Chapter 1. Back. Front. Both here.
Staring at the ceilng was useless, meaningless, and a waste of time. But he loved it.
Sora was a sixteen year old, goodlooking boy that spent most of his daily life dreaming, sleeping, and if he was ever attentive, rambunctious and always getting into touble. Could he help it? Perhaps he could, but he never did.
Like all the other boys and girls, Sora went to a public school where boys were forced to wear black buisness like suits and suit shirts while the girls were forced to black to navy blue pleated skirts and suit jackets. It was annoying, they all agreed, but it was worth it when returning to normal clothes made the teenagers feel fresh again.
The weekends were all the same, out to the beach, to the mall, to the school blitzball games, to the surfing competitions. He never did much of that. He just soaked himself in slumber and trouble making activites, like messing up the menus on his mother's restraunt's blackboard and getting into fights. Not a lot, but just enough to get him grounded every so now and then. Then there were girls. Girls were girls, and Sora was fed up with them. And that's that.
Yet nothing was on Sora's mind. He couldn't daydream about anything at the momment because there was nothing to think about. Nope, nothing at all came to his mind, and suddenly he realized.
"Oh shit, I lost my brain," he spoke aloud to himself. He closed his eyes and turned on his side, bring the covers over himself. "Oh well, I'll find it in the morning."
In a few momments, his door slamned open. It was morning.
SLAMN!!
"Sora! Wake up!! I've been calling you for thirty minutes, it's time for school!" snapped his mother, tearing the covers off.
He shriveled into a ball, muffling a grumble in reply. But luckily, his mother had given him her strength. She grabbed him by the waist and dragged him out of bed.
"C'mon, you big baby! You've got that report today, remember?" called out his mom.
"Mfffgghmm," he mummbled, and she let him drop onto the floor. She sighed rolling her eyes and then smiled to herself.
"Fine then," she replied walking to the door. "I guess I'll just have to feed the waffles to the cat -"
FWOOOOOOM!!!!
In the speed of light, Sora had leaped from that spot and rushed into the shower, stripping on the way.
SLAMN! went the bathroom door.
His mother chuckled to herself.
"Typical. His stomache was awake," spoke his mother. Despite being a trouble making, lazy, B+ student boy, Miss Aerith Strife certainly loved her boy.
Once out of the shower and fully dressed, Sora was walking into the kitchen drying his hair with a towel. With a quick tough movement, he ruzzled up his hair, tore off the towel, pattted it down, and amazingly bounced right into its own gravity defying style. He sighed as if there was no use in trying to tame it.
He kissed his mother's cheek from behind and took a whole plate of five waffles stacked one on top of the other. His mother attemped to object raising a finger and opening her mouth, but she sighed, rolling her eyes once more.
Sora took a seat beside his cat sitting in high chair with paws in fork an spoon ready. Sora snickered at the sight of his panting cat.
"You hungry, Neko?" asked Sora.
"Here you go," comment his mother setting him his dish of brown mush. Meowing in glee, he tossed the untensils into the air and tackled his food mouth wide and head on. Sora couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight. However his cousin wasn't pleased, luckily quick enough to dodge the utensil.
"For once I'd like to wake up and not get attacked by silverware," complained the seventeen year old Yuffie. She was just about finished when she kissed his mother on the other cheek.
"Would you like something to eat, Yuffie?" asked Sora's mother. Yuffie smiled shaking her head.
"No thank you, Miss Strife. I have to get school if I wanna be there on time," replied Yuffie, and with that, she took her bag on the table and left. Sora sat there for a few minutes eating his waffles then came to the conclusion that-
"SHIT!!! I'm going to be late!!" exclaimed Sora, leaping from his seat and dashing back to his room.
"SORA! Watch your language!" snapped his mother. He zoomed right past her and out of the kitchen.
"Yeah, whatever. BAI, MOM!!" called out Sora running out of the house and down the side walk, catching up with Yuffie who was dangling her bag over her shoulder.
"Hey, Yuffie?" asked Sora.
"Yes?" she answered.
"What was your home like?" asked Sora.
"Oh. Kind of like this place. Near the ocean. Full of people happy, working, going on with life. Nothing really different. Except there were temples and shrines everywhere," responded Yuffie. "But after it disappeared, they all vanished, too."
"What disappeared?" asked Sora. Yuffie was silent.
"Nothing."
"Hey Sora!"
"Good morning, Yuffie!"
"It's about time you woke up, Rip Van Winkle!"
Like it was any other day, Sora walked to class with his bag tossed over his his shoulder. Once at school, he shoved his bag into his desk and slouched into his arms to fall asleep while leaning forward against it in his seat.
"Today class, we have new students," exclaimed the teacher as soon as the cat calls quieted down. "Meet Riku and Hikari Jenova."
"Hunh?" Sora glanced up from his arms to blink in suprise.
The new boy was tall and buff even if the uniform concealed his muscles. His most attractive feature were his blazing, seagreen eyes. His sister was shorter, slender and showed enough leg in the school uniform with a short skirt and tall leggings. Her eyes were a glowing light jade. But both, yes both, had long snow silver hair at different lengths. He was smirking; she was frowning. His suit jacket was open and collar undone; her suit jacket was buttoned up and her tie secured tight. Sora was confused but suprised, just the same.
"They're identical twins-"
"Not really," interrupted Hikari, rolling her eyes.
"She's right. We aren't the same sex, nor are our personalities are the same," agreed Riku, digging his gloved hands into his pockets.
"He's a dick head."
"And she's a bitch."
"But just for today," they said at once. The teacher blinked then smiled nervously and gestured toward the class.
"Yes, well. Ahem. Please take a seat," commanded the teacher. With that, said they both took a seat: Riku in the back, Hikari in the front. Both were in the same row. Riku just happened to sit beside Sora.
"Hey," spoke Riku, not even looking at him.
"Hey," replied Sora, not looking at him.
.....They were like that for a few momments. Until Sora turned to him.
"Is the color of your hair dye?" asked Sora.
"Nope. Natural," Riku replied, mono tone.
"Really? Huh. How'd you get it?" asked Sora, lying his head on his right arm to watch Riku from the side. He glanced at Sora with a raised eyebrow.
"Why so intrested in my hair?" asked Riku.
"'Cause it's different."
Riku touched the ends of his hair. He glanced at Sora.
"So you like it," he spoke, not in questioning away, but just an educated theory of Sora's interrogation of him and his hair.
"Yeah, I mean, it's cool," Sora replied with a smile. Riku blinked and smirked.
"Heh. Thanks. What's your name, anyway?" asked Riku.
"Sora Strife. Yours?" Sora requested in return.
"..... It was just said infront of the class."
"I wasn't listening - what is it?"
".....Riku Jenova."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After for seemed like eternity, Riku and Sora finally made it to lunch. They both took a seat at an empty table and slapped they're lunch sacks there.
"Behold, a something sandwich and something resembling fruit. Oh, look something edible," commented Riku, finding a packet of nerds candy.
"Huh? Doesn't your sister or mother pack your lunch?" asked Sora.
"My Dad does. But he isn't a whiz at packing lunches. He can't even cook, and he isn't used to the foreign word 'sandwich,'" replied Riku.
"Huh, my mom can cook pretty well like waffles and toast. She doesn't make my lunches though," spoke Sora, pulling out his box lunch of sushi rolls. "Want some?"
Riku darted his eyes from Sora's smile to the lunch. Why was this guy so nice? What did he want from him? What was it about him that made Riku want to stop and think?
Riku smiled. "Sure."
CRASH!!
"Sorry!"
"Ugh! Look what you did to my outfit, you clutz!"
"Uh-oh," sighed Sora. Both of them turned to see Hikari on the floor with her legs on both sides of her body. Her tray was splattered on the floor and her food on the front of a girl named Kairi.
Kairi was popular, no doubt, for her charms and her looks. Deep down inside, she may have been nice, but the only kindness anyone has ever seen was her acting and her acting was very good.
Kairi was furious glaring at Hikari who was trying get out her hanky to help Kairi.
"I'm - I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"Don't touch me!" Kairi quickly grabbed the student who was passing behind her his milk and threw it into Hikari's face and front.
"THERE! We're even. Freak!" she snapped. She stomped off leaving Hikari standing there, holding her handkercheif in both hands and lowering her eyes to it. The students around her laughed at her predicament like earlier before.
"Excuse me-"
"Whoa!"
Hikari slipped and fell forward hitting the floor with her knees. Once again, they laughed. Riku was upset, getting up from his seat.
"Damn that bitch. That's it, I'm really going to settle -"
"Wait, what are you going to do?" asked Sora.
"I'm going to punch her lights, what else?" replied Riku raising his eye brows at Sora like it was obvious.
"WHAT??"
"So, see ya around-"
"Wait, you can't hit a girl!" exclaimed Sora following Riku out of the cafeteria. Riku shot a death glare back at him.
"Watch me."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Meanwhile....
"Are you alright?"
Hikari had rushed out of the cafeteria into the girl's restroom and Yuffie after her. Yuffie perambulated around the stalls, bending over, searching for the one with feet. But she found none. She knew someone was in the bathroom, because she could hear sniffling. She went into a stall and stood on the seat of the toilet so she could lean over and see who was in the next stall. And as if Allah was smiling down on her, the new girl was right in the next stall. Hikari sat there with her knees against her chest and her head in her arms. Sobbing.
Yuffie smiled.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Hikari gasped gazing up to her. Yuffie mentally slapped herself. Of course she wasn't okay. She had just been humilated infront of everyone.
"What do you think?" asked Hikari, returing her head into her arms like a turtle would into its shell.
"I think you are," Yuffie spoke, climbing over the wall. She hopped down into the space infront of her in the same stall. Yuffie bent down and placed a hand on her arm.
"I think you can handel this, because it's really no big deal!" exclaimed Yuffie. "Just forget that girl. She's mean anyway."
"It's not that. I don't care about that," sobbed Hikari. She rose her head out of her arms again. "It's just that.. it's just everything! Moving here! Away from all my friends and family! Away from the temples and the shrines! This is the farthest I've ever been from home! Not only that, but! But! But before I left, my boyfriend broke up with me!"
Yuffie felt like she wanted to cry, too. Hikari's sorrow was breaking her own heart, but Yuffie had to smile. Smiling was supposed to make everything better. And make everything okay. But moving away...
Moving away was always hard. Yuffie had been through it and she cried several times when she first came to live in the Destiney Islands. She remembered her first encounter with everyone. And suddenly...she was seeing herself. And did exactly what Sora did for her.
Yuffie embraced Hikari. She brought her into her arms, making her let her feet reach the floor so they could embrace fully.
"It'll be okay. I know it will, because for me everything became okay as well. You'll see. You'll make new friends, and soon people will love you," spoke Yuffie. Hikari's cheeks flustered a light pink and she hesitated to hug back. But she did, in the end. Yuffie pulled away to smile at Hikari.
"Hi, I'm new girl number 2. My name is Yuffie," Yuffie introduced herself.
"I'm Hikari Jenova. Heh, new girl number 1," giggled Hikari. She smiled to herself wiping her blush along with the tears from her cheeks.
"Well, it's nice to meet you. Don't worry about Kairi. She'll get over it," Yuffie said, rolling her eyes. "She always does."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Staring at the ceilng was useless, meaningless, and a waste of time. But he loved it.
Sora was a sixteen year old, goodlooking boy that spent most of his daily life dreaming, sleeping, and if he was ever attentive, rambunctious and always getting into touble. Could he help it? Perhaps he could, but he never did.
Like all the other boys and girls, Sora went to a public school where boys were forced to wear black buisness like suits and suit shirts while the girls were forced to black to navy blue pleated skirts and suit jackets. It was annoying, they all agreed, but it was worth it when returning to normal clothes made the teenagers feel fresh again.
The weekends were all the same, out to the beach, to the mall, to the school blitzball games, to the surfing competitions. He never did much of that. He just soaked himself in slumber and trouble making activites, like messing up the menus on his mother's restraunt's blackboard and getting into fights. Not a lot, but just enough to get him grounded every so now and then. Then there were girls. Girls were girls, and Sora was fed up with them. And that's that.
Yet nothing was on Sora's mind. He couldn't daydream about anything at the momment because there was nothing to think about. Nope, nothing at all came to his mind, and suddenly he realized.
"Oh shit, I lost my brain," he spoke aloud to himself. He closed his eyes and turned on his side, bring the covers over himself. "Oh well, I'll find it in the morning."
In a few momments, his door slamned open. It was morning.
SLAMN!!
"Sora! Wake up!! I've been calling you for thirty minutes, it's time for school!" snapped his mother, tearing the covers off.
He shriveled into a ball, muffling a grumble in reply. But luckily, his mother had given him her strength. She grabbed him by the waist and dragged him out of bed.
"C'mon, you big baby! You've got that report today, remember?" called out his mom.
"Mfffgghmm," he mummbled, and she let him drop onto the floor. She sighed rolling her eyes and then smiled to herself.
"Fine then," she replied walking to the door. "I guess I'll just have to feed the waffles to the cat -"
FWOOOOOOM!!!!
In the speed of light, Sora had leaped from that spot and rushed into the shower, stripping on the way.
SLAMN! went the bathroom door.
His mother chuckled to herself.
"Typical. His stomache was awake," spoke his mother. Despite being a trouble making, lazy, B+ student boy, Miss Aerith Strife certainly loved her boy.
Once out of the shower and fully dressed, Sora was walking into the kitchen drying his hair with a towel. With a quick tough movement, he ruzzled up his hair, tore off the towel, pattted it down, and amazingly bounced right into its own gravity defying style. He sighed as if there was no use in trying to tame it.
He kissed his mother's cheek from behind and took a whole plate of five waffles stacked one on top of the other. His mother attemped to object raising a finger and opening her mouth, but she sighed, rolling her eyes once more.
Sora took a seat beside his cat sitting in high chair with paws in fork an spoon ready. Sora snickered at the sight of his panting cat.
"You hungry, Neko?" asked Sora.
"Here you go," comment his mother setting him his dish of brown mush. Meowing in glee, he tossed the untensils into the air and tackled his food mouth wide and head on. Sora couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight. However his cousin wasn't pleased, luckily quick enough to dodge the utensil.
"For once I'd like to wake up and not get attacked by silverware," complained the seventeen year old Yuffie. She was just about finished when she kissed his mother on the other cheek.
"Would you like something to eat, Yuffie?" asked Sora's mother. Yuffie smiled shaking her head.
"No thank you, Miss Strife. I have to get school if I wanna be there on time," replied Yuffie, and with that, she took her bag on the table and left. Sora sat there for a few minutes eating his waffles then came to the conclusion that-
"SHIT!!! I'm going to be late!!" exclaimed Sora, leaping from his seat and dashing back to his room.
"SORA! Watch your language!" snapped his mother. He zoomed right past her and out of the kitchen.
"Yeah, whatever. BAI, MOM!!" called out Sora running out of the house and down the side walk, catching up with Yuffie who was dangling her bag over her shoulder.
"Hey, Yuffie?" asked Sora.
"Yes?" she answered.
"What was your home like?" asked Sora.
"Oh. Kind of like this place. Near the ocean. Full of people happy, working, going on with life. Nothing really different. Except there were temples and shrines everywhere," responded Yuffie. "But after it disappeared, they all vanished, too."
"What disappeared?" asked Sora. Yuffie was silent.
"Nothing."
"Hey Sora!"
"Good morning, Yuffie!"
"It's about time you woke up, Rip Van Winkle!"
Like it was any other day, Sora walked to class with his bag tossed over his his shoulder. Once at school, he shoved his bag into his desk and slouched into his arms to fall asleep while leaning forward against it in his seat.
"Today class, we have new students," exclaimed the teacher as soon as the cat calls quieted down. "Meet Riku and Hikari Jenova."
"Hunh?" Sora glanced up from his arms to blink in suprise.
The new boy was tall and buff even if the uniform concealed his muscles. His most attractive feature were his blazing, seagreen eyes. His sister was shorter, slender and showed enough leg in the school uniform with a short skirt and tall leggings. Her eyes were a glowing light jade. But both, yes both, had long snow silver hair at different lengths. He was smirking; she was frowning. His suit jacket was open and collar undone; her suit jacket was buttoned up and her tie secured tight. Sora was confused but suprised, just the same.
"They're identical twins-"
"Not really," interrupted Hikari, rolling her eyes.
"She's right. We aren't the same sex, nor are our personalities are the same," agreed Riku, digging his gloved hands into his pockets.
"He's a dick head."
"And she's a bitch."
"But just for today," they said at once. The teacher blinked then smiled nervously and gestured toward the class.
"Yes, well. Ahem. Please take a seat," commanded the teacher. With that, said they both took a seat: Riku in the back, Hikari in the front. Both were in the same row. Riku just happened to sit beside Sora.
"Hey," spoke Riku, not even looking at him.
"Hey," replied Sora, not looking at him.
.....They were like that for a few momments. Until Sora turned to him.
"Is the color of your hair dye?" asked Sora.
"Nope. Natural," Riku replied, mono tone.
"Really? Huh. How'd you get it?" asked Sora, lying his head on his right arm to watch Riku from the side. He glanced at Sora with a raised eyebrow.
"Why so intrested in my hair?" asked Riku.
"'Cause it's different."
Riku touched the ends of his hair. He glanced at Sora.
"So you like it," he spoke, not in questioning away, but just an educated theory of Sora's interrogation of him and his hair.
"Yeah, I mean, it's cool," Sora replied with a smile. Riku blinked and smirked.
"Heh. Thanks. What's your name, anyway?" asked Riku.
"Sora Strife. Yours?" Sora requested in return.
"..... It was just said infront of the class."
"I wasn't listening - what is it?"
".....Riku Jenova."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After for seemed like eternity, Riku and Sora finally made it to lunch. They both took a seat at an empty table and slapped they're lunch sacks there.
"Behold, a something sandwich and something resembling fruit. Oh, look something edible," commented Riku, finding a packet of nerds candy.
"Huh? Doesn't your sister or mother pack your lunch?" asked Sora.
"My Dad does. But he isn't a whiz at packing lunches. He can't even cook, and he isn't used to the foreign word 'sandwich,'" replied Riku.
"Huh, my mom can cook pretty well like waffles and toast. She doesn't make my lunches though," spoke Sora, pulling out his box lunch of sushi rolls. "Want some?"
Riku darted his eyes from Sora's smile to the lunch. Why was this guy so nice? What did he want from him? What was it about him that made Riku want to stop and think?
Riku smiled. "Sure."
CRASH!!
"Sorry!"
"Ugh! Look what you did to my outfit, you clutz!"
"Uh-oh," sighed Sora. Both of them turned to see Hikari on the floor with her legs on both sides of her body. Her tray was splattered on the floor and her food on the front of a girl named Kairi.
Kairi was popular, no doubt, for her charms and her looks. Deep down inside, she may have been nice, but the only kindness anyone has ever seen was her acting and her acting was very good.
Kairi was furious glaring at Hikari who was trying get out her hanky to help Kairi.
"I'm - I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"Don't touch me!" Kairi quickly grabbed the student who was passing behind her his milk and threw it into Hikari's face and front.
"THERE! We're even. Freak!" she snapped. She stomped off leaving Hikari standing there, holding her handkercheif in both hands and lowering her eyes to it. The students around her laughed at her predicament like earlier before.
"Excuse me-"
"Whoa!"
Hikari slipped and fell forward hitting the floor with her knees. Once again, they laughed. Riku was upset, getting up from his seat.
"Damn that bitch. That's it, I'm really going to settle -"
"Wait, what are you going to do?" asked Sora.
"I'm going to punch her lights, what else?" replied Riku raising his eye brows at Sora like it was obvious.
"WHAT??"
"So, see ya around-"
"Wait, you can't hit a girl!" exclaimed Sora following Riku out of the cafeteria. Riku shot a death glare back at him.
"Watch me."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Meanwhile....
"Are you alright?"
Hikari had rushed out of the cafeteria into the girl's restroom and Yuffie after her. Yuffie perambulated around the stalls, bending over, searching for the one with feet. But she found none. She knew someone was in the bathroom, because she could hear sniffling. She went into a stall and stood on the seat of the toilet so she could lean over and see who was in the next stall. And as if Allah was smiling down on her, the new girl was right in the next stall. Hikari sat there with her knees against her chest and her head in her arms. Sobbing.
Yuffie smiled.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Hikari gasped gazing up to her. Yuffie mentally slapped herself. Of course she wasn't okay. She had just been humilated infront of everyone.
"What do you think?" asked Hikari, returing her head into her arms like a turtle would into its shell.
"I think you are," Yuffie spoke, climbing over the wall. She hopped down into the space infront of her in the same stall. Yuffie bent down and placed a hand on her arm.
"I think you can handel this, because it's really no big deal!" exclaimed Yuffie. "Just forget that girl. She's mean anyway."
"It's not that. I don't care about that," sobbed Hikari. She rose her head out of her arms again. "It's just that.. it's just everything! Moving here! Away from all my friends and family! Away from the temples and the shrines! This is the farthest I've ever been from home! Not only that, but! But! But before I left, my boyfriend broke up with me!"
Yuffie felt like she wanted to cry, too. Hikari's sorrow was breaking her own heart, but Yuffie had to smile. Smiling was supposed to make everything better. And make everything okay. But moving away...
Moving away was always hard. Yuffie had been through it and she cried several times when she first came to live in the Destiney Islands. She remembered her first encounter with everyone. And suddenly...she was seeing herself. And did exactly what Sora did for her.
Yuffie embraced Hikari. She brought her into her arms, making her let her feet reach the floor so they could embrace fully.
"It'll be okay. I know it will, because for me everything became okay as well. You'll see. You'll make new friends, and soon people will love you," spoke Yuffie. Hikari's cheeks flustered a light pink and she hesitated to hug back. But she did, in the end. Yuffie pulled away to smile at Hikari.
"Hi, I'm new girl number 2. My name is Yuffie," Yuffie introduced herself.
"I'm Hikari Jenova. Heh, new girl number 1," giggled Hikari. She smiled to herself wiping her blush along with the tears from her cheeks.
"Well, it's nice to meet you. Don't worry about Kairi. She'll get over it," Yuffie said, rolling her eyes. "She always does."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*