever you say!" With a coy grin, he sprang to his feet, and clunked noisily out the door.
Riku groaned, rolling over on his stomach and burying his aching head beneath a pillow, allowing all his thoughts to fade into darkness.
For a brief second, the silver-haired teen wondered what the inn keeper must of thought when Sora dragged in some unconscious, bleeding person, and asked for a room. It astounded him that he was even given a room.
"I wouldn't let some kid with a dead body swung over his shoulder and an oversized key at his waist come into my inn, that's for sure." Riku murmured to himself with a light chuckle. "But, then again, Sora always gets his way."
Those were the last thoughts he spoke before he drifted off into a well- deserved sleep.
--~~*~~--
OWARI. . . for now. . .
--~~*~~--
I know, this part sucked as well. X_x; Bah. Oh well.
Hope you liked it, even though it was pretty weak. The next chapter should be up pretty soon.
I really gotta run now. X_x;
Until next time, buh-baiz! ^_^
Oh yeah, and review!