Kids
By Riquisel Yutifae
Author's notes: With permission from generalquistis and Zhakeena… I'm using your concepts here. Check out their site: http: ... ... it's where I got the idea.
Three
They all stared strangely at the boy with silver hair as he joined them for dinner.
Riku and Sora were chatting gaily, catching up with each other's lives that had been missed by one another for the past week.
Cloud and the others were listening to their conversation while staring hard at Riku, trying to think where the boy had originated from. "How come he has silver hair like Sephiroth?" Tifa was whispering to Yuffie.
Yuffie just shrugged.
"Eh… not to be rude but… who are your parents, Riku?" Barret asked, interrupting the two.
All eyes turned to Riku.
He simply replied, "Sephiroth is my father." And then proceeded to talk to Sora, "…And so they sent me over here. It turns out that that potion can send you in a time-traveling portal just in your mind." Riku pointed out.
"What? So you mean we're dreaming all of this?" Sora asked curiously.
"Not really… it's like… oh I don't know how to explain it! It's so complicated!" Riku said before he began to eat the mashed potatoes on his plate. "Hmm. This is good!" he remarked.
"But how did you get in here?" Sora asked.
"Eh… I asked Samara to make the same potion from the lab and then I drank it. She made me sleep and then I'm here!" Riku explained.
"Who's your mother, Riku?" Vincent asked curiously, interrupting the two young boys.
Riku just turned to look at him and then grinned before turning back to Sora and proceeded to talk to him, "…but don't worry, she's going to tell her mom and dad about what happened to us, and eventually, her mom and dad will tell my dad and your parents about what happened." He pointed out.
"Are you sure Samara didn't kill you and you're just sleeping back there?" Sora asked.
"I'm certain! Why?" Riku asked.
"I… just don't trust her that much because she's a ShinRa… the bad side of ShinRa, that is," Sora muttered miserably. "Heheh… she's the only weird one there! Look at her twin brother, her older sister, her older brother and then her younger sister, they're normal!" Riku said.
"You call them normal? Theodore just laughs all day and he's so happy it gives me the creeps… and Lavinia… she's quite strange too. She bites people!" Sora explained.
"Not to mention Slate acts like he's stupid but he's not… and then Morrigan who's such a Prima Donna… but unfortunately she's friends with my sister so…" Riku continued, shrugging. The two were silent for a while, contemplating on what they had just said. "Well… their parents appear normal…" Riku pointed out.
"Okay, enough of the talk, kiddos, now explain to us again how you guys got in here?" Barret asked, interrupting them.
The two turned back, "Remember the strawberry-flavored potion I was telling you about a while ago? That's what made me go here. It opened up a time portal in my mind and so…" Sora touched his own hand, trying to feel himself. "…well, I'm not imagining things and I'm definitely awake…" he pinched himself and he cringed in pain. "Ow…" he muttered.
"I'm confused…" Barret muttered miserably before he got up and left the table.
"Hmm… this is somewhat complicated. I can't even understand it myself…" Cloud thought silently.
Sora smiled. "Hey, dad, can we let Riku stay here?" he asked.
"Yeah, whatever… he can sleep in Tifa's room." Cloud muttered miserably.
"What! I can't sleep in her room! Her husband will kill me!" Riku reacted with a panicky look on his face.
"Okay, Cloud, the two boys are sleeping in your room whether you like it or not." Tifa decided before she got up and removed her plate from the table. Cloud was not yet finished with his meal but she also got his plate and threw the scraps to Red XIII's dish before placing the plate in the sink.
"I can accommodate only one person! My room's not that big compared to yours, Tifa," he pointed out impatiently.
"Well then do something about it. I'm not letting any of them sleep in my room." She said with a mean smile on her face.
Cloud just puffed and released his breath miserably before he got up from his seat and went upstairs. "Damn it…" he muttered.
The moment Cloud had gone upstairs, Tifa faced the two kids again, "Alright, since you came from the future, why can't you tell us how Aerith Gainsborough got brought back to life so that we could end Cloud's suffering now?" she asked with a patient tone.
"We can't, ma'am. We cannot interrupt what fate and destiny can do to you… and the future is not ours to hold. Sora and I came from the future but it doesn't mean that we can just go around here in the past disrupting the correct order of things. As much as possible, we're trying to keep things in order… even though I don't know if we're really doing it right or not…" Riku explained with a confused look on his face.
"Alright… you two kids just go upstairs now and get ready for bed." Tifa commanded as she began to wash the dishes.
Sora and Riku exchanged confused glances before turning to Tifa, "Eh… where are we going to sleep?" the latter asked.
"In Cloud's room." She replied mindlessly.
Sora jumped in joy. "Yay! I'm staying with dad!" he cheered happily and then left.
Riku just stared at Tifa, then turned his gaze to Vincent. He smiled uneasily at him.
Vincent shuddered as the boy smiled at him before he turned away. "Okay, you can stay in my room." Vincent told him.
Riku's eyes widened in awe. "Really?" he asked with a tone that seemed to falter.
"Y…yes." Vincent said gently, trying to sound casual. Riku smiled happily and instantly got up from his seat and ran to Vincent. They were all in awe when the young boy just embraced Vincent. They were hoping that the boy would say something, but he was just quiet.
Vincent smiled uneasily at Tifa and Marlene before forcing Riku to let go of him. "Alright, let's go upstairs now, boy." He told him as he got up and led the way upstairs.
Riku followed obediently while Vincent talked to him, "So, how old are you again?"
"15." Riku replied simply.
Vincent stared at his height. "You're… quite… short for your…" he began, but Riku stomped his foot. "No need to remind me… my brothers have told me a lot about it…" he muttered.
"Brothers?" Vincent asked after a moment of silence.
"Yeah. We're five children. I'm the youngest. The oldest is Dante. He's such a bully. Then there's Skurai… and then Jill… and then Kuja… and then me." Riku explained.
"Who's your mother?" Vincent asked curiously.
Riku just kept quiet.
Vincent thought, "Maybe he didn't hear my question…" so he asked again, "Who's your mother, Riku?" he asked. Riku just smiled rather shyly at him before turning away. Vincent shuddered. "What's there to smile about? How come… I feel like this?" he thought.
XXX
Cloud stared curiously at the young boy sleeping on the bed beside him. He sighed heavily before glancing at the clock which read 1:00 am. The boy had been sleeping ever since 9:00, an hour and a half after dinner.
"He must be really tired…" he thought silently. He stared up at the ceiling with a blank look on his face as he secretly envied the boy for sleeping soundly like he has no problems. He could recall that before the boy fell asleep, he asked him a question, "Don't you feel homesick?"
The boy just smiled at him and shook his head, "Nah. You're with me, dad." And then slowly drifted off to sleep.
Dad?
The noun made him wonder. "Aerith…" he whispered softly before he closed his eyes. "When will you come back? I miss you…" he thought sadly. He opened his eyes again when he felt tears streaming down from them. He sniffed and wiped them away before turning to his left and stared at the wall before he closed his eyes again. "At least I know, with this child present here, she'll come back… but when?" he thought silently as he realized that he does not even feel the least bit sleepy. He just swallowed hard and stared at the wall.
XXX
"What do you mean you haven't seen Riku around here?" Sephiroth demanded.
"What ever do you mean by that, Sephiroth?" Rufus asked calmly as he remained seated on his office chair and proceeded with his work.
"Several witnesses told me that the last time they've seen my son was here in your building." Sephiroth explained.
"I don't know what you mean." Rufus replied.
"Damn it, ShinRa! My son hasn't come home for a week already!" Sephiroth pointed out.
"Seven days, huh? Maybe he's just somewhere… sleeping over at Cloud's house?" Rufus asked.
"Impossible. Sora's also missing," Sephiroth told him.
Silence.
Rufus just raised his eyebrows as he entered some numbers to the computer. While typing, he said, "Maybe they eloped or something. Heh heh,"
"Very funny," Sephiroth said mockingly before he sat down on the chair facing Rufus's desk. "I'm serious. Riku was last seen here." He pointed out.
"Did he even ask permission from you that he's coming here or something?" Rufus asked.
"No. That's why I'm really…" he trailed off when a little girl spoke up, "Daddy,"
Rufus turned to the little girl who just entered his office. "Oh, hello, Samara," he greeted with a stiff look on his face. Sephiroth eyed the girl rather suspiciously. She noticed it easily, "Why are you staring at me that way, Mister Sephiroth?" she asked.
Although Sephiroth could not see her eyes because they're being covered by her hair, he still kept an eye on her. "Maybe you have seen Riku?" he asked.
She just kept quiet.
Rufus frowned slightly, "Samara, have you seen Riku?" he asked, suspecting something already. He knows that his daughter can do a lot of bad things without even saying it… but he doesn't really want to doubt his own daughter. She just smiled sweetly. "Don't worry. Wherever he is right now, I'm sure he's happy," she told them before she left.
Sephiroth's mouth dropped open in shock. "Rufus, I think your daughter did something stupid again…" he declared.
XXX
Samara immediately rushed to her own bedroom and shut the door. She leaned against the door with a frantic look on her face.
She was gazing at a girl four years older than her who was standing by the window. "Kairi," she began.
Kairi had this worried look on her face before she approached Samara. "What happened? You look… scared…" she said.
"Not really. I'm just really worried about what's going on… I can't even find them on my own. And Mister Sephiroth is already looking for Riku!" Samara replied.
"Well what are we going to do? We should've just played with other potions…" Kairi said with a miserable look on her face.
"We shouldn't have let Riku search for Sora alone! I should've come with him." Samara said.
Kairi was quiet for a while before smirking at her. Samara frowned at her best friend. "Why are you smiling like that?" she asked in annoyance… although she doesn't have to ask; she could easily read her mind… but she wanted to see if Kairi would deny it…
Kairi just shook her head and looked away. "What ever do you mean, Samara?" she asked innocently. Samara just snorted and looked away. "Fine, I'm going to look for them. If I don't find them… I'll probably stay there for a while… at the most, 7 days…" she muttered with an uncomfortable look on her face.
Kairi began to feel nervous. "Are you sure?" she asked. "What if they start looking for you?" she asked.
"You can tell them I am looking for Riku and Sora." Samara explained mindlessly before proceeding to the TV. As she approached, the TV switched on by itself. She could easily control things with her mind… and can even will people dead. It's one of her special abilities that must remain a secret within the walls of ShinRa, otherwise, people might start criticizing them negatively again.
"What will I tell them if they start looking for you?" Kairi asked.
"Just… tell them the truth!" Samara replied
"No, I wanna go instead!" Kairi told her as she approached. Samara stopped in her tracks and faced her friend. "You?" she asked. Kairi nodded. "I want to go there myself. You just stay here just in case. We can't afford to let anything bad happen most especially to you." She said with a smile on her face.
"What?" Samara asked in confusion.
"Come on, your dad's the president! If something bad happens to you, he will get mad at my parents and at Uncle Sephiroth too!" Kairi pointed out before turning to the TV, staring at the static. "Is that …safe?" she asked hesitantly, feeling nervous.
Samara shrugged. "I don't know for you but… for me it is." She said as she placed her hand against the screen. They watched as it went through it. "I've created a portal for you already. You can pass through it." She told Kairi.
Swallowing hard, Kairi approached the TV and let her foot go through the screen. "Whoa!" Kairi reacted in amazement.
"Careful," Samara warned.
Kairi looked back at her. "What will happen if I go in here?" she asked nervously.
"Since this method of traveling through time is only in our minds like it's a real dream, your body will be transported to the place where we placed Sora and Riku's bodies." Samara replied with a serious look on her face. "Now remember. Once you reach Kalm, ask for Tifa Lockheart or Barret Wallace, okay? And never ever say ShinRa. I've studied the history of this Planet and my family's surname wasn't very pleasant during the time where you're going." She continued. Kairi nodded. "Alright. I got it." Kairi said nervously before Samara pushed her completely through the screen.
The screen went blank and the TV switched off by itself.
Samara just stared at it for a short while before she turned to the door upon hearing someone enter. "Samara,"
The 10 year-old ebony-haired girl gazed up at her father with wide blue eyes.
He stared down at her with a stern look on his face, "I think we need to discuss something…" he began.
Samara just bowed down her head, letting her long hair frame her face. It's going to be a long discussion.
XXX
"OW!" Kairi yelped in pain as she landed face-first on some grassy surface. "oooh… my nose…" she sniffed as she sat up and rubbed her nose, hoping that it wasn't bleeding. She looked up at the night sky. "Gee… where am I?" she asked out loud as she slowly got up and dusted herself. "Ew…" she muttered, feeling that her hands, knees and legs were already soiled. She swallowed hard, shivering because of the cold evening air. "Gotta get going…" she thought before proceeding to walk until she finally reached Kalm. "Gee… looks very different from where I came from…" she said softly as she began to wonder about the time because she saw that it was already dark in the whole town… and there were no streetlights. She swallowed hard. "Okay… I think it's already past midnight… but I hope that there are people who like to stay up late!" she thought nervously as she proceeded to look for a house with a lit window… until she arrived at a certain country house. It was small but looked rather homey. She stared curiously at the window with the lit room. "I hope they're nice…" she thought nervously before stepping onto the front porch…
XXX
Cloud couldn't sleep for a reason that he couldn't understand, so he just sat by the bed watching Sora sleep. He sighed heavily as he turned away from the boy, deciding to go to the other room and check on Vincent and Riku. When he arrived there, he saw that the two were sleeping peacefully, with Riku's head resting on Vincent's shoulder and his arm draped over Vincent's chest. Cloud fought the urge to smile and laugh as he turned away to go back to his own room where he left Sora for a while, but stopped in his tracks when he heard someone knocking on the front door downstairs. He checked the clock and it read 2:30 am. Wondering who it was, he decided to just go downstairs to check… and as he opened the door, he was surprised to see a young girl with reddish-mahogany hair and blue eyes staring up at him in awe. Cloud gaped at her. "…Yuffie?" he asked in shock, wondering why Yuffie suddenly looked shorter than usual.
Kairi blinked. "Uncle Cloud!" she exclaimed.
Silence.
Cloud backed off. "Oh no… not another one!" he cried out in confusion before running upstairs, leaving the front door open with Kairi there wondering what she should do.
"Cloud, what's going on! You just woke me up!" Kairi heard a young lady's voice complain from upstairs. Kairi's face lit up when she recognized the voice. "Mommy!" she squealed in excitement.
"Did I hear Kairi?" she heard Sora asked sleepily, and then someone just started to descend the stairs. It was him, alright. Kairi smiled happily. "Sora!" she said happily as she ran to him. "Kairi!" the two embraced tightly, happy to see each other again. "Oh I'm so glad you're safe!" she said happily.
"Of course I'm safe! Dad's just here! Your mommy's here too!" Sora told her.
"Really?" Kairi asked.
In a few moments, Cloud descended the stairs again, but this time, he was dragging along a sleepy-looking Yuffie Kisaragi wearing a loose green shirt and dark blue jogging pants. "Wha-… Cloud, let me go!" Yuffie wailed impatiently, but she froze when she saw Kairi. She turned to Sora, "Oh. Is she a girlfriend?" she asked innocently.
"Mommy!" Kairi cried out as she let go of Sora and rushed to Yuffie to embrace her. Cloud let her go so that the young girl could hug Yuffie.
Yuffie felt the color drain from her face as Kairi hugged her.
"I'm curious to know who the father is." Cloud told Sora with a slight smile on his face.
"Oh, it's…" Sora began, but Yuffie screeched, eventually waking up the whole house…
"Kairi, I think you'd better… stay away from her for a while…" Sora said, pulling Kairi away from the younger version of her mother. "But… but… but…" Kairi began with tears in her eyes.
Yuffie dusted herself. "OH GROSSNESS! For crying out loud! I'm still in my teens! I can't have a daughter like you? And what's with the red hair!" she demanded in shock, thinking of all possible redhead boys she had encountered in her entire life… and she could only think of the bum next door and Reno of the Turks. She wanted to faint. Kairi blinked. "Oh no, mommy! This is just hair color! My hair's actually like yours!" she pointed out with a sweet smile on her face.
"You color your hair!" Yuffie exclaimed in confusion.
"Yes! It's required of me to do so for Kingdom Hearts!" Kairi replied.
"Kingdom what! OH MY GAWD! This kid is talking nonsense!" Yuffie clutched her head in confusion.
"Come on, Yuffie, don't you wanna know who your future husband is?" Cloud asked her as he crossed his arms. Kairi was about to say something, as if ready to point out who her father is, but Yuffie screeched again, "ACK! No, no, no, no, no! It's bad! I don't wanna hear it! What if my marriage is forced!" she snapped.
Kairi blinked. "Mommy, I'm sure you married daddy by choice because you both loved each other!" she pointed out with a confused look on her face.
"Kairi, maybe you should stop calling her mommy for a while. You're just confusing her further." Riku told her as he got down from the second floor.
"Riku!" Kairi said in surprise.
"But why? I call him dad!" Sora pointed out as he pointed a finger at Cloud. Cloud raised his eyebrows at the boy. Riku shook his head. "Well my dad says that Uncle Cloud is level-headed anyway and just shuts his pipehole instead of reacting violently; but Auntie Yuffie? Nah-uh. She even cusses in Wutaian if she wants to whenever she's really angry at something." Riku pointed out.
Silence.
Yuffie growled something in Wutaian… and only Kairi was able to understand. "Okay… there goes… she said the F word." She muttered softly.
Cloud tapped Riku's shoulder, "What did your dad say about me?" he asked in confusion.
"Oh you know he…" Riku began, but Sora just signaled for him to stop because Vincent, Barret, Marlene and Red XIII were all looking at them curiously.
The room was silent for a few moments and only the crickets from outside could be heard. "OH MY GAWD! I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING!" Yuffie shrieked again before finally passing out. "Mommy!" Kairi exclaimed as she rushed to the younger version of her mother who was lying on the floor.
Vincent just scratched his head. "I'm going back to bed… come on, Riku. You need to rest." He said as he ascended the stairs again. Riku took one last look at Kairi and Yuffie before following after Vincent. "Okay." He responded.
Cloud stared down at Yuffie with a sleepy look on his face while shaking his head in confusion. "You kids really owe us a big explanation tomorrow…" he muttered before proceeding upstairs. Passing by the door of Tifa's room, he realized that she was still inside and didn't even come down to see what was happening. "I thought she's a light-sleeper?" he thought… and then the door opened. She was rubbing her eyes sleepily as she was yawning. "What's going on?" she asked him. "I heard Yuffie scream several times…" she continued.
Cloud just shrugged and gestured towards the stairs. "Yuffie's… future daughter is here. Better stay awake. Yours could be the next one to arrive." He told her with a sarcastic tone before proceeding to his own room.
Tifa blinked in confusion before turning to the stairs upon hearing Barret complaining about carrying Yuffie. "Darn foo'…"
Barret reached the second floor and Tifa followed him with her curious gaze as she remained standing by the door of her room… and then she was surprised to see Sora and Marlene trailing behind him… with Red XIII and another girl. Tifa was overwhelmed when she saw the new girl.
Kairi noticed Tifa looking at her in awe so she turned to her and smiled sweetly, "Hello Auntie Tifa!" she greeted before following after Barret who was carrying Yuffie back to her own room.
Tifa swallowed hard and just went back inside her room to sleep, hoping that if ever she really has future children, they wouldn't come to the present to haunt her.