The Lion and the Mouse-
Hi everyone! Sorry I've been gone for so long . . . I had a writer's block. Now I'm back with chapter 10! Yay, 10 chapters! I usually don't write stories for this long, but since you all like it so much . . . I have kept going. I hope you all like this chapter too.
Chapter 10: Get to Know Me-
Sunday afternoon, Sora strolled cautiously down the streets of Traverse Town, searching for a drugstore. He had to be extra careful because of what Riku had told him. Zell could have been anywhere, and he didn't want to run into him in his time of anger. There was no telling what Zell would do to him if he found him. Sora had no doubt that Zell would take his anger on Flare out on him, especially because he turned him down. Sora shook his head, not wanting to think about it.
Once again, it was cold and foggy out, and it looked as though it was going to rain any second. Sora pulled his jacket closer to his body, zipped it up, and tugged the hood over his spiky hair.
After a while, Sora finally found a small convenient store on a street corner. He made his way through the crowd, trying to be polite as possible. He never had this many people bumping into him on the Destiny Islands. He knew he had to be rude just to get through, but he just couldn't be like that. ( AN: Sounds like me when I visit San Francisco.)
He found the door and opened it. A bell on the interior side of the door jingled, signaling a customer's arrival. He searched the aisles until he found the aisle containing medical supplies. He scanned the shelves, searching for a first aid kit that contained all that was needed for Riku. He pulled the perfect one off of the shelf and started for the cash register. He felt lucky that he had found the last of its kind.
He was almost out of the aisle when the bell rang again. Sora watched as two blonde haired teens entered the store. One was a girl about seventeen, and the other was a boy about eighteen. They were both dressed in black and red. Sora gasped. Flare members!
The boy had his hand over one of his eyes, wincing in pain.
" Nice job, Vaan!" said the girl sarcastically.
The boy, named Vaan, looked at her with his good eye, obviously having gotten punched in the other. " What? He was a big guy!"
The girl rolled her eyes. " When I told you to go tell the dude that he was wearing our colors, I didn't mean for you to do it like a total punk!"
" I wasn't being a punk, Larxene," Vaan retorted.
Larxene scoffed. " Instant replay, Vaan: ' Oh, ummm . . . excuse me sir . . . can you please never wear our colors again? It would be greatly appreciated . . .' PUNK!"
" I was trying to be polite," Vaan stated in his own defense.
" Yeah, and received a black eye because of it!" Larxene shouted, leading Vaan into the store.
Vaan sighed. " I don't know, Larxene, maybe I'm just not cut out for all this gang stuff . . ."
Larxene grinned. " Don't worry. As soon as the Oblivion bastards are gone, we'll be all the way on top again and we won't have to share the power. We'll rule the city once again."
Sora walked slowly over to the register, still trying to eavesdrop. Rule the city?
Vaan just sighed again.
" And I heard that Zexion iced another one . . ." she grinned happily. " The leader's best friend, he said. Won't his brother be proud?"
" I don't like this killing business," Vaan told her while shaking his head. " It's wrong."
Larxene smiled. " You'll get used to it. Now, where's all the medical stuff . . .?"
Sora almost jumped out of his skin when Larxene tapped him on the shoulder.
" Hey kid," she began," What aisle's the medical stuff on?"
Sora softly cleared his throat and pointed down aisle seven, not turning to face her.
" Thanks," she said, and took Vaan to the aisle.
Sora let out a relieved breath and payed for his first aid kit. Then he ran out of the store, anxious to get to Riku. Flare is after all of them! I wonder if Oblivion already knew? I have to tell Riku!
As he was running down the street, it began to sprinkle, and then shortly after, it started to pour down raining. Sora clutched the first aid kit to his chest and kept on running through the crowd.
OO00oo00OO
Riku layed on his couch, still in pain. His ribs were killing him! He hoped Sora would be there soon. He wondered if he had a method of stopping the pain. After all that had happened, Riku was sure that Sora could do anything. He could hear it raining outside and hoped Sora was okay. He also hoped Zell hadn't found him. That would be disastrous. Zell was known for relieving anger in many different ways, which was the exact reason why Riku didn't want him to find out about the Flare encounter.
He glanced at the clock over the kitchen and sighed. What was taking Sora so long? Riku had it in his mind to go and look for Sora, but he could barely even move.
Suddenly, he heard a rapid knocking at the door. He jumped up with excitement, forgetting his pain for a moment. Holding his ribs and bending over slightly, he made his way over to the door. He reached for the knob when suddenly, he remembered how ashamed of the apartment he was. He didn't want for Sora to see it especially since he lived in such a castle. He sighed and swung open the door, stepping outside, and quickly shutting it behind him. He smiled at a cold and drenched Sora.
Sora was shivering and his teeth were chattering. " R-R-Ri-k-k-ku . . . D-Danger . . ."
Riku couldn't help but laughing at Sora's chattering, even though he mentioned danger.
Sora just glared at him, clutching the first aid kit with icy fingers.
Riku placed his hand on Sora's, causing him to blush.
" You're freezing," Riku said. " And you're soaked . . . wait here." He turned to go inside.
" Rik-k-ku!" Sora chattered out. " Can't I come inside?"
Riku gulped. " Uh . . .no . . .we're remodeling. Just wait here while I get you a change of clothes."
" B-B-But . . . Where will we go?" Sora asked, still shaking.
Riku nodded towards the next room on the right. " Mrs. Duncan's. Other than you and Zell, she's the only other person I feel like being nice to."
Sora gave him a questioning look. " Why?"
" Once when my moms kicked me out," Riku began, " She let me spend the night on her couch. She's a nice old lady. She said I was welcomed whenever."
Sora glanced at the door. " Is she home?"
Riku shook his head. " Not at this hour."
" Then how will we get inside?" Sora asked. He was freezing and tired of waiting outside.
Riku just smiled and went back inside for Sora's change of clothes. He went into his room and pulled open his drawer, searching for anything that might fit Sora. Riku knew that there was always an extra key under Mrs. Duncan's door mat for him. The kind, old lady was always worried about him. She didn't like his mother's irresponsibility. Riku was surprised that she hadn't called child welfare yet. He then found a red shirt at the very bottom of the drawer. Hmm . . . forgot I owned any other colors besides black and white . . . He folded it up and tucked it under his arm. It still would be too big for Sora.
He began to search for some pants when he got an idea. A devious grin spread across his face as he pulled out some of his black boxers. He snickered and went back over to the door, ignoring his screaming ribs. When he came outside, a smile of relief swept across his face. He was glad about retreating from the cold.
Sora fallowed Riku to the other door and watched as he bent over to pick up a key under the door mat.
" Just a little longer, Sora," Riku said softly.
" Hurry," Sora began quietly. " There's . . . something I have to tell you about Flare . . ."
Riku gave him a shocked glance as he stuck the key into the door knob. Once he heard it click, He turned the knob and pushed the door open. " Come on Sora."
Sora ran into the apartment, fallowed by Riku, whose pain was starting to get the best of him. He closed the door behind him and turned on the lights in the cozy apartment. " Mrs. Duncan?" he called, looking around. " Knew it. She's not home. Come on, Sora, I'll show you to the bathroom where you can change." He lightly grabbed onto Sora's arm and led him to the bathroom.
Sora took the clothes from Riku and handed him the first aid kit. " I'll be out as fast as I can. You look like you're gonna pass out from pain." He closed the door and unfolded the clothes.
Once he was dressed, he came back outside and gave his wet clothes to Riku, who took the clothes to Mrs. Duncan's laundry room.
Sora saw that Riku had started a fire in the fireplace. He quickly sat in front of it, warming his hands. ( AN: Are there fireplaces in apartments?) He reached for the first aid kit and opened the box, takingout the bandages and medicines.
Riku came back into the family room smiling. The red shirt he chose for Sora fit loosely on his skinny frame and its hem didn't end until Sora's knees, where only a little bit of the black boxers were showing. Sora didn't even seem to mind. Riku laughed at his naivety.
Holding onto his sore side, Riku went and plopped down next to Sora, Making a loud thump
Sora laughed. " Oh, very graceful."
Riku pushed him by the shoulder. " Shut the hell up, bitch," he said with a playful grin on his face.
Sora laughed while unrolling the bandages. " Okay, hold up your arms . . ."
Riku obeyed, lifting his hands to the ceiling.
Blushing wildly, Sora grabbed the end of Riku's shirt and pulled it over his head. He inspected Riku's wound as the older teen gazed down at him with a smile.
" Hmm . . ." said Sora with his hand on his chin. " Looks like it's gonna open up again . . . have you been messing with it?"
Riku just shrugged. " It's hard not to when it hurts like shit, " he admitted.
" You must try to fight it," Sora said, applying some medicine to the wound.
Riku hissed at the stinging sensation. " Damn . . ."
" If you want it to stop hurting," Sora began, " Warm up your hand and rub in small circles with your palm. Gently, though, and make sure your hands are clean. . ."
" Can you demonstrate . . .?" Riku asked, grinning.
Sora's cheeks burned. " Um . . .uh . . .sure . . ." He went into the kitchen and washed his hands. Then he came back into the family room and warmed his hands up by the fire. He moved closer to Riku and lightly placed his hands on his ribs.
Riku smiled at the touch, loving it more than anything. Actually, there was something Riku wanted more, and that was a kiss, but that would probably scare off poor, little Sora. Not as much as this will, he thought, glancing down at his hardening member.
"See . . ." Sora said. " Just like this . . .it should ease the pain. Is it working?"
Riku nodded and placed his hands onto Sora's. " Yeah . . . It's working . . ."
Sora's blush deepened, almost covering his face. After a while, Sora slipped his hands from under Riku's and grabbed the bandages. He began to wrap them around Riku's waist.
" So . . .You had something to tell me?" asked Riku, leaning back on his hands.
" Oh yeah. That's right," said Sora, continuing his work. " When I way buying the first aid kit, two Flare Members came into the store- "
" What! Did they say anything to you! Did they hurt you!" Riku interrupted, obviously worried.
Sora shook his head. " No. Not at all."
" Do you know who they were?" Riku wanted to know, calming down a bit.
" When I heard them talking, they said their names were Vaan and Larxene," Sora told him.
Riku chuckled. " Ahh. The girl and the wuss. Surprisingly, Larxene is pretty strong, but that Vaan kid . . ." Riku stopped for a moment to shake his head. " I happen to know that Axel has a thing for that punk too. 'Course he'll never admit it . . ."
" Sora just blinked. " Kay. Well, anyways, they were talking about how you were 'iced', and how Zexion's brother would be proud . . ."
" Marluxia . . ." Riku said quietly in a hostile tone.
" Marluxia?" Sora asked.
" The leader of Flare," Riku answered with an angry glint in his eyes.
" Really?" said Sora. " But that's not all they were saying. Then they were talking about getting the whole lot of you! Just so they can 'rule' the city!"
" Just as I thought," Riku said. He was speaking in his serious tone. "They want it back. They want power. They want all of the pleasure of striking fear into peoples' hearts at the mere mention of their name . . .Flare. Well, we won't let them, not again . . ."
" I sense I'm not getting the whole story here," Sora said quietly. " Would you . . .tell me . . .Please . . .?
Riku just looked at him and then smiled. " You've earned my trust," he said. " I think it's time you knew."
Sora had just finished the bandaging and sat with his chin resting on his hands, and elbows resting on his knees. " Go on," he urged.
Riku crossed his legs and turned to face him. " It was a few years ago. Traverse Town's streets were haunted by the gang called Flare. Black and red terrified everyone. Marluxia had created a pretty strong group of people . . . gathering people who felt as though they had nowhere to go. Back then, it was only Marluxia, his little brother Zexion, Vexen, and Larxene. Since then, they've added Vaan, an orphan with no place to go. Oh, and Lexaeus is another guy who came later."
Sora just sat listening, very interested.
" We got tired of it," Riku continued.
" We?" Sora asked
" That is me, Zell, and his big bro Seifer. We got tired of having to obey those bastards. We weren't goin' down like that. Seifer was so smart. He put together a plan that would take us straight to the top! Soon, Axel joined, and then Vincent, and then Seymour. Soon after that, Leon moved here and joined."
" Wait," Sora broke in. " Squall Leonhart?"
" Yeah," said Riku. " You know him?"
Sora nodded. " Hm. Yeah. He's my big bother's new friend."
Riku scoffed. " He isn't loyal, That's for sure. I'll never forgive that mother fucker. He left the gang because he felt like his life was going to waste. It's those books he started reading . . . they corrupted his mind. And it didn't take a genius to know how much Seifer cared about him. A few nights after Leon left, Seifer went out for a walk to clear his head. A little while after he was gone, Axel called with word that Flare wasn't going to take our rise into power lying down, and that Marluxia was after Seifer."
" He shot him that night . . ." Sora guessed and Riku nodded.
" But even after that, we stayed in power. Somehow, that incident made us weaker and we became second best. They rose to the top again," said Riku. " But because Zell was taught so many things by Seifer, we managed to still be feared by others."
" And they are still after you guys," said Sora. " Shouldn't you call the police, or something?"
Riku gaped at him. " You don't rat on other gangs to the cops, Sora.We don't go down like that. We ain't punks."
" So Marluxia never got in trouble for Seifer's murder?" Asked Sora curiously.
" Nope. He was able to elude the cops all this time," Riku told him.
Sora stuck out his lower lip in a pout. " Well, that's not fair!"
Riku laughed at Sora's cute facial expression. " Gang life isn't fair. Get used to it."
" Well, as much as I hate to admit it," Sora started, " You shouldn't blame Leon because he wanted to be a good person. You should be happy."
Riku scoffed and rolled his eyes. " yeah. And his 'good citizenship' caused Seifer to be shot," he snapped, not really meaning to.
Sora drew back a bit. " Sorry . . . I was just saying what I thought . . ."
Riku's face softened. He placed his hands on Sora's shoulders. " Sora, you're too quiet. If you would show a little confidence, people wouldn't pick on you . . ."
" It's hard for me to be confident," Sora said. " Back home, I only had two best friends . . ."
Riku felt so sorry for Sora. He didn't know who wouldn't want to be friends with Sora.
Suddenly, a loud buzz came from the laundry room.
" Oh," said Riku. " Sounds like your clothes are done. After you change, lets go to a café and get something warm to eat."
" Well, sure," Sora began. " But I didn't bring anymore of my money. I spent what I had on the first aid kit."
" Sokay," Riku assured him. " Sometimes, Mrs. Duncan leaves me money for food. You go get your clothes and change while I see about the money. I'll leave a note saying we were here too."
As Sora went into the bathroom to change, he thought about all that Riku had told him. He was happy that Riku finally decided to open up some and speak a little about his past. This made Sora feel happy, like he and Riku were really becoming friends.
Sora came out of the bathroom and watched as Riku left a note for Mrs. Duncan on the kitchen counter.
" What's it say?" Sora asked as he skipped over to him.
" I told her that I was over here with a friend, " said Riku. " I told her it wasn't one of my brothers. She hates the fact that I'm in a gang."
" Did you tell her that you borrowed some of her money?" He asked.
Riku nodded. " She left me some money this week. Come to think of it, the last decent meal I had was provided by Mrs. Duncan."
Sora glanced at the note on the counter. " Mm. How long ago was that?" he asked, looking up at Riku with curiosity.
Riku looked up at the ceiling, thinking. " Hmmm . . . about a month ago . . ."
Sora's eyes widened. " A month!"
" Yeah," said Riku calmly. " I'm used to going without food for a long time. Actually, that soup I had at your house was good."
Sora laughed, remembering how Riku had eaten it. When he stopped, he said, " Hey. I think it stopped raining."
Riku listened closely. " Hmm. Yeah. It has. It's still gonna be as cold as a damn freezer though."
" Let's head out," Sora said, running to the door with excitement. " I'm hungry."
Riku laughed. " Gee. You're pretty loud sometimes, Sora."
Sora blushed. " Sorry. Once I feel comfortable around someone, I usually come out of my shell a little."
" Seems like it," Riku said, walking over to the door. He turned the door knob and opened the door. " So . . . does that mean you're comfortable around me?"
Sora smiled with a cute blush across his cheeks. " Yes. It does."
Riku smiled back at him. " Let's go then."
After they were outside, Riku locked the door and slipped the key back under the door mat. Then they left for the city together.
OO00oo00OO
Outside on the bustling streets of Traverse Town, Riku and Sora traveled as stealthily as possible. If they ran into anyone from either gangs, the result would have been disastrous. And on top of all that, it was freezing cold! Whenever they breathed, they could see their breath.
" Damn, " Riku said as they were walking. " I told you it would be as cold as a fucking freezer."
Sora laughed at Riku's choice of words.
" What's so damn funny?" Riku asked him loudly so he could be heard over the noise of the city streets. " You think it's funny that I'm freezing my fucking ass off?"
Sora couldn't stop laughing. " N-no! It's just how you said it . . .!"
Riku grinned down at him. " Hm. Oh . . . I've got something funny for you . . ." With that, Riku wrapped his arm around Sora's waist and pulled him close to his body. " How's that for funny . . .?" Riku whispered in his ear.
Sora could feel Riku's warm breath as he spoke into his ear. " R-Riku . . . Wha-wa . . .?"
" To keep warm, of course," Riku said, pulling him along. " What? You'd rather be cold . . .?"
Sora rapidly shook his head." No, it's not that . . . what if someone from Flare or Oblivion see's us? They might get the wrong idea!"
" What idea would that be?" Riku asked innocently.
Sora gulped. " Well . . .uh . . .um . . .ya know . . ." He stopped when he heard Riku laughing.
" Relax, bitch," he was saying. " I'm just messin' with ya!"
Sora smiled. " That whole 'bitch' thing is getting really old."
" Fine," said Riku. " I won't call you 'bitch' anymore." Then he added quietly. " Bitch . . ."
" Hey!" Sora cried.
" Oh look!" We're here!" Riku said quickly. They stopped walking in front of a small street corner café. " I come here whenever I have money for food. Their soup is so good on a cold day like this," Riku told Sora. "Let's go in."
Riku and Sora stepped into the warm café, and Riku let his arm drop from around Sora's waist. Fun while it lasted, he thought. I like messing with him . . . he's so jumpy! Makes it fun . . .
" Riku," Sora called. " Come on! There's a booth over here!"
Riku walked over to the booth Sora had chosen and sat across from him.
" Let's have that soup," Sora suggested.
Riku gave him a nod of agreement. " Alright. Soup it is. That's nice and warm like I said."
The waitress came and took their order. She brought their soup out pretty quick and set the bowls on the table. Sora and Riku thanked her and gave her the money.
As Sora stirred his with his spoon, he stared out of the window. " Hey Riku . . ." he called softly.
Riku looked up from his soup. " Yeah?"
" Have you ever thought about . . . what you wanna be when you grow up?" Sora asked.
Riku sat back and folded his arms behind his head. " Yeah. 'Course!"
Sora sat up, smiling, he was interested. " Really? What?"
Riku made the peace sign and said. " A rapper!"
Sora's mouth fell open. He couldn't believe that Riku wanted to be something so cliche. " A-Are you serious?" he asked in a smart tone.
" Yeah," said Riku.
" Haven't you ever thought of what else you could be?" Sora wanted to know.
Riku shook his head. " That's about all I can do is sing and dance. I'm not smart like you. I get horrible grades . . ."
" So . . ." Sora began while slowly stirring his soup, " Let me tutor you."
Riku almost choked on the soup he was swallowing. " Wha? Why would you? I can't believe you . . .even after all I've done, you still want to help me . . ."
Sora just smiled. " So, am I your tutor?"
" Definitely," Riku said nodding. " I could use the help. Thank you so much . . ." He is actually giving me a chance . . . " I have to do something for you."
Sora shrugged. " Nah. That's okay- "
" No really!" Riku insisted. " Hey! How about I teach you some self defense skills?"
" Me? Self defense?" Sora laughed. " You can try!"
Riku joined in laughing. " Don't worry! I will!"
OO00oo00OO
Sora waved goodbye to Riku from across the street at his house. " Be careful! And I'll see you at school!" he called.
" You know it!" Riku called back before he took off down the sidewalk.
Sora walked through the gates of the mansion and over to the front door. He went inside where he was greeted by his sister.
" Hey Sora!" she called cheerily. " Have fun at the library?"
" Huh? Oh- uh . . .yeah!" Sora had almost forgotten that was the lie he had told to cover up his visit with Riku. Suddenly, he remembered Cloud, and how mean he was to him the day before. Maybe I should apologize . . . he was only looking out for me . . . " Hey Rikku. Where's Cloud?"
Rikku plopped down on her back on the living room sofa, opening a magazine. " He's in his room. He's getting ready to go somewhere."
" Thanks," Sora said, heading up the stairs. When he came to his brothers room door, he could hear the blonde going through drawers, obviously looking for something. Sora laughed at Cloud's frustrated grumbles. Sora kicked open the door and shouted, "FREEZE!"
Cloud almost jumped right out of his shoes. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw a laughing Sora. " Sora, don't do that again. You scared the shit out of me!"
Sora tried to control his laughter. " S-sorry . . . I couldn't help it. So, watcha' lookin' for?"
Cloud continued to pull clothes from his dresser. " My black shirt. You seen it?"
Sora's heart stopped for a moment and he gulped. " Nope! What do you need it for?"
" This girl Yuffie invited me and Leon to some spoken word café tonight," Cloud said continuing his search. " There's going to be a poetry reading contest, and Yuffie is entering one of her poems. "
" Ah . . ." Sora said, trying to forget the fact that he had given Cloud's only black shirt to Riku.
" And all they wear is black, he went on. " Yuffie told me to wear only black, and I can't find that damn black shirt!" He threw some clothes down in frustration.
Sora knelt by his side, pretending to help him look. " You never wore it before. Maybe Lu got rid of it?"
Cloud shook his head and stood up again. " I don't know why I'm going. I don't know why Leon's going either. . ."
" Does he know you're coming?" Sora asked, rising from the floor as well.
Cloud nodded as a reply.
Sora grinned. " I see. Maybe he just wants to see you . . .! And you just want to see him!" Sora said in a sing-song love voice. " Oooooh!"
Cloud blushed. " S-sora . . .!"
" You like him and you know it," Sora said, the smug grin still plastered on his face. He thought about telling about Oblivion, but it was obvious Leon didn't want Cloud to know.
" Cloud gave him a small push. " Sora, that's not true!"
" Yes it is," Sora told him. " Admit it. I see they way you guys look at each other! You act like such a girl around him!"
" SORA!"
Sora hugged himself and made kissing noises. " Ooooh, Leon! Kiss me, kiss me! Leon . . .Leon! Oh Cloud . . . Give into me, Cloud . . .ooohaaaAAHH!"
Sora shrieked as Cloud leapt on him and started to tickle his sides. He had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. " Okay, okay! Stop! STOP!"
Cloud crawled off of him and sat on the carpet chuckling.
Sora sat up and smiled at him. " Wear the shirt that's such a dark blue, it kinda looks black. Plus it's a dark room. No one will notice."
Cloud looked in one of the drawers and pulled out the shirt Sora was talking about. " Hmm . . . you're right. " He got up to go change when Sora caught his arm.
" Hey," he began softly. " About yesterday . . . I'm sorry for getting so mad . . ."
" It's alright," said Cloud. " I should have trusted you more. I know you would tell me if something happened."
Sora gave a faint smile. So now he was lying to his brother too? First his father and now his brother. " Of course. I could never keep anything from you."
Cloud patted him on his shoulder. " Good. Now I gotta change and get going. I'll see you in the morning"
Sora nodded once. " Okay. See you then." He left the room so his brother could change. As he headed for his own room, he wondered it Riku was really going to school the next day. I hope so, he thought. How is this all going to work out? How are we going to be friends when so many people don't want us to be?
OO00oo00OO
That's it for this chapter. Wow, I'm tired of typing. I have nothing to say except that I just turned 16 in January. Thanks for reading. See you again in chapter 11:Tradition.
Bye!