The Lion and the Mouse-
Over 100 reviews! Thanks guys! I love you all!- Gives everyone a Sora plushie-. Oh, and about forgetting to put the name of this chapter at the end of the last one. . . well, that was partially because I didn't want to give away anything in this one by hinting . . . and partially because . . .I forgot . . .
Riku: -coughs-: Bozo!
What was that, Riku?
Riku: Huh? Oh . . . I said . . . Doozo . . .
No you Didn't! I know what you said! Just for that, I'm killing you off in this chapter!
Riku: No! Please!!
-points to ground- Get down on your knees and beg . . .
Sora: Hey! That's exactly what they said to me in Chapter5!
I know. It's called a cruel irony.
Riku:-on his knees- Hey! You know you got that from The Emperor's New Groove!
Riku! You're hanging by a thread here! Anyways . . . please enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters . . .sadly . . .
Chapter 8: Gratitude-
" Quick! Bring him in now! Lulu's nowhere in sight!"
" Wakka! Don't let the blood drip all over the white carpet!"
" Oops!"
" Oops is right! Clean it up, hurry!"
" I still think we should have left him there . . ."
" Do we pull the knife out now?"
" No Tidus! Wakka, get the plastic sheet to cover my bed! Tidus, go and get my dad's tool box from his office!"
" Ay ay, Nurse Sora!"
" Tidus!"
" Alright. I've got it under control . . ."
Riku's eyes slowly fluttered open. His vision was starting to come into focus, like a developing picture. Above him, Riku could make out a blurred face with blue eyes. A bright light glowed around his head, making Riku think that it was an angel. He groaned with a hint of agony. " On no . . . it's an angel . . . I'm dead . . ."
The "angel" giggled. " No, it's me, Sora. You're awake. Great! I was so worried!" Sora moved the portable operation light from over Riku's head, and then turned it off.
Riku's visioned finally cleared all the way. He could see that he was in a rather large room lying on a very soft bed. His head was propped up on several fluffy pillows. He inhaled the scent of the room, which faintly smelt of sugar cookies. His lips felt dry when he spoke. " Where am I . . .?" he asked in a rasped voice.
" My room," Sora answered. He rose from his seat beside the bed and walked over to his night stand. He picked up a tray of food and brought it over to Riku. " Hungry?"
Riku gave a small nod in response, still looking around dazed and confused. Sora set the tray on Riku's lap. Riku just stared at it, uncertain.
" It's soup," Sora told him with a laugh. " Don't worry. It's safe."
" Did you make this?" Riku asked.
Sora nodded while smiling. " Yes. It's about the only thing I can make. But don't worry, it's good. I've tried it."
Riku pushed the tray away. " Look, I'm not eating anything until you tell me what the hell is going on."
Sora just blinked and stared at him blankly. " You don't remember?"
Riku slowly shook his head.
Sora sighed and then said, " You were stabbed by that Flare gang member." He sat next to Riku on the bed. " Luckily, I was there to see it."
Riku's eyebrows furrowed, and suddenly, it all came flooding back to him: the Flare gang member taunting him, him defending the Black and White, The necklace falling out of his pocket, the icy pain in his side, and Sora's beautiful eyes . . .
" Shit," he mumbled. " I can't believe I was almost iced by those Black and Red bastards . . ." He looked at Sora again in wonder. " You. . .you saved me . . . Why would you do that, after all the horrible things I did to you?"
Sora shrugged. " I couldn't just let you die. I couldn't do that to anyone, even if they were so mean to me . . ."
Riku felt his stomach lurch in guilt. He looked down at his hands, thinking of how he could change the subject. He finally thought of something and said, " How . . .how did you do it?"
" How?" Sora returned.
" Yeah, like, how did you move me from the alley way to here without making the knife go in more?" he asked.
" Well . . ." Sora began. " I saw a little kid down the street with a wagon. Wakka bribed him with candy . . ."
" Hey kid, I'll give you three pieces of candy for your wagon."
" Hmm . . .Make it four, and you have a deal!"
" Dammit kid!"
Riku's eyes widened with understanding " Oh . . .well, how did you stop me from bleeding to death?"
" Easy," Sora said with a grin. " Tidus spotted a nearby restaurant and went over to one of the outside tables . . ."
" Hey, wanna see a magic trick?"
SWISH!
CRASH!
" Oops! Heh, heh . . . I can pay for that . . .later!"
Riku felt himself chuckle at the image of food and drinks flying everywhere as Tidus pulled the table cloth from underneath them. Then he looked at Sora and said, " Why didn't you just call and ambulance?"
" You would have been dead before they arrived," Sora told him. " A few minutes makes all the difference, especially with a wound like yours."
Riku just stared at him.
" It was better that I took you then than waiting five minutes for the ambulance to arrive," Sora said. " Trust me, it was all for the best."
"How do you know all of this?" asked Riku, obviously impressed.
" My father's a surgeon," he said. " I read a lot of his medical books and listen to him when he talks about his patients."
Riku was impressed. He didn't think that anyone was that smart. " Amazing . . ." he said.
Sora blushed while modestly scratching the back of his head. " Thanks . . ." he murmured.
Riku glanced towards the window to see that day was only beginning. " Wait, what day is this?"
" Saturday morning," Sora answered. " You were passed out all last night. I had to lock my room door so no one would barge in and see you."
Riku couldn't believe that Sora had gone through all of that trouble to save him. He had acted so evil towards the poor boy and yet, he still saved his life. He didn't know how he would ever thank him. " Sora, I owe ya one."
Sora just smiled. " It was nothing . . .really . . ."
Riku smiled back for a while until Sora blushed and looked away. " Sora," Riku called. " Where's the knife?"
Sora got up from the bed and went over to the night stand again. He opened the drawer and pulled out a plastic bag. In it was the deadly weapon, it's blade still covered in dried blood. " This?" Sora said. " I'm turning it in to the police."
Riku gave a startled jump. " What? Why?"
" So they can find this guy and arrest him," said Sora honestly.
" You can't," Riku said forcefully. " Then they might come after you, or me . . ."
Sora lowered the bag silently. " Are you . . .scared of them?"
Riku gritted his teeth and then looked away. " They are the only gang in this city that is more powerful than us . . ." he admitted to Sora. " Ever since they killed our old leader . . ." he stopped in mid sentence, unable to finish.
" Riku . . ." Sora called softly. " What is it?"
Riku shook his head. " I-It's nothing . . . never mind."
Sora kept on looking at him with worry. " Riku---"
" I want to keep the knife," Riku interrupted, looking up into Sora's eyes.
Sora didn't understand. " Why would yo want to keep you object that almost killed you?"
" That's exactly why," Riku told him. " I want to remember how close to death I was, so I'll remember to be stronger."
Sora still didn't get it, but he agreed to give it to him anyways.
Riku thanked him and then took a few sips of the soup. It was good! He picked up the whole bowl and practically poured it down his throat. Sora watched with an amused smile on his face. " I told you it was good."
Riku nodded vigorously while wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He belched loudly, causing Sora to laugh . Riku blushed. It wasn't that he never ate, it was just that he hadn't had a really good meal in a long time. He was about to ask for more when Sora spoke first.
" I think I should get you home," he said, gazing out of the window. " Wait here a sec. I'll get you some clothes." He tip toed out of his room door and closed it quietly behind him.
That was when Riku realized that he was only wearing his boxers. White bandages were securely wrapped around his waist. He poked at them with curiosity. It almost looked like a professional did it for him. And then his mind went back to what he was wearing. Had Sora . . . undressed him? He blushed at the thought.
The door opened and Sora came back in, carrying Riku's pants, his jacket, and a new shirt, since his other one was destroyed by the knife. " Hey Sora," called Riku with a smirk on his face. Sora looked up at him. " Did you . . . undress me?"
Sora's face turned beet red, and he almost dropped the clothes. He began stuttering, saying words that were hard to understand. " Well . . . I . . .uh . . .I-I-I-I . . .I had to . . . so I could s-save you . . .I'm sorry . . .I-- "
Riku held up his hand, chucking. " Never mind, alright," he told him. He gave a nod towards the clothes. " Who's shirt?" he asked.
The color in Sora's face cooled down as he gave his answer. " My brother's," he said. " It's black and he hardly ever wears it. I figured since it's one of your gang colors, and all . . .Anyways, it might be a little big, so I'm sorry."
Riku took the shirt from him. " It's great," he assured Sora as he slipped it over his head. He threw his feet out of the bed and tried to stand up. A sharp pain shot through him when he moved. It burned, and yet it felt like ice at the same time. " Ouch! Shit!" he cried, stumbling forward.
Sora caught him around his waist, and Riku wrapped his arm around Sora's shoulder. Sora steadied him and helped him stand up straight.
Riku hissed in pain. " Damn . . . it hurts like hell . . ."
" I know," Sora said sympathetically. " Unfortunately, it is going to be a little sensitive for a while . . ." He watched with a blush on his nose as Riku slowly pulled his pants on. He zipped them up and then buttoned them. Sora's eyes widened as Riku did this.
Riku watched Sora with through the corner of his eyes. He mentally chuckled to himself.
Sora cleared his throat when Riku put his jacket on. " Your parents are probably worried about you," he said.
Riku just shook his head and shrugged. " Nah . . . My mom doesn't give a shit about me . . ."
Sora gazed at him with wonder in his eyes. " Oh. Well, are you sure about that?"
Riku just nodded.
" Well, what about your dad?" asked Sora.
Riku looked away and heaved a deep sigh. " I . . . don't want to talk about him . . ."
Sora realized that he had hit a soft spot and that he didn't need to go there anymore. " I'm sorry . . ."
" It's okay," Riku told him. He began looking around. " Now, Let's get out of here! Nice room by the way."
Sora thanked him shyly and then turned to point to the room door. " Now, I was thinking that we could sneak out my room, down the stairs, and out the front door. Then, from there, we could-- " he stopped speaking when he heard his window being pulled open. Startled, he turned around to see Riku opening his window. " What are you doing?"
" There's a tree by your window," Riku said. " I can climb out."
Sora ran over to him saying, " No!" He grabbed onto Riku's arm and tried to pull him away from the window. " Are you crazy? You can't be climbing no trees! You're hurt!"
Riku just laughed at Sora antics. " Trust me. I'm a professional under any circumstances." He threw one leg over the window sill, and then the other. He grabbed onto the nearest tree branch and swung out of Sora's room. No sooner did me make it out, did the burning ice shoot through him again. He yelped in pain and lost his grip on the tree branch, falling to the ground bellow.
Sora rushed to look out of his window. " Riku!" he called. " Why do you have to be so hard- headed?"
Riku was holding onto his side while he rolled in the grass in pain. Sora rolled his eyes before he grabbed on the same tree branch Riku did. He carefully climbed down the tree and jumped to land by Riku's side. He knelt beside the groaning gangster . He giggled and said, " I told you not to do it."
Riku pushed himself up from the ground, almost falling over. " Alright, I believe you."
" I'll walk with you . . ." Sora whispered timidly. " Ya know . . . watch your back . . ."
Riku almost 'awwed' at how cute Sora looked. " Sure," he said shrugging. He started off down the sidewalk with Sora walking by his side.
Riku walked with long strides, while Sora walked with small, quick steps.
" Where do you live?" asked Sora.
" Not in a castle like you do," Riku said with envy, glancing back to gaze at Sora's wonderful house.
Sora wanted to tell Riku that he hated it, but instead, he just smiled.
O00oo00O
They came to The Blue Neon apartment complexes and walked up to the second floor, where Riku lived. The inside of the apartment was a pigsty, so he wasn't going to let Sora come in. They stood in front of the door, both swaying nervously.
Riku smiled before he gave Sora a playful punch in the shoulder. " Yo, thanks kid. Ya know, you're not as bad of a bitch as I thought you were. " He laughed at the look Sora was giving him. " And I mean that in the best possible way."
Sora laughed too. " Thanks," he said with a grin on his face. Before he knew it, Riku had wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close to his chest in a tight embrace.
Sora blushed and rested his hands on Riku's chest, never wanting the moment to end. He closed his eyes and sighed in content.
"Thank you so much," Riku whispered softly. " You will never know how grateful I am. Everything that I've done to you, I am so sorry. Will you ever forgive me?"
Sora nodded against Riku's chest. " Yes . . . I forgive you . . ." He almost whimpered when Riku slowly pulled away.
" Oh, and before I forget . . ." Riku reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out Sora's necklace. Sora gasped when he saw the shimmering silver crown.
" I think this belongs to you," Riku said softly, slipping the necklace over Sora's spiky hair and around his neck. " There," he said. " I'm Sorry I took it. If I didn't, Zell would have had me for lunch. I was fallowing you around yesterday so I could give it back."
Sora gave him a gentle smile. " Oh . . . Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me . . ."
Riku reached out to ruffle Sora's hair. " I have a pretty good guess, " he said. He smiled when Sora giggled. It was a pretty sound.
" We should keep in touch," Sora suggested. He told Riku his phone number. " Think you can remember that?"
' Like hell I'd forget,' Riku thought. " Yeah. I can remember."
Sora gave him one last nod before he turned to leave. " Good bye Riku," he said.
Riku waved and smiled. " See ya around, bitch."
Sora just grinned and walked away.
The silver haired boy watched him go. " This is wonderful." He felt as though his heart was pounding ninety miles per hour. " Sora . . ."
Sora stopped walking once he got around the corner. He rested his back against the wall, his face livid with blush He looked up at the sky, smiling. " Riku . . ."
O00oo00O
tbc
Well, okay! That's it for this chapter!
Riku: I'M ALIVE!
Yeah, whatever. Anyways ----
Riku: And best of all, I got to sleep in Sora's bed!
-Clears throat- Anyways----
Riku: And in my boxers too!
Riku, I've just decided that I'm going to kill you. :)
Riku: -Runs off screaming-
Hah! I knew that would get him away! Like I was saying . . . Thanks for reading! I'll see you again in chapter 9: Double Avenger! Yeah! I remembered that time!
Riku: -in distance- Bozo!!
-chases after- RIKU!!!