Title: Freak Storm
Author: Andro
Rating: NC-17(later)
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine. ^^
Author Notes: Because some of you protested, I decided to cut the Leon thing short rather abruptly. Plus, it would have taken me a lot longer to update otherwise. Not to mention it's been a while too. *sweatdrop* Uhm. I'll shush. But thanks for everyone who reviewed, here's chapter four. =)

*~*~*~

Weeks Later

*~*~*~

Riku had been quiet for the past two hours. He wasn't pouting, but he was damn well upset. Summer had finally come, and just as he was intent on going off on a road trip with his three best friends, his mother decided to be a "caring and loving parental unit" and "do what was best for his being." Which meant being shipped off to a backwater island where he'd be sleeping in sand, and eating fish all summer. What a prospect. And it wasn't even his fault. Well, not entirely. Riku's behavior had finally hit the last straw with a fight he'd been in about two weeks prior, which had resulted in a small injury on his part.
//Shawn was in trouble, so I helped him out. I get sent away. That's fucking lovely...\\ He growled. Riku had sat slumped in his chair for a little while, considering on just how he was going to amuse himself for the next three months.
//And I couldn't even... aghh...\\ The trip had been taken well on his part, but once he discovered he'd have to leave his bike in the city...
//And Kel better not ride it either... I'll kill him. I will...\\ Finally, they arrived, and Riku disembarked onto the docks, scanning randomly for any sign with his name on it. He was going to be staying with a host family for the summer. They owned a hotel or something, he didn't really catch their name... but he really hoped they had a sign up... Riku had no idea what they looked like. Riku's outfit, the leather jacket over the fishnet shirt, and leather pants with crimson slashes down the sides; was hot to say the least, but he didn't have anything cooler... so he just unzipped the jacket fully and hoped for a breeze off the ocean.
//Its the same temperature back home... why does it feel hotter?\\ Riku noticed a few people staring at him. Probably the natives.
//Eh.\\

*~*~*~

"Why do I have to hold up the sign?"
"Because you're the tallest."
"So? I wasn't the one that demanded that she come with us. Make her hold the sign." The blonde youth complained, throwing a glance at the tiny girl that had her arms curled around Sora's left elbow. He, for once, was simply ignoring that, looking around for someone to approach them. Tidus was complaining about having to hold the large sign that proclaimed "Riku Jakunen" in bright blue letters with an arrow pointing down at the trio. It was a simple welcoming committee of Kairi Meiwaku in a sand-yellow dress, Tidus Oceanious without his usual blitzball and Sora Kogai with his normal red body suit and a jacket wrapped around his waist. They'd been waiting around the dock for a while, and the sun was starting to beat down them.
They were used to it of course, but it was different to just stand around in the sun then from running around splashing in the water.
Bored, Sora sighed and flicked red tipped bangs out of his face.
"Dude. Who the heck is that?"
"Hn?" Looking up at Kairi's words, Sora blinked and then jerked back out of instinct, almost bringing Kairi down.
"SORA!"
"Sorry Kairi!" Apologizing took his attention off the newcomer for a second, but then Sora looked up again and meet gorgeous green eyes. He'd pondered upon the possibility that it might be Riku who was coming to stay with them, but...
"Riku.." His lips mouthed the word silently. Then blushed darkly, thoughts flickering with dazzling speed to the tall tourist, Leon he'd met a while back. They'd had a brief fling he supposed, though all the mean while he'd been thinking of someone else...
Riku saw the sign a split second before he saw the group under it. Walking over with his suitcase and backpack, Riku then took the time to notice who exactly was under said sign. Eyebrows raised, and he grinned at the boy he recognized.
"Country bumpkin!" He grinned.
//I'm staying with Sora...? Or... wait... or am I staying with that kid?\\ Riku paused to consider the rest of the team. The other boy was looking at him with very large eyes and mouth partially open like a suffocating cod fish. The girl was staring at him too, but differently. She was actually being semi polite about it, however looking a little upset about something.
"Oi! Oi!" Sora flushed a dark, violent red.
"Don't -call- me that!"
"....?" Questioningly, Kairi tugged at Sora's arm, demanding to know what was up.
Tidus on the other hand, was grateful that he finally got to lower the sign. Curiously, he looked at 'Riku', with raised eyebrows. Well. Sora's idea that it was the same man that he'd met in the city was right. He blinked. //Sora hung out with this guy? He
looks...tough.\\
"He's-I met him in Rokio when I visited my grandparents a while back." Sora tried to explain, still stealing glances at Riku under lowered eyelashes.
"Ookaaay..." She shrugged and released on arm to wave at Riku.
"Hi! I'm Kairi, I guess you know Sora, and that's Tidus." The arm returned with the other arm on Sora's elbow.
Raising his blue eyes to the sky in an effort not to yank the imprisoned limb away, Sora waved as well.
"You didn't bring your bike?"
The wide grin faded suddenly.
"No... I couldn't. The island's mostly sand right? It'd kill it..." Riku then shrugged it off, attempting to forget that factor for a moment.
"Anyway... Tidus... Kairi? Nice to meet you guys... do you all live together or something?"
//I don't have to live with her, do I?\\ Kairi looked nice, but it was just a vibe Riku got off the girl that he didn't like. The factor that she was glued to Sora was probably another addition to that general distaste as well.
"Nah, you're living with me. We're just always together." Sora explained, trying to nicely pull his arm out of Kairi's grasp. Desperately, his blue eyes met Tidus' in a pleading motion over her head. The message was clear. 'Get. Her. OFF. Me.' Grinning, Tidus shook his head and dumped the board in a nearby trash can.
"You'll get used to us being around all the time. We're like siblings that never go away." He told Riku cheerfully.
"So, got any baggage?"

*~*~*~

"There. Unpacked." Riku was staying in one of the rooms at the Kogai's hotel, The Celestial. It was on the fourth floor, which was off limits to guests, as that was the floor the family made their home on.
There was still about three spare bedrooms, and they graciously gave him the largest. Not that he needed it.
//Wow. Once the bike's gone, I really don't got much...\\ It was both an amusing and kind of sad thought. He'd also thankfully changed into a set of cooler clothes. Riku now donned a tight yellow vest, with black backing, leather straps that criss-crossed over his chest, black pants with blue chaps over them, and he'd exchanged his boots for some warmer weather shoes. He'd be much cooler now.
//Must be all the buildings and the smog... not as much direct sunlight.\\ He wiped his face. The Tidus kid had helped him carry some of his baggage homeward, but the outfit he wore still got him very hot; and a mild sheet of sweat now covered his skin.
//No leather for a while, I suppose...\\ Riku thought sadly. He wore the material almost exclusively.
"Ehh what the hell..." He put on his leather wristlets and gloves and walked out of his room. Voices trailed down the hall.
"Kairi, are you ever going to let go of my arm?" Sora questioned, nearing the breaking point of his patience. Having a girl hanging on to you for almost two full hours would do that, even to the normally cheerful boy. She only ignored him and kept dragging him to Riku's room. Not that he *minded* going to Riku's room, but yes, he had legs, he knew how to walk. He could walk. Apparently, she didn't understand that. Behind them, Selphie snickered and made kissing noises right next to Sora's ear, which made him periodically twitch and rub his ear against his shoulder. That tickled!
That was the scene that greeted Riku as soon as he stepped out of his new room. Two overly cheerful girls in yellow dresses and one pained looking Sora who looked at him with a "Save me!" look in his large blue eyes.
And to which Riku winced internally. He'd tried to save Sora earlier... he was going to ask him to help with the luggage. At least it would get the Kairi girl off of him. But Tidus was too quick for that.
//Oh god... there's two of them? Poor Sora... \\
Closing his door behind him, Riku walked up to his new "host brother" and put a hand on his shoulder.
"How bout showing me around a little, huh Sora? I'm the lost one now..." Subtly pulling, Sora started to walk away. Kairi was too surprised by the sudden advance and let go of her crush's arm.
She stared after the two of them, an odd expression crossing her face. New guy or not, she didn't deal well with competition of any kind!
Looking amused, Selphie put a hand on her shoulder and directed her down the other pair of stairs.
"Come on, I heard that the flowers are in bloom on the meadow in Fun."
Hearing that, Sora almost sagged in relief
"Thanks Riku, I love her, but she really needs to back off. Like maybe a hundred meters." Sora whispered, leading the older teen to the main set of stairs.
There was an elevator in the building, but they just never used it.
"So, got any particular place you want to go to, or do you just want to head on over to Fun and avoid meeting my parents just yet?"
He laughed
"Well, if they're busy I don't wanna bug 'em..." Riku felt a little awkward being here, like he was a big problem being dumped off into someone else's lap for a while. (Which he supposed he was.) That, and outside just seemed like such a better idea. Now he was in lighter clothes, Riku'd be fine. Then he blinked.
"Wait a sec, 'head over to Fun'? You pullin' some Island-talk on me or something?" He chuckled.
//Shit... can't believe I ended up living with Sora. What are the chances?\\
"Well, they're kind of busy, but knowing them they'll stop for like an hour to talk to you. Dunno how much you'd like *that*..." Sora shrugged and hooked his thumbs around the dark blue jacket wrapped around his hips. He was wearing a body suit built for scuba diving, but then again he always wore something like that. No one ever knew when they were going to just
suddenly drop whatever they were doing and head on over to the water.
"And no, it's not slang." He rolled his eyes.
"Fun is our island-well, Wakka, Tidus, Selphie, Kairi and mine's island. Technically, my family owns it, but it's too far away and too tiny for tourists to get a kick out of it, us five own it and spend all day there before paddling back here at night-or we camp out over there for days." Sora smiled, memories brought up.
"Or even weeks if we want to." He raised an eyebrow up at Riku.
"Unless you don't think you're up to some fun in the water...hmn, city boy?"
"City-boy? Huh. Swimming sounds damn good to me, Country Bumpkin." Still, the prospect of being able to camp out on an island for weeks without worry of intervening parents was very tempting.... and if he got to spend them with Sora...
///Ya know, these three months prolly won't be that bad after all...\\\
Sora rolled his eyes.
"Don't call me that. It's not like I talk with horrendous grammar or anything like that." He berated him lightly, leading both down past the concierge desk, were Mina, a blonde girl with large blue eyes waved absently at Sora before returning to her magazine. Holding back a chuckle, Sora ducked into the double doors that led into the maze of what he liked to call 'backways'.
The hallways there led to things like the kitchen, storerooms and other things that only people that worked there had the right to go into. Finally, after walking down a long hall, Sora pushed open a door and walked out into brilliant sunlight. They were now in the back of the hotel. He then walked down a pair of stairs that led them straight into a deserted piece of the beach. It was slightly on the rock filled side, so it wasn't safe for swimmers, but it was perfect for those that knew how to handle boats. He picked Mariah, a small boat that could handle two and gestured for Riku to get in.
"Have you been to beach before?"
Riku considered the boat, and then considered the waves. It looked stable enough, and he trusted Sora.
//If Sora can trust *me* on a bike, then I sure as hell can trust him here... at least we're not speeding at 30 MPH two feet from parked cars...\\\
"Well... I've been to the beach on the main land a few times... but it wasn't anything like this. It's pretty much just a plain of sand with tons of food stands, and garbage everywhere... so I just grabbed some food and booked it. The water there isn't very good for your health either..."
An appalled look crossed Sora's face at hearing those words. That sounded absolutely horrible. He shook his head.
"Don't worry, everything around here is perfect. Everyone is totally into recycling and any tourist that litters gets fined 500 meseta on the first offense, a thousand on the second and jail on the third. We're really strict on keeping the whole place natural." He explained, untying Mariah's knot and pushing her out into deeper water before slipping inside and grabbing a hold of the pair of oars and began to paddle towards Fun, which was roughly half a mile away. He moved slowly at first because of the rocks, but then began giving it his all once they were out in clear water until they reached Destiny Island Fun.
"We're here!" Jumping off the boat, Sora splashed in the low water and pulled Mariah higher into the sand, then allowed his arms to rest for a bit.
"You can pretty much do anything you want here, nobody checks on us and there's only four other people besides me here." Sora explained, looking around for Tidus or Wakka. Selphie and Kairi couldn't possibly be there yet.
Good.
Riku got out of the boat, stepping into moist, richly colored sand. He was very impressed. What had he been expecting?
//I dunno... lots of trees... I guess... maybe a shambled tent or something and a bonfire...\\ Boy was he wrong. There were actual house-like structures, and the "forest" was limited to rabidly growing bushes and shrubbery that maintained around the mountain part and dispersed amongst the buildings, as well as the palm trees that danced lightly with their weighted fruits. Beyond the dock was a spring, a pathway leading up to a house on a porch-tier, and a walkway to a verandah as well as an excellent lookout point.
There was also a shore side shack that obviously lead up to a bridge; which brought you to a smaller island, no more bigger than a large room, and...
//Its filled, and I doubt I'm seeing everything...\\
"Whoa... this... this is great, Sora." He managed, taking all the new stuff in at once.
"Mn? Oh.." Sora looked around, and smiled faintly. He didn't know how an outsider would look at it, since he'd always been there. His smile grew and he crossed his arms behind his back, deciding it'd be all right to do it. He leaned in close to Riku, looking sweetly mischievous, bangs curving around his face.
"You should feel honored Mr. Jakunen, you're the first outsider that hasn't lived in the island with us since we were little that has had the pleasure of seeing Fun."
"Heh..." Riku smirked, and turned for a comeback.
"Well, I do... but then again, Mr. Kogai, you should feel honored.. I never let *anyone* on my bike..." He didn't think it was a justly comparison, but it *was* his most prized possession.
"So there're other kids here too?" Riku didn't have to wait long for a reply. Something round, blue and streaked came flying for his head, and on reflex, he brought up his forearm and smacked it. The blitzball went flying.
"Awww... you're supposed to get HIT with it!!" Tidus complained, and dove out into the ocean to retrieve his ball. Another boy, this one with slightly anti-gravity hair, was laughing.
"Oi, Sora...? This your new "brudder", ya?"
"Yea! He is! And I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to kill him Wakka!" Sora shouted back good naturedly, resuming his normal position of a carefree boy. He watched as Tidus returned after a few seconds, dripping wet with the ball in his arms. He smiled easily and waved at Riku.
"I see you saved Sora from the leech!" He called out cheerfully, jogging out into the beach.
Sora rolled his eyes.
"One, don't call Kairi that, and two, how come you're assuming he saved me?"
Tidus grinned.
"'Cause you can never say no to her and you always get one of us to save you." With that, he threw the ball over to Wakka who caught it-or rather, it bounced off his forehead and he began hitting it with his knees.
Sora bristled.
"Show off!" Turning to Riku, Sora resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"That's Wakka. And now you've seen *everyone*."
Riku nodded at the new acquaintance. Wakka just grinned, and did a back flip, kicking the ball back to Tidus and the two boys commenced in juggling the blue, slightly bumpy, blitzball back and forth.
//Whoa.\\
"So with him here, does that mean we don't have to save you anymore from the lee- Kairi, Sora?" Tidus asked, kneeing the ball back Wakka's way.
"Hahah... you really need to tell her otherwise, Sora, man. She'll jes' hang on you like a parrot to a tree branch if ya don't, ya?"
//So... that Kairi isn't his girlfriend after all...\\ Riku was a little happy (to say the least) to find out that piece of info.
Slipping his arms behind his head, Sora sighed in a resigned manner.
"Yea, yea, I hear you." He made a face at the two older teens.
"Do you honestly think I WANT her to hang around me all the time and be clingy and to wear those necklaces that she's always making? 'Cause I DON'T. And Selphie doesn't help at all, she thinks it's hilarious." For an extra emphasis, he threw in a pout at the end and barely had enough time to hit back with his forehead the blitzball that had headed his way.
"Aww, come on', stop bitching and let's play some Blitzball! Us against you two!" Tidus declared, lifting himself up onto the path that lead to the cavern.
Sora made a face.
"You're kidding me right? He probably doesn't even know what Blitzball is-against the captain and co-Captain of the Blitzball team?" He raised an eyebrow.
Riku didn't know, but he was pretty decent at sports...so he was willing to give it a try.
"Eh. Its okay, Sora... just explain it to me. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually..." Riku began walking, but paused.
"'Nless you wanna do something else, of course. Doesn't matter to me... I'm still getting used to bein' here, so I'm open to just about anything."
"Eh.." Sora glanced at the grinning duo and rolled his eyes. Then he began explaining the rules to Riku, who understood the basics right off the bat and soon enough, the game was underway.
The game went surprisingly well for Riku. They all decided to play an above-water game of Blitz, since they doubted Riku could hold his breath as long as they could (which he agreed to. 5 minutes? Hah. Right.). And so the game began. It was very similar to football, except the ball had to go through a hoop raised a little off the ground, and it was typically handled by round-about kicks and head butts. The newcomer did rather well, and after he figured out it was pretty much full-contact (Sora forgot to mention that, and Tidus tackled him in the first second he had the ball much to his chagrin. Sora had looked rather sheepish at over seeing that tiny detail.), Riku was almost unstoppable; Wakka only a match-up because of his similar size and weight to the silver-haired teen.
But they still lost. By two points no less. Sora was twitching over that, but it only took him a couple seconds to realize that that was the closest he'd ever come to beating the other two, which cheered him up immensely and had him hugging Riku tightly, ignoring Tidus' taunts that he'd never beat them at Blitzball.
To that, he only stuck out his tongue and continued dancing in delight until the other two decided it was time to go home and got into their respective boats.
Sora waved good bye and then flopped down on the sand, letting his head drop back.
"Whoo! You're definitely going to be awesome if you keep playing Blitzball. Though you might want to work on your underwater breathing time..." Closing his eyes, Sora sank into the soft sand.
Riku laid down next to Sora, and sighed. The cool sand felt great on his burning skin.
"Heh.. Thanks. You're really good too... really quick. But... whoa.. those two are really unbelievable..." He closed his eyes as well, and both boys missed the gray clouds that were starting to coagulate in the blue sky above them.

*~*~*~

Next chapter: The reason you should never be prepared for rain.