Prewriting Note: Last time, Sora had his first day of school. Now, a week or two has passed and the easiness and introductions in school are gone. Sora's fine in school so far, but for how much longer will it take until things break?
Well, I think I've said enough or just about everything, so... ON WITH THE STORY!! AND I'M VERY VERY SORRY FOR NOT POSTING FOR A WHILE! YOU PEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY STORIES I HAVE GOING AT ONCE--ESPECIALLY AFTER LOSING ALL MY DISKS THAT ARE STILL MISSING!!!--AND THEN HOW LITTLE TIME I HAVE TO WORK ON EACH OF THEM!! AIYEE!!! ON AND ON I GOOO!!!! @__@
Silver Water
II: Trouble Awakens
The easiest part of school was over and already half of the second six weeks was gone, leaving the first six weeks of school and it's start of the grading period done and the easy part of school out the window. After school now, Sora was at his desk hammering at his homework that seemed so confusing to him.
Okay, the brunette thought, two-X times four parentheses thirty-six-X plus negative three, end parenthesis, over--
"SORA!"
The brunette jumped out of his chair, startled out of his concentration, the back of the chair falling to the floor. Suddenly thinking something went wrong with his mother, Sora threw open the door and ran down stairs toward the calling his brother made. Jumping down the last few steps of the stairs, Sora nearly crashed into Cloud.
"Aaah! Cloud! What? What is it! Is something wrong?" The brunette looked around for any sign of trouble or mishap.
The blond gave Sora a skeptical look and shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. Mom's fine."
Sora looked up at the tall blond, confused--yet annoyed. "She is? Then why...?"
Cloud cut him off with a wave of his hand. "I called you because I'm having a friend over. He's going to help me with some of my work, okay?"
Sora blinked as he watched his brother make his way to the fridge. "You need help? Since when do you need help in school?" he wondered out loud.
Cloud looked up from behind the fridge door. "Hey, I never said I was a genius, moron. Everyone needs help in something, so don't complain."
"I'm not complaining."
"Then stop asking then. I called you down here to tell you one thing, not have you pester me with questions, now did I?" Cloud closed the fridge, a soda in his hand. He turned to Sora and lifted a brow. "Well?" he said and chugged the soda.
Sora shrugged. "No, but..."
Cloud approached his little brother as he closed the soda bottle. When he reached him, he playfully hit the brunette on the head with it before passing him and heading to the living room. Sora was silenced in mere confusion before following his brother to the couch as he flipped through the channels lazily.
Only when the doorbell rang did Sora move from his spot on the corner of the couch. Cloud didn't even budge to get the door as he saw Sora was already moving toward it. Just before reaching the door, Sora grabbed himself a drink and opened it on the way back to the door. The doorbell rang the second time as Sora set a hand on the locks. Opening the door, Sora saw a tall male who seemed like an older version of the guy who was on his bus. Taking a sip of the soda, Sora looked up at this silver-haired man expectantly.
After a moment's silence, Sora raised an eyebrow. "Need anything?"
The silver-haired returned the expression. "Yes. I'm looking for Cloud Strife."
Sora shrugged, got the least bit interesting in his guy. "You got the right place." Sora looked over his shoulder at Cloud who hadn't removed his eyes from the television. "Cloud! Unglue your eyes from the damn TV and come to the door!"
Cloud turned around on the couch to see Sora with an annoyed look on his face. Shrugging, he turned back around on the couch. "Just send him in already."
Sora, blocking the doorway still, narrowed his eyes and turned back to the guest. "Hold on a sec. Uh... could you hand me that rock please?" Sora pointed to one of the garden rocks about two inches in diameter. When he received it, he went back to Cloud, stopping a foot away from him, and threw it hard at Cloud's head. The rock bounced off the blonde's head with a small noise as it hit the blonde's skull.
Cloud shot up from the couch and approached Sora. Sora just walked back to the door to let the silver-haired guy in, stopping a foot short from the open door as Cloud tackled him. Pulled into a headlock, Sora squeaked. Cloud whispered a threat in the boy's ear before letting him go and greeted his guest. Sora rubbed his neck, eyes narrowed into a glare directed toward the blond before him, then noisily made his way back up to his room.
Sephiroth, slightly amused at this brotherly conflict, stepped inside the small but welcoming house that was owned by the Strifes. Cloud, Sephiroth saw, was flushed slightly in embarrassment, but it was immediately hid as the blond directed the silver-haired guest to the living room where Cloud's school paraphernalia was already scattered.
Once the guest was settled onto one of the two small couches, Cloud cleared his throat. "Uh... Sorry about that, but you probably have no idea what went on, did you?"
Sephiroth shook his head, but not in not knowing what Cloud meant. "Actually, I do. I have a younger brother myself," came the silver-haired tutor's melodic and low voice.
The blond nodded. "Sure, then we BOTH know the pain it is." Then shrugging, Cloud added, "Well, better get started..."
Sora, upstairs, couldn't hear the two voices downstairs, as he was playing music through a set of his headphones. Somehow, he figured, music helped him think and rid of stray thoughts when he needed to work. Too bad CD-players weren't allowed in the classroom, much less during school hours. Cell phones weren't so different, he also guessed.
Now, shaking his head, Sora tried to crack one of his math problems. Several times he tapped the pencil in his hand to his chin or drew in the margins of his paper. When the answer finally came, about thirty minutes had passed. Sora groaned as he looked at the time. He didn't even want to THINK about how long he would be staying up that night.
In fact, that's exactly what he did, he didn't think. And didn't do so for so long that he stayed up pass midnight doing his work with only a fruit bar, water, and a bag of chips as his dinner. The lack of sleep at night set Sora off the next day as the brunette over-slept and had to be late the next day, Cloud driving the sleepy boy to school.
When Sora arrived at school, the halls were empty with an exception of several students who were probably skipping class, running errands, on their way to or from the restroom, or something of the sort that WASN'T being extremely late, as Sora obviously was. So rushing over to his locker, Sora was already trying to open his backpack and pull his supplies out of it. Once there, he spun the combination of the lock and threw the locker open, exchanging his supplies. When he was sure he had everything, he glanced down just to make sure. But when he did, a hand slammed his locker closed, landing right beside his head. Slowly turning around, Sora gulped visibly as he stared into cold eyes.
"Uh..."
The blond before the small brunette grinned. "Hiya, Sora!" he said with false glee. "What's up?"
Sora shrugged slightly, shaking his head. "Uh... I don't know..."
Still, the blond grinned at the boy. "Well, that's good! You know what time it is?"
Sora was about to look down at his watch when the blonde's fist slammed into the locker again. "No, no, no. Not THAT time, the other time."
Sora blinked, confused. "Um..."
The blond chuckled. "I see you've forgotten. Here, lemme take that off ya." With that, he took Sora's books and gave it to someone behind him that Sora couldn't see. "Here, hold this, man," he told the one behind him.
"Why should I, Seifer?"
Seifer's eyes narrowed. "Because I said so." He glared at the other. Then, turning back to Sora, a smiled was placed upon his face again. "C'mon, let's talk where there's privacy and no one can bother us. Okay?"
Sora nodded, not knowing what else to do.
"Right. Then off to the boy's room!" Then, with that said, he slung an arm around Sora's slender shoulders and led--half dragged--him to the boy's restroom just down the hall and around the corner.
Once in there, Sora was cornered. The restroom was empty, just as Seifer liked it, and Sora knew he was in deep trouble. With the blonde's hands on either side of his head, Sora knew he'd most likely get a beating.
Quickly, the brunette looked around for an escape route, but both were blocked. He knew the other guy--the one that was behind Seifer not but a second ago--was guarding the restroom from outside, just beyond that door, and windows were no option either as they were fenced. Damn! Trapped!
And like a rat too! Sora cursed himself mentally.
But his facial expressions were all too readable for the blond in front of the slender boy. The blond smirked and leaned forward, making the brunette freeze and go rigid. Though it was futile, Sora leaned back, trying to disappear into the wall behind him.
"Uh..."
Seifer laughed silently, his shoulders shaking slightly. "Sora, Sora, Sora..." Again, Seifer leaned forward, their noses only a few inches apart. "Look. You're obviously new, don't know your way around, and need a little help. As much as Tidus is trying and helping you, you aren't receiving the other type of help around here. See, Tidus is holding back on ya! And that's where I come in."
Sora blinked, turning his head to the right so that his was not so close and direct with the blonde's. "What do you mean..?" he said, trying to sound cautious.
Seifer smirked. "Oh? You wunna know?"
Sora bit his lip, searching Seifer's eyes for a hint. He saw it, but didn't like it. "...You're not giving me a choice."
The tall blond widened his eyes, faking a look of shock. "What? You take as someone who doens't give people options? You think I'm that mean? Oh my!"
Sora narrowed his eyes suddenly. "Shut up."
Seifer narrowed his own eyes, topping the brunette's glare. Then, leaning in so that their noses were now nearly touching, Seifer said in a low voice, "Look. You're right, I'm not giving you a choice. So you better listen up and toughen up because you're going to do whatever I tell you to do unless you want to get a real good beating from my boys. We run this turf, runt, and I have ways that'll get you killed or otherwise off and into the street, working as a prostitue to get back on your feet, let alone give money to your family as I've heard they are so unfortunate."
Sora growled. "Don't you dare talk about my family."
Seifer smirked. "Did I hit a sensitive spot? Hmm? It seems so. Now listen up. You can work for me, or go down that road that is well close to Hell. What do you say? I'm trying to be nice."
Again, the brunette narrowed his eyes. "You're not 'trying to be nice' to me, Seifer. You're going to use me."
Seifer turned his head slightly to the side. "And what if I am? I can use someone just to get you dead, too. Like I said, me and my boys rule this place. Even the girls bow to us."
Sora snarled and looked away, feeling sick to his stomach. How had he gotten into this mess? Damnit! He just wanted to kick himself in the rear! What the hell did he do to make Seifer--the ultimate ruler of the school and also the drug dealer of the school--come after him? Damnit! Now he was some trapped rat in a friggin' potty room! Argh! Now what else?! Oh yeah! He didn't know how to defend himself! Oh, now THAT'S great!
Sora cursed himself again, still holding his self beatings inside. Again, Seifer smirked, almost enjoying himself as he saw the clear struggle of this boy.
He interrupted, slamming his hand into the wall again, causing the slender boy to look up immediately, startled. "Hey, since it's obvious we have an agreement, then it's set. Look, I'm gonna give you something, then I want you to meet me in this same restroom after school, okay? Be late, or not show up, and you'll be in real trouble. Got it?" He paused to roughly stuff something in one of the front pockets of the brunette's jeans. "Just meet me after you pick up your things for home... I'll be waiting." And with that, Seifer pulled back and opened the door, letting his friend in just to shove Sora his books before the two left.
Sora slowly sank to the floor, letting out a long and slow breath he didn't know he was holding. He dropped his books beside him, placing a hand on his forehead. "Geez... You'd think that he just might become more mad with that threat of his. Goddamnit all! Man! I need Cloud to teach me how to defend myself! You'd think he would've by now! But damnit! I'm like a boy on market! I'm a fricken flower whose petals get picked or gets stepped on so many times by rough people!" The brunette paused to let out a dry laugh. "Hah! Right, nice analogy, moron."
Sora sighed, picking up his books again before heading out. "Man... I've really gotten myself in trouble now... Now how am I gonna explain my absence to that old man? Damn!"
But little did Sora know, he was being watched and listened to. Just beyond the open window of the boy's room was a silver haired being, leaning against the wall on the outside wing. He had heard everything by accident. Now, in his shadowed shelter, he frowned, watching the boy leave the restroom through barred windows. He didn't know why, but he felt somewhat worried for Sora and what he just might get himself into...
To Sora, the day was going too slow. Every teacher's lecture was droning on and on, the words passing by his mind, not clicking any sort of wire that would make the boy listen or even pull him out of his thoughts.
He didn't know how this happened all of a sudden! Geez! It's like the tables have turned on him in one lash of the whip! Oh how he hated his weakness in lacking fighting and defensive skills. He was brought up to be a nice little boy, smart and never in trouble. But with Cloud as a brother, he was just a nice and smart boy that always was in trouble--more ways then one.
The more he thought about it, Seifer was... right! In a way, he COULD make money being a fucking prostitute. Sure, he wouldn't like it one bit, but it was possible. Little by little, Sora realized that maybe, it was how he appeared that set people off and got him in trouble. Maybe it was how he was shaped and grew that Seifer was unfortunately drawn to him. Damnit, but it may have been true! And if so, curse it all!
At lunch, Sora was barely able to concentrate on his food. The others noticed, but didn't say anything given that Sora seemed to be deep in thought and looked like he didn't want to be bothered. Yuna, with the trait of worrying if someone carried the vibe of being unhappy or ill in any sort of way, had to force herself from trying to comfort the brunette in his obvious state of mental turmoil.
And as for the afternoon classes, they were the same as the morning ones: boring and over his head. The brunette didn't learn anything that day since he was so out of it. His teachers personally became concerned when he stopped saying anything in their classes, barely paid attention during their teaching time, and seemed so drawn in himself. They didn't know what was wrong with him as he was normally a chatty boy, but they didn't bother to ask the boy what was wrong with him, as it could possibly just be a mood swing and would only last a day.
At the end of the day, as ordered, Sora packed up and went to the boy's restroom down the hall where he last talked with Seifer. Just before he got in, though, he was stopped by a silver haired teen.
"You should be more careful with who you are acquaintances with," was his sentence in that unusually rich, but low, voice.
The brunette had stopped to look at the teen that leaned against the wall, arms crossed, posture casual while his eyes said different and pierced through Sora.
Sora frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
The silver haired teen frowned. "You know what I mean. Perfect and clear..."
Sora stayed silent. Then, after a moment, he turned to leave, only to be stopped again.
"I'm only warning you... Just be careful. He's not to be messed with."
Sora paused just before entering the restroom to see the boy leave, turning down the hall in a unique way, graceful yet predatorily. Like a midnight hunter, Sora realized before going through the door and into the restroom.
Immediately, the brunette met with Seifer and one of his "boys" as they relieved him of his backpack and cornered him against the wall again. Graciously, Seifer took what he had stuffed in Sora's pocket, revealing a small vile of white stuff. Not recognizing it, Sora made a dumb question.
"What the hell did you put that in my pants for?"
Seifer, not the least bit surprised at this boy's stupidity and lack of identification for drugs, smirked, waving the vile in front of the boy's nose. "You don't know what this is?"
Sora shook his head. "Of course not."
And just then, someone appeared from one of stalls. "Seifer, he's obviously a runt. Are you really gonna keep him?"
Seifer grinned over his shoulder at one of his friends--more like one of his "boys"--nodding. "Why not? Look at him."
Sora, confused, frowned at Seifer. "What the-?! What the hell do you mean by 'keep him'? Keep me where?" He looked around Seifer to see who his ally was. He wondered who he was because he seemed almost like a female in Sora's eyes, if not for his clothing and posture that stated he was male.
This person smiled down at the brunette who unknowingly slid lower and lower down the wall as he stared back. "Seifer, he seems scared..."
Seifer turned back to Sora who was now nearly two feet from where he originally stood. Narrowing his eyes, Seifer pulled the boy back up to his feet by lifting him by the collar on his shirt.
Sora gulped, still staring at this mysterious person who stood near, yet behind, Seifer. Seeing this, the person smiled, flashing beautiful white teeth. "I'm Kuja. And I know you're familiar with Seifer, so things should go smoother from now on."
"What? What should go smoother??" The brunette asked, his voice soft and nearly too soft if it wasn't for the complete silence in the restroom.
Kuja, with his capturing smile, tilted his head to the side slightly. "Oh? You don't know? Well... I'm sure it'll become clear pretty soon."
Seifer, who still had hold of the brunette's shirt, rolled his eyes. He was used to Kuja luring in their prey with that seducing and charming way of his, but sometimes it could be annoying to the blond. But always, nonetheless, it got the work done.
Sora, stunned by Kuja's beauty, simply stared. His mouth was slightly open due to his gaping, and he could think of nothing to say in response to Kuja's words.
"Well, I see you understand so quickly. Seifer, I don't see what you meant by having trouble with him." Kuja turned to Seifer who just shrugged. "Oh well. Might as well start, right?"
Seifer grinned and let go of the gaping brunette who now stared at him as he poured some of the white stuff onto his hand and examined it carefully before capping the vile. Then, the blond pulled out an empty pill cap from his pocket and poured the white stuff in the pill, putting whatever excess amount he had left back in the vile.
Sora stared at this pill, curious--yet frightened. Whatever Seifer was planning to do with that pill, the brunette didn't want to know-though he had a very good idea of what it was.
He found out the next second when Seifer took advantage of the boy's open mouth and shoved the pill inside, using his other hand to grab the back of the boy's neck and make sure he didn't push away.
Reflexively, Sora gagged and tried not to swallow the pill, instead trying to spit it back out. But Seifer wasn't going to allow that and kept his fingers in the boy's mouth--thank god for the clean gloves!--preventing him from spitting it back out. Sora lifted his hands and made an effort to wrench Seifer's gloved fingers out of his mouth, but was stopped when Kuja held the boy's hands above his head against the wall behind him.
Pinned, struggling, and not knowing what to do, Sora had much difficulty fighting back. He attempted to kick one of them, but was blocked. Eventually, from lack of breath, Sora had to shallow the pill while gasping for air. Kuja and Seifer were exceptionally pleased as they let go of the boy as he slid to the floor quickly, coughing and gasping for air.
It only took a few minutes for the drug to kick in though, leaving the boy feeling hot and dizzy. Kuja smiled as he kneeled next to the boy, feeling his forehead.
"He almost seems to have a fever, my friend."
Seifer grinned. "Yeah, and he also seems to be on the verge of passing out."
Kuja returned the grin. "Should we help him? Do you think?"
Seifer's grin turned into a devilish smile. "Oh, I don't think, I say."
Kuja nodded, lifted the now unconscious boy. "My thoughts exactly..."
And with that said, Seifer picked up the brunette's bag of things, while Kuja carried the boy himself, out the door and off the school campus.
Riku, upon hearing all this from outside once again, glared at the ground before him. Damn them! They've taken yet another innocent boy! What the hell was wrong with people today?! Geez! Shaking his head, Riku knew he could do nothing while the brunette was in the other two's "care". Thus, Riku decided, he would watch from afar and in the shadows... Hopefully, for some strange reason to the worried silver haired teen, they would not hurt the boy.
~*~*~*~*~
Reviews Note: Thank you all for the wondrous reviews!! Totally enjoyed them! All positive! =^^= Anyway, I don't remember the names exactly but that's okay. For the question on Wakka, I will sooo put him in! He didn't appear in the first chapter, but that's okay. He'll appear in future chapters. For Auron as a teacher, I've been thinking about what subject he would do and kinda need help on that. Any suggestions? And for Seymour as a janitor, TOTALLY! For the person who suggested those two, high-five! I love your ideas! I was gonna have Goofy as the only known janitor, you know, the kind one that everyone knows and doesn't want to leave or else the school won't be what it is without him, but hey, there always hasta be that janitor that everyone hates, right? ^^ Seymour can take that job! (Oops! Stuff is leaking out!! ... Oh well, too late...) Oh, and for the characters that I haven't mentioned yet in FF/KH (mainly FF) game(s), don't worry, they'll have their roll pretty soon. Until their appearance though, you'll just hafta wait! And oh, for Tidus being so kind, I KNOW! ^^ I just like Tidus being that happy-go-lucky-and-I'm-a-kind-and-sooo-helpful-in-many-many-ways person! And hey, Sora needs a friend here and there, and Tidus is the main man to solve that problem! Thus, the whole "Here's my girlfriend, here's my other friends, here's her friends, and this is our group. Welcome and be happy!" thing. Oh, and on the yaoi/nonyaoi thing, uh... you know, I'm not really sure yet... I know that sounds stupid, but I'm not exactly sure what precisely would be best for this story... Really, I'm not. Sure, I'm leaning toward yaoi, but... you know. (Please don't hit/hurt me... and don't run away from my stupidity, please.) So far, I'm thinking of just a really close friendship, but... hmm... (Ah! More leakage! Dangit!) Does anyone have any views or ideas? A poll! Yes! Vote!
Vote: Should this story be Yaoi or NonYaoi?
Vote2: Who's your favorite coupling (Yaoi or not, it doesn't matter)?
Oh, and hey, check out my original story: Sky's Eyes, okay? I need reviews to know if I should continue or fix something or whatever, okay? Thankies!
Well, I think I've said enough or just about everything, so... ON WITH THE STORY!! AND I'M VERY VERY SORRY FOR NOT POSTING FOR A WHILE! YOU PEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY STORIES I HAVE GOING AT ONCE--ESPECIALLY AFTER LOSING ALL MY DISKS THAT ARE STILL MISSING!!!--AND THEN HOW LITTLE TIME I HAVE TO WORK ON EACH OF THEM!! AIYEE!!! ON AND ON I GOOO!!!! @__@
Silver Water
II: Trouble Awakens
The easiest part of school was over and already half of the second six weeks was gone, leaving the first six weeks of school and it's start of the grading period done and the easy part of school out the window. After school now, Sora was at his desk hammering at his homework that seemed so confusing to him.
Okay, the brunette thought, two-X times four parentheses thirty-six-X plus negative three, end parenthesis, over--
"SORA!"
The brunette jumped out of his chair, startled out of his concentration, the back of the chair falling to the floor. Suddenly thinking something went wrong with his mother, Sora threw open the door and ran down stairs toward the calling his brother made. Jumping down the last few steps of the stairs, Sora nearly crashed into Cloud.
"Aaah! Cloud! What? What is it! Is something wrong?" The brunette looked around for any sign of trouble or mishap.
The blond gave Sora a skeptical look and shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. Mom's fine."
Sora looked up at the tall blond, confused--yet annoyed. "She is? Then why...?"
Cloud cut him off with a wave of his hand. "I called you because I'm having a friend over. He's going to help me with some of my work, okay?"
Sora blinked as he watched his brother make his way to the fridge. "You need help? Since when do you need help in school?" he wondered out loud.
Cloud looked up from behind the fridge door. "Hey, I never said I was a genius, moron. Everyone needs help in something, so don't complain."
"I'm not complaining."
"Then stop asking then. I called you down here to tell you one thing, not have you pester me with questions, now did I?" Cloud closed the fridge, a soda in his hand. He turned to Sora and lifted a brow. "Well?" he said and chugged the soda.
Sora shrugged. "No, but..."
Cloud approached his little brother as he closed the soda bottle. When he reached him, he playfully hit the brunette on the head with it before passing him and heading to the living room. Sora was silenced in mere confusion before following his brother to the couch as he flipped through the channels lazily.
Only when the doorbell rang did Sora move from his spot on the corner of the couch. Cloud didn't even budge to get the door as he saw Sora was already moving toward it. Just before reaching the door, Sora grabbed himself a drink and opened it on the way back to the door. The doorbell rang the second time as Sora set a hand on the locks. Opening the door, Sora saw a tall male who seemed like an older version of the guy who was on his bus. Taking a sip of the soda, Sora looked up at this silver-haired man expectantly.
After a moment's silence, Sora raised an eyebrow. "Need anything?"
The silver-haired returned the expression. "Yes. I'm looking for Cloud Strife."
Sora shrugged, got the least bit interesting in his guy. "You got the right place." Sora looked over his shoulder at Cloud who hadn't removed his eyes from the television. "Cloud! Unglue your eyes from the damn TV and come to the door!"
Cloud turned around on the couch to see Sora with an annoyed look on his face. Shrugging, he turned back around on the couch. "Just send him in already."
Sora, blocking the doorway still, narrowed his eyes and turned back to the guest. "Hold on a sec. Uh... could you hand me that rock please?" Sora pointed to one of the garden rocks about two inches in diameter. When he received it, he went back to Cloud, stopping a foot away from him, and threw it hard at Cloud's head. The rock bounced off the blonde's head with a small noise as it hit the blonde's skull.
Cloud shot up from the couch and approached Sora. Sora just walked back to the door to let the silver-haired guy in, stopping a foot short from the open door as Cloud tackled him. Pulled into a headlock, Sora squeaked. Cloud whispered a threat in the boy's ear before letting him go and greeted his guest. Sora rubbed his neck, eyes narrowed into a glare directed toward the blond before him, then noisily made his way back up to his room.
Sephiroth, slightly amused at this brotherly conflict, stepped inside the small but welcoming house that was owned by the Strifes. Cloud, Sephiroth saw, was flushed slightly in embarrassment, but it was immediately hid as the blond directed the silver-haired guest to the living room where Cloud's school paraphernalia was already scattered.
Once the guest was settled onto one of the two small couches, Cloud cleared his throat. "Uh... Sorry about that, but you probably have no idea what went on, did you?"
Sephiroth shook his head, but not in not knowing what Cloud meant. "Actually, I do. I have a younger brother myself," came the silver-haired tutor's melodic and low voice.
The blond nodded. "Sure, then we BOTH know the pain it is." Then shrugging, Cloud added, "Well, better get started..."
Sora, upstairs, couldn't hear the two voices downstairs, as he was playing music through a set of his headphones. Somehow, he figured, music helped him think and rid of stray thoughts when he needed to work. Too bad CD-players weren't allowed in the classroom, much less during school hours. Cell phones weren't so different, he also guessed.
Now, shaking his head, Sora tried to crack one of his math problems. Several times he tapped the pencil in his hand to his chin or drew in the margins of his paper. When the answer finally came, about thirty minutes had passed. Sora groaned as he looked at the time. He didn't even want to THINK about how long he would be staying up that night.
In fact, that's exactly what he did, he didn't think. And didn't do so for so long that he stayed up pass midnight doing his work with only a fruit bar, water, and a bag of chips as his dinner. The lack of sleep at night set Sora off the next day as the brunette over-slept and had to be late the next day, Cloud driving the sleepy boy to school.
When Sora arrived at school, the halls were empty with an exception of several students who were probably skipping class, running errands, on their way to or from the restroom, or something of the sort that WASN'T being extremely late, as Sora obviously was. So rushing over to his locker, Sora was already trying to open his backpack and pull his supplies out of it. Once there, he spun the combination of the lock and threw the locker open, exchanging his supplies. When he was sure he had everything, he glanced down just to make sure. But when he did, a hand slammed his locker closed, landing right beside his head. Slowly turning around, Sora gulped visibly as he stared into cold eyes.
"Uh..."
The blond before the small brunette grinned. "Hiya, Sora!" he said with false glee. "What's up?"
Sora shrugged slightly, shaking his head. "Uh... I don't know..."
Still, the blond grinned at the boy. "Well, that's good! You know what time it is?"
Sora was about to look down at his watch when the blonde's fist slammed into the locker again. "No, no, no. Not THAT time, the other time."
Sora blinked, confused. "Um..."
The blond chuckled. "I see you've forgotten. Here, lemme take that off ya." With that, he took Sora's books and gave it to someone behind him that Sora couldn't see. "Here, hold this, man," he told the one behind him.
"Why should I, Seifer?"
Seifer's eyes narrowed. "Because I said so." He glared at the other. Then, turning back to Sora, a smiled was placed upon his face again. "C'mon, let's talk where there's privacy and no one can bother us. Okay?"
Sora nodded, not knowing what else to do.
"Right. Then off to the boy's room!" Then, with that said, he slung an arm around Sora's slender shoulders and led--half dragged--him to the boy's restroom just down the hall and around the corner.
Once in there, Sora was cornered. The restroom was empty, just as Seifer liked it, and Sora knew he was in deep trouble. With the blonde's hands on either side of his head, Sora knew he'd most likely get a beating.
Quickly, the brunette looked around for an escape route, but both were blocked. He knew the other guy--the one that was behind Seifer not but a second ago--was guarding the restroom from outside, just beyond that door, and windows were no option either as they were fenced. Damn! Trapped!
And like a rat too! Sora cursed himself mentally.
But his facial expressions were all too readable for the blond in front of the slender boy. The blond smirked and leaned forward, making the brunette freeze and go rigid. Though it was futile, Sora leaned back, trying to disappear into the wall behind him.
"Uh..."
Seifer laughed silently, his shoulders shaking slightly. "Sora, Sora, Sora..." Again, Seifer leaned forward, their noses only a few inches apart. "Look. You're obviously new, don't know your way around, and need a little help. As much as Tidus is trying and helping you, you aren't receiving the other type of help around here. See, Tidus is holding back on ya! And that's where I come in."
Sora blinked, turning his head to the right so that his was not so close and direct with the blonde's. "What do you mean..?" he said, trying to sound cautious.
Seifer smirked. "Oh? You wunna know?"
Sora bit his lip, searching Seifer's eyes for a hint. He saw it, but didn't like it. "...You're not giving me a choice."
The tall blond widened his eyes, faking a look of shock. "What? You take as someone who doens't give people options? You think I'm that mean? Oh my!"
Sora narrowed his eyes suddenly. "Shut up."
Seifer narrowed his own eyes, topping the brunette's glare. Then, leaning in so that their noses were now nearly touching, Seifer said in a low voice, "Look. You're right, I'm not giving you a choice. So you better listen up and toughen up because you're going to do whatever I tell you to do unless you want to get a real good beating from my boys. We run this turf, runt, and I have ways that'll get you killed or otherwise off and into the street, working as a prostitue to get back on your feet, let alone give money to your family as I've heard they are so unfortunate."
Sora growled. "Don't you dare talk about my family."
Seifer smirked. "Did I hit a sensitive spot? Hmm? It seems so. Now listen up. You can work for me, or go down that road that is well close to Hell. What do you say? I'm trying to be nice."
Again, the brunette narrowed his eyes. "You're not 'trying to be nice' to me, Seifer. You're going to use me."
Seifer turned his head slightly to the side. "And what if I am? I can use someone just to get you dead, too. Like I said, me and my boys rule this place. Even the girls bow to us."
Sora snarled and looked away, feeling sick to his stomach. How had he gotten into this mess? Damnit! He just wanted to kick himself in the rear! What the hell did he do to make Seifer--the ultimate ruler of the school and also the drug dealer of the school--come after him? Damnit! Now he was some trapped rat in a friggin' potty room! Argh! Now what else?! Oh yeah! He didn't know how to defend himself! Oh, now THAT'S great!
Sora cursed himself again, still holding his self beatings inside. Again, Seifer smirked, almost enjoying himself as he saw the clear struggle of this boy.
He interrupted, slamming his hand into the wall again, causing the slender boy to look up immediately, startled. "Hey, since it's obvious we have an agreement, then it's set. Look, I'm gonna give you something, then I want you to meet me in this same restroom after school, okay? Be late, or not show up, and you'll be in real trouble. Got it?" He paused to roughly stuff something in one of the front pockets of the brunette's jeans. "Just meet me after you pick up your things for home... I'll be waiting." And with that, Seifer pulled back and opened the door, letting his friend in just to shove Sora his books before the two left.
Sora slowly sank to the floor, letting out a long and slow breath he didn't know he was holding. He dropped his books beside him, placing a hand on his forehead. "Geez... You'd think that he just might become more mad with that threat of his. Goddamnit all! Man! I need Cloud to teach me how to defend myself! You'd think he would've by now! But damnit! I'm like a boy on market! I'm a fricken flower whose petals get picked or gets stepped on so many times by rough people!" The brunette paused to let out a dry laugh. "Hah! Right, nice analogy, moron."
Sora sighed, picking up his books again before heading out. "Man... I've really gotten myself in trouble now... Now how am I gonna explain my absence to that old man? Damn!"
But little did Sora know, he was being watched and listened to. Just beyond the open window of the boy's room was a silver haired being, leaning against the wall on the outside wing. He had heard everything by accident. Now, in his shadowed shelter, he frowned, watching the boy leave the restroom through barred windows. He didn't know why, but he felt somewhat worried for Sora and what he just might get himself into...
To Sora, the day was going too slow. Every teacher's lecture was droning on and on, the words passing by his mind, not clicking any sort of wire that would make the boy listen or even pull him out of his thoughts.
He didn't know how this happened all of a sudden! Geez! It's like the tables have turned on him in one lash of the whip! Oh how he hated his weakness in lacking fighting and defensive skills. He was brought up to be a nice little boy, smart and never in trouble. But with Cloud as a brother, he was just a nice and smart boy that always was in trouble--more ways then one.
The more he thought about it, Seifer was... right! In a way, he COULD make money being a fucking prostitute. Sure, he wouldn't like it one bit, but it was possible. Little by little, Sora realized that maybe, it was how he appeared that set people off and got him in trouble. Maybe it was how he was shaped and grew that Seifer was unfortunately drawn to him. Damnit, but it may have been true! And if so, curse it all!
At lunch, Sora was barely able to concentrate on his food. The others noticed, but didn't say anything given that Sora seemed to be deep in thought and looked like he didn't want to be bothered. Yuna, with the trait of worrying if someone carried the vibe of being unhappy or ill in any sort of way, had to force herself from trying to comfort the brunette in his obvious state of mental turmoil.
And as for the afternoon classes, they were the same as the morning ones: boring and over his head. The brunette didn't learn anything that day since he was so out of it. His teachers personally became concerned when he stopped saying anything in their classes, barely paid attention during their teaching time, and seemed so drawn in himself. They didn't know what was wrong with him as he was normally a chatty boy, but they didn't bother to ask the boy what was wrong with him, as it could possibly just be a mood swing and would only last a day.
At the end of the day, as ordered, Sora packed up and went to the boy's restroom down the hall where he last talked with Seifer. Just before he got in, though, he was stopped by a silver haired teen.
"You should be more careful with who you are acquaintances with," was his sentence in that unusually rich, but low, voice.
The brunette had stopped to look at the teen that leaned against the wall, arms crossed, posture casual while his eyes said different and pierced through Sora.
Sora frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
The silver haired teen frowned. "You know what I mean. Perfect and clear..."
Sora stayed silent. Then, after a moment, he turned to leave, only to be stopped again.
"I'm only warning you... Just be careful. He's not to be messed with."
Sora paused just before entering the restroom to see the boy leave, turning down the hall in a unique way, graceful yet predatorily. Like a midnight hunter, Sora realized before going through the door and into the restroom.
Immediately, the brunette met with Seifer and one of his "boys" as they relieved him of his backpack and cornered him against the wall again. Graciously, Seifer took what he had stuffed in Sora's pocket, revealing a small vile of white stuff. Not recognizing it, Sora made a dumb question.
"What the hell did you put that in my pants for?"
Seifer, not the least bit surprised at this boy's stupidity and lack of identification for drugs, smirked, waving the vile in front of the boy's nose. "You don't know what this is?"
Sora shook his head. "Of course not."
And just then, someone appeared from one of stalls. "Seifer, he's obviously a runt. Are you really gonna keep him?"
Seifer grinned over his shoulder at one of his friends--more like one of his "boys"--nodding. "Why not? Look at him."
Sora, confused, frowned at Seifer. "What the-?! What the hell do you mean by 'keep him'? Keep me where?" He looked around Seifer to see who his ally was. He wondered who he was because he seemed almost like a female in Sora's eyes, if not for his clothing and posture that stated he was male.
This person smiled down at the brunette who unknowingly slid lower and lower down the wall as he stared back. "Seifer, he seems scared..."
Seifer turned back to Sora who was now nearly two feet from where he originally stood. Narrowing his eyes, Seifer pulled the boy back up to his feet by lifting him by the collar on his shirt.
Sora gulped, still staring at this mysterious person who stood near, yet behind, Seifer. Seeing this, the person smiled, flashing beautiful white teeth. "I'm Kuja. And I know you're familiar with Seifer, so things should go smoother from now on."
"What? What should go smoother??" The brunette asked, his voice soft and nearly too soft if it wasn't for the complete silence in the restroom.
Kuja, with his capturing smile, tilted his head to the side slightly. "Oh? You don't know? Well... I'm sure it'll become clear pretty soon."
Seifer, who still had hold of the brunette's shirt, rolled his eyes. He was used to Kuja luring in their prey with that seducing and charming way of his, but sometimes it could be annoying to the blond. But always, nonetheless, it got the work done.
Sora, stunned by Kuja's beauty, simply stared. His mouth was slightly open due to his gaping, and he could think of nothing to say in response to Kuja's words.
"Well, I see you understand so quickly. Seifer, I don't see what you meant by having trouble with him." Kuja turned to Seifer who just shrugged. "Oh well. Might as well start, right?"
Seifer grinned and let go of the gaping brunette who now stared at him as he poured some of the white stuff onto his hand and examined it carefully before capping the vile. Then, the blond pulled out an empty pill cap from his pocket and poured the white stuff in the pill, putting whatever excess amount he had left back in the vile.
Sora stared at this pill, curious--yet frightened. Whatever Seifer was planning to do with that pill, the brunette didn't want to know-though he had a very good idea of what it was.
He found out the next second when Seifer took advantage of the boy's open mouth and shoved the pill inside, using his other hand to grab the back of the boy's neck and make sure he didn't push away.
Reflexively, Sora gagged and tried not to swallow the pill, instead trying to spit it back out. But Seifer wasn't going to allow that and kept his fingers in the boy's mouth--thank god for the clean gloves!--preventing him from spitting it back out. Sora lifted his hands and made an effort to wrench Seifer's gloved fingers out of his mouth, but was stopped when Kuja held the boy's hands above his head against the wall behind him.
Pinned, struggling, and not knowing what to do, Sora had much difficulty fighting back. He attempted to kick one of them, but was blocked. Eventually, from lack of breath, Sora had to shallow the pill while gasping for air. Kuja and Seifer were exceptionally pleased as they let go of the boy as he slid to the floor quickly, coughing and gasping for air.
It only took a few minutes for the drug to kick in though, leaving the boy feeling hot and dizzy. Kuja smiled as he kneeled next to the boy, feeling his forehead.
"He almost seems to have a fever, my friend."
Seifer grinned. "Yeah, and he also seems to be on the verge of passing out."
Kuja returned the grin. "Should we help him? Do you think?"
Seifer's grin turned into a devilish smile. "Oh, I don't think, I say."
Kuja nodded, lifted the now unconscious boy. "My thoughts exactly..."
And with that said, Seifer picked up the brunette's bag of things, while Kuja carried the boy himself, out the door and off the school campus.
Riku, upon hearing all this from outside once again, glared at the ground before him. Damn them! They've taken yet another innocent boy! What the hell was wrong with people today?! Geez! Shaking his head, Riku knew he could do nothing while the brunette was in the other two's "care". Thus, Riku decided, he would watch from afar and in the shadows... Hopefully, for some strange reason to the worried silver haired teen, they would not hurt the boy.
~*~*~*~*~
Reviews Note: Thank you all for the wondrous reviews!! Totally enjoyed them! All positive! =^^= Anyway, I don't remember the names exactly but that's okay. For the question on Wakka, I will sooo put him in! He didn't appear in the first chapter, but that's okay. He'll appear in future chapters. For Auron as a teacher, I've been thinking about what subject he would do and kinda need help on that. Any suggestions? And for Seymour as a janitor, TOTALLY! For the person who suggested those two, high-five! I love your ideas! I was gonna have Goofy as the only known janitor, you know, the kind one that everyone knows and doesn't want to leave or else the school won't be what it is without him, but hey, there always hasta be that janitor that everyone hates, right? ^^ Seymour can take that job! (Oops! Stuff is leaking out!! ... Oh well, too late...) Oh, and for the characters that I haven't mentioned yet in FF/KH (mainly FF) game(s), don't worry, they'll have their roll pretty soon. Until their appearance though, you'll just hafta wait! And oh, for Tidus being so kind, I KNOW! ^^ I just like Tidus being that happy-go-lucky-and-I'm-a-kind-and-sooo-helpful-in-many-many-ways person! And hey, Sora needs a friend here and there, and Tidus is the main man to solve that problem! Thus, the whole "Here's my girlfriend, here's my other friends, here's her friends, and this is our group. Welcome and be happy!" thing. Oh, and on the yaoi/nonyaoi thing, uh... you know, I'm not really sure yet... I know that sounds stupid, but I'm not exactly sure what precisely would be best for this story... Really, I'm not. Sure, I'm leaning toward yaoi, but... you know. (Please don't hit/hurt me... and don't run away from my stupidity, please.) So far, I'm thinking of just a really close friendship, but... hmm... (Ah! More leakage! Dangit!) Does anyone have any views or ideas? A poll! Yes! Vote!
Vote: Should this story be Yaoi or NonYaoi?
Vote2: Who's your favorite coupling (Yaoi or not, it doesn't matter)?
Oh, and hey, check out my original story: Sky's Eyes, okay? I need reviews to know if I should continue or fix something or whatever, okay? Thankies!