Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square does. Anyone you don't recall being in KH or any of the Final Fantasies, most likely are mine. Like Sira Lockheart. I'll make a list as I go along.

A/N: Hey, I decided to start chapter two right after I sent out chapter one. It'll keep the flow that way, I hope. Heh. So anyway. These next chapters will address Sora's drug habit, more about the accident a little, and the Strife and Lockheart families' pasts (there is a reason why Riku's familyare the Lockhearts). Plus there is the lovely Zack so why ask for more? Heh, yeah. Hope you enjoy.


Promise Me Mortality


"Sora?"

"Mmmmmm….."

"Sora!"

"What?"

"Come here with me."

"Why?"

"I want to show you eternity."


Chapter 2: Learning to Live

The plane ride was a quiet one. Many of the people on the plane looked as if they hadn't come from Destiny Islands, or the area for that matter. It was mostly true, the people of Destiny Islands fall so much in love with the casual and carefree lifestyle that they never feel the urge to leave. Unless they witnessed their father and girlfriend's deaths and come out alive.

He sighed and looked at the scenery below him. It had long passed the soft and serene coastline to a large desert with endless sands and hills. What if the plane were to crash right here? Could he survive or would he perish alone with no one around to even toss a flower to his dead feet?

Reaching into the side bag he took as a carryon, he pulled out a blank bottle and too his third and fourth pills for the day. Luckily, he had reduced his amount from ten a day to six, he still was very sick. 'I need to see a doctor about this,' he thought, 'Or at least start smoking or something safer.'

His now induced mind began to wander as he looked blankly out of the window. Last night was the best sleep he had had since the accident. Normally, he had nightmares of it and would cry out at night, making his mother come in and give him some warm milk and sometimes one of his father's sleeping pills. Soon he began to simply take them just for the habit of it and to give him some release from life. It was the same pills he now took.

However, the medicine had quickly lost its effects and he began to have increasingly sick nightmares where Kairi's mangled body would come out of the burning car and try to drag him into the fire. Or he would hear her call for him and then he would be in a burning building, burning to death.

But last night, when he held Riku and slept, he had the best dream of all, nothing. It was black and cool and comforting, enveloping him in its nurturing embrace. Even since they were little, when he and Riku slept together, they were always so comforted by the mere presence of each others heartbeat that it took forever to make them get out of bed. He fondly remembered when they were young, about five or six, and they would just spend the whole morning having tickle fights, cuddling, and making up crazy tales of adventures they wished to have. A lot of times, Riku would be a pirate who would make all of the neighborhood girls walk the plank and Sora was the smart astronaut who invented machines to solve their problems.

"I wish I could solve all of my problems now," he thought aloud, not caring who heard.

He was soon to land in ShinRa Airport and meet his uncle Zack at the gate. He vaguely remembered his uncle but he knew that he and his dad were very close. They both were in the military together SOLDIER to be exact. A photo of his father in his youth with a frown and the older man with long black hair and excited eyes sat on the mantle in the family room in his house.

Supposedly, he was his mother's first love and fiancé until he went missing one day. The friend that helped her through the time ended up being his father and they were married. Sadly, Zack was found two years after Sora's birth and looked for his 'bride.'

He actually visited when Sora was three-years-old, when he had finally found them in Destiny Islands. The gentle giant loved him at first sight when he peered out from behind his mother's skirts.

"Be nice Sora. This is your Uncle Zack. Sorry, he's a little shy," she said as she tried to coax him from behind her. The little boy simply looked up at him with his father's haunting blue eyes and whimpered in fright.

"Maybe he's not used to a tall handsome devil such as myself," said the raven haired gargantuan with a laugh. He quickly bent down and scooped up the boy in his arms and held him in the air. "See, now you're taller!" he laughed.

When poor Sora's eyes saw the ground way below him, he did the one thing that he could think of, he laughed. Not only laughed but went into hysterics as he waved his eager hands in the air, making a flying motion. Zack grinned even wider and tossed the boy into the air, swiftly catching him. Complete love indeed.

"We are now landing in Midgard. I repeat, we are now landing in Midgard."

'Oh, I totally fell asleep,' Sora thought as he sat up straight. He had the right to be tired, he had been woken up early by Riku to see the sunrise with him.

Riku…

Before things were too melancholic, the plane began its descent. The city was huge! A gargantuan mass of metal and lights in a circular pizza shape with 'slices' became bigger and bigger. The plane slowly circled around the middle tower, its spotlights waving back and forth to search the sky for whatever in was looking for. Everything about the metropolis seemed busy, totally unlike the calm serenity of the islands. Anticipation heightened as he saw the large white airport get closer and closer.

The plane touched the ground with a jolt and bounced a little before starting to slow down. It then went under the large white overpass of the landing section. Slowing to a stop, Sora sighed as he looked out the side window.

"One step at a time."


The vastly taller man helped him toss his luggage into the back of the sleek black car. Everything was different, to Sora's surprise. First, the city was a lot bigger than he could even imagine. The tall central tower was so far off in the distance, it could only be seen on high level ground. Then, the air was thin and smoky. Smog he guessed it was from what he learned in science class. As far as he knew, the air would always be fresh and nicely salty, where if you took a full breath, it would make all your cares disappear. However if you took a lungful of this stuff, you'd probably well die from it.

The car sped along through the street as his Uncle Zack showed him what there was to see.

"Well, Sector 4 is basically a giant bus stop if may say so. This is where all of the transportation vehicles and devices are made and shipped to for repairs. The sectors where the fun's really at are Sectors 2 and 8," he said with a big grin at the end.

"You see, Sector 2 is where all of the clubs are, really wild. I mean, not like you should be going there anyway, but the parties there are excellent! All day and all night clubs with good drinks and good women--," Zack then paused when he could catch a beet red glow coming from his nephew. "Never mind that. You'll learn later. Well, Sector 8 has really changed these past few years of your lifetime. It used to be a total slum. Really run down place."

The tires screeched in pain as he cut a corner sharply.

"But now, its gorgeous. If I didn't love my condo now, I would be living out there. It is a really ritzy neighborhood, very high class people live there. Even President Shinra himself has a summer house there. It's a lot cleaner air there too. Stricter laws like no smoking or rough chemicals on their lawns. Imagine that, lawns!"

Soon, a car honked as they ran through a red light.

"Yeah fuck you too! There's no rush pal!" yelled Zack as he flipped off the obviously angry driver as they sped away. Sora just shrunk even lower into the jet black leather seat, trying to figure out if he would possibly live to the end of the trip.

"Sorry about that. Don't worry, I'm a lot better on my motorcycle. I hardly ever drive cars unless they are tanks. Then I'm excellent at that."

Sora groaned as he looked through his bag.

'I need my pills…"


Sector 3 was… very structured. All that could be seen was military camps and tanks and fields for test combat and drills. This was the place he was supposed to be living? This was a boot camp! Sora nervously looked out over the sides of the car, looking for any sign of normal housing. He could just imagine it. His mother truly lying to him and making him live in a camo tent with no way to get home, his friends and family laughing at him for being a fool.

"Here we are! Home sweet home!" said his uncle as he slowed the car into the downstairs garage. Here already? So we're that close to the marching and the guns and the camo?

Another long raven-haired man, a little bit shorter, wearing blood red pants and a black tattoo shirt with red roses all over, leaned against the wall, arms crossed. He seemed a bit… odd in his attitude, ethereal. But not like Riku where it was mystical and beautifully haunting. It was as if the man had just left the realm of the dead not so long ago.

'I can't believe I used 'Riku' and 'beautiful' in the same sentence,' thought Sora confusedly. 'That was kinda new.'

"Wait too long for me Vince?" asked his uncle supposedly to the eerie man who was now approaching them.

"I was wondering where my car could have possibly run off to. And the name is Vincent," he said. Vincent approached the car and inspected the youth sitting inside. It felt as if Sora himself was transported to some kind of foggy realm in Middle Earth with a ring wraith inspecting him with intensity. He backed up a little nervously and lowered his head.

"Hey! Don't you scare the kid! Seriously Sora, he really doesn't understand his affect on people," yelled Zack as he pulled out the luggage and dragged it over to the elevator. Vincent elegantly reached across the boy and grabbed the keys from the dashboard before giving the intruder one last inspecting glance. The teen completely understood what his uncle was saying. He was intimidating. It was his eyes. They were bright blood red, and haunting, giving the impression as if he possibly couldn't see but still could at the same time.

'What's up with this guy?'

"Sora, come on! Unless you want to live in the car. In that case, you'd have to ask Vince first," yelled his uncle from inside the elevator. The Vampire, as he mentally nicknamed him, glared at his uncle in annoyance. Hurriedly, Sora grabbed his things and ran out to the now slowly closing doors.

They slowly rode up and arrived at level two. Then, they stepped out and moved down the long hall the door at the far right.

"This complex is one of the best for military personnel. Each floor you share with one other person, in this case, the lovely and oh so personable Vincent Valentine," boasted Zack as he flipped through his keys. They were all different sizes shapes and dimensions, one was a large cylindrical tube with etchings through it and then curved out like a bell at the end.

'I can't wait to figure out what that one's for.'

Picking one of the smaller keys, he turned the brass doorknob and opened it dramatically.

"And this is your new home!"

Sora moved his way uncertainly into the room. It was huge, bigger than hew imagined it. It was just as if it were a normal house. The furniture however was far from normal. Most of it was either black, leather, had sharp edges, or a combination of the three.

'Typical bachelor pad,' Sora thought as he stepped in further. The first room from the door was a large living room with the front wall a giant window overlooking the green fields of the military site, or some kind of park, who knows. There was a nicely placed black leather sofa in the middle that seemed like the most comfy thing on the planet, with two angular midnight blue stuffed chairs on either side, facing in. A large black big screen TV was then in front of the window, not as fancy as Riku's but just as awesome.

All around was scattered potted palms and ferns in sleek black square planters. Above was a modern glass sheet chandelier in squares and rectangles. Behind that was a fairly good sized kitchen. It too was black and was accented with warm yellow and gold. The island that separated it from the living room was about the height of a dining room table, wide in a pentagon shape. Atop the black finished wood was an arrangement of bright yellow flowers in a clear glass vase, a design that didn't seem to fit in the room very well. The chairs were simply wooden ones with black faux leather seats and back so they were now nothing too noteworthy.

"Like it huh kid?" asked his uncle in a boasting manner. He walked up to Sora and put his hand strongly on his shoulder. "Just see your room. I fixed it up for you and everything."

Vincent coughed. Was that supposed to be a chuckle? Zack groaned in annoyance and held up his hands in defeat.

"Actually, it was Vince who rebuilt it. Mighty good job too, if I do say so myself."

They walked off the end of the living room and walked down a sort hallway.

"The bathroom is on the right right here. Make sure the windows are closed when you go, I personally don't mind about an audience but you might."

Sora blushed a little at the thought of a bunch of tall butch women watching him do his business in the morning, or even worse, a bunch of men. He had then come to the conclusion that he would be good and molested by the time he would leave to go back to Destiny Islands, or university, whichever comes first.

The hallway then made a left turn and went for a long expanse downwards. There were two doors, one straight ahead and on to the right. On the right-hand door, there was a sheet of notebook paper with the words 'Sora's Room' written out and a drawing of a smiley face with overly exaggerated spiky hair and a pleasant grin. He supposed that it was a caricature of him.

"Now to your grand suite," said his uncle and started a drumming sound as he slowly turned the knob.

'Okay, this man really needed some kind of suppressants or something. He was bouncing off of the walls.' The nephew thought as he raised an eyebrow at the spectacle.

It was glorious. The room was illuminated by silver light from the window as he walked in in total awe. It truly was a suite with a simple full sized bed in the corner with a white canopy hanging from overhead. A good sized bookshelf sat to the left of a computer table with his very own computer with a island paradise screensaver probably put on just for him. Then, in the other half of the room was a small handcrafted wooden coffee table with blue seating pillows arranged neatly all around it. A refurbished blue plaid loveseat was then behind the pillows and a standard black television sat in front of the arrangement, the perfect entertainment oasis.

Zack grinned proudly as he saw his previously depressing nephew walk around the room with glittering eyes, if he could put it any cheesier. Yep, one thing done successfully, now to get him to school.


Sora was unpacking as he saw something peculiar. It was a small red velvet box with a long black ribbon tied into a perfect bow. Riku's gift to him. He had given it to him as he watched him board the plane.

"Don't open it until you get there okay? Promise me," said the older boy with serious eyes. Sora raised an eyebrow at his seriousness.

"Okay Riku. I promise," he said nervously. Was it a bomb? Maybe a random confession of love? God nothing like that. It would be too… he didn't know, it just didn't feel right with Riku, too hard to even imagine it. First of all, Riku was a man, just like him, so it would be way too weird. Sora loved the softness of a woman's skin and curves than a more smooth and muscular body like Riku had.

'Smooth and ….? What? And I'm talking about Riku here? That was random,' he thought as he landed himself on the bed. 'Its not like Riku has a bad body, I mean most men would give anything to be blessed like he was. I just can't think of enjoying as much as I would enjoy someone as well as any other woman who comes along.' The thing that really prevented him from any serious consideration of Riku was that he was his best friend. They were too close already to try to start anything like that. Ignoring the creepiness it would have, Riku was like a twin brother to him and he wasn't considering incest anytime soon.

He rolled over to his side and looked at the small red box still resting in his hand. Should he open it? It couldn't be anything too bad. He shouldn't think anything too deep into it, after all, Riku was just like his father, too nervous to show his real emotions so he almost always put up a serious front.

'Come on, its Riku Sora! What's the worse that it could be? 'I hate your guts and I wish you did die you coward?'' he chuckled as he pulled open the string, letting it fall to the comforter. He was about to open it when his uncle suddenly burst in.

"Guess what?" he yelled, panting from the obvious running he had done. What he was in a rush for, he never knew. It wasn't like there was anything special that should be happening today anyway. Were all people of Midgard this weird or was he an endangered species?

"I don't know, the sky's falling Chicken Little?" he asked sarcastically, sitting up from his position and resting the box on the counter. 'This will have to wait until later I guess.'

Zack stood up straight and ran his fingers through his hedgehog hair in a debonair fashion with a smirk. "The great and sexy Zack is to take you to your first day of class. Suit up."

"First day of class? I've only been here since yesterday! How the hell was I supposed to know about this?" he said as he sat up quickly, angry to no end. He should have studied, or taken a quick tour before he left, or something. The only thing he knew was that this school better be a hell of a good one or else he would be thoroughly pissed.

"Don't worry. I mean, I know I should have told you yesterday but you looked so happy to check for you favorite stations on the television that I thought it would be tragic to bring you any form of bad news." Zack was bad at persuasion. If he was on the edge of a building at this moment, he would jump off happily with middle finger in the air.

"Well what's the name of the school anyway? Where is it?" he asked as he pulled off his sleeping shirt and tossed it on his bed. Zack casually walked in and placed a garment bag across Sora's computer chair. The young boy eyed it suspiciously.

"Its Midgard Academy, right across the view right there is the back of the school. Its pretty nice, I went there myself, so did Vince," said Zack as he unzipped the long bag to reveal…

"Wait! Hold up! You didn't tell me this is a military school?" said Sora as he jumped. Now he definitely knew that his mother didn't love him anymore. They went and recruited him into a military school, probably for troubled teens and the sort. Well, maybe it was the pills.

"Huh? Oh! Not its not! Its just that, well…" His uncle paused and scratched his head, trying to figure out a better way to put it. In a sense, it was a military school, where most of the students there were from high class SOLDIER families and such or wanted to enter the military right after high school in a higher position.

"Nope! I'm not going to crawl under a tarp all day long," said the teen as he sat down on the bed. Was his mom really gonna hear it from him. A military school? Sora could barely stand up for himself than go into the military. He'd get trampled, or raped, or whatever else he saw in those documentaries in history class. He didn't care what anyone said, they just had to be true if someone could make it so plausible.

"Its just a private school basically. Only since there are military families that live here, it took a military turn. I mean look at what's around us Sora, it a friggin' military base, this whole sector. So obviously it will take that kind of a spin," said Zack flustered. Sometimes, no matter how debonair he may seem, he still would become tripped up in his words when he really wanted to get his point across. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "You'll enjoy it, trust me. I went there remember? See how I turned out?"

"Yeah, exactly why I don't wanna go," scoffed Sora.

"Just wear the uniform, it shouldn't be that much different from uniforms on TV. You don't have to wear the blazer though, its kind of hot today." His uncle then walked out and closed the door.

Sora just stood there looking into the bag as if it was a body bag and he had to identify the loved one inside. It can't hurt to try it out I guess right? I mean after all, it's just a private school. These were questions that ran though his mind as he sighed and pulled the white button-down shirt off of the hanger. It was crisp and new, with the faint smell of soft lemony detergent. Slipping it on, he looked to the full length mirror next to his dresser and gazed at himself. He was halfway there with his shirt left open at three buttons on the top. His extremely worn out jeans still remained on with one tanned toe wiggling out of his sock.

"This is going to be a big change," he said and then pulled on the pants. They wereblack and actually really nice feeling, it must have been a really good quality pair because he for once felt comfortable in pants like these. He then slipped out the ugliest webbed belt he had ever seen. Truly ugly. 'Whoever had come up with the idea of the webbed belt being fashionable enough to sell in bulk should be shot,' he thought as he slipped it on. However, he decided to take that comment back because he had well known that anything he said blatantly was stupid ended up being deemed the hottest item in magazines and then the whole damn school would wear them. Like bangles and guys wearing pink.

Just for a laugh, he decided to put on theblack blazer. That was the most awesome part of the uniform. First of all, it was a little too big for him and a bit heavy too, that was awesome. Then, it had a thick piece of coat fabric that was securely buttoned on each side of the shoulders. Epaulets he believed the word was. Then, it had the same type of 'ornamental thingies' as he had now dubbed them, on each sleeve. And on the front of the coat on the left side was the seal of the school. It was pretty simple gold colored shield with a triad in the middle of red green and blue. The top of the shield had a gold crown.

"Pretty cool. I wonder if I could customize this," he thought as he stood in front of the mirror. Now he truly looked the part, like the prized son of a family in SOLDIER. Making a sloppy impression of a salute, he laughed and took off the coat, laying it across the computer chair. Then he faced his biggest challenge, the tie. How people could so casually do such things, he never knew, for Riku was so excellent at doing them that sometimes he would just tie up shoestrings like that as a habit. How would he think of him now, not even two full days out of the islands but already changing so much? Would he be able to just fit in like he always did or would he need to take time to adjust?

During his short day dream, Zack had come in with some sort of processed drink. "What the hell are you doing, having a wet dream? You're going to be late! Hurry up!" he yelled at the shock that he took thirty minutes to put on only his shirt, pants, and the godforsaken thing called a belt that not even Sora's father Cloud wore, as much of a stiff as he was.

Sora blinked and rushed to his newly organized closet. Rushing through his small collection of shoes, he finally found a pair of white sneakers to wear with it all. Having to reluctantly retire his lucky yellow pump-ups. Having already done his grooming ritual, Sora just ran a quick hand through his messy hair, bringing it back to its previous state of dishevelment.

"Here, drink this while I put your damn tie on," said the now pissed off man as he gabbed the black tie from the floor. Doesn't this kid know how to handle good ties? They don't grow on trees, contrary to common belief. Sora sipped up the yellow orange drink up hesitantly and screwed up his face a little. It had the taste of coffee with mushrooms and refried beans all mixed up into one.

"What the hell is this stuff?" exclaimed the now oh-so sickened one. Zack just grinned and finished the ties before walking away to a safe distance. As he walked out of the room, he said over his shoulder, "Three week old coffee in the fridge, maybe that'll help you remember to get ready faster."


"That bastard, that bastard, that bastardly son of a bitch," cursed Sora as he walked down the long walkway to school alone. To his comfort huh after he had successfully held in the remaining good part of his breakfast from Zack's earlier prank and the terror filled ride there. Yes, the man was a lot better at his driving when on a motorcycle and that awesome fury of metal was big, but red didn't necessarily mean dash as fast as you can through incoming traffic!

He sighed and looked up to the building. It was more like a manor really, the front hall. It was white and glass windows revealed many other teens looking a lot like himself walking around the glass and white filled halls inside, casually leaning back and talking or probably trying to remember what they had exactly crammed last night for their big test today. They looked pretty normal but still had the air that their parents could possibly afford to have them go to the school comfortably and that they themselves had houses so grand that they were very much accustomed to this impression of greatness.

A strong hand grasped his shoulder, making him spin around confusedly. In front of him was a slightly taller man of leaner build, staring at him intensely. After his inspection he shrugged and walked away from him as if he had been a bee, checking out the intruder before returning to the hive.

"The hell? Hey wait!" he yelled as he jogged up next to him. Sora looked at him now even more confused than before, wondering who the hell this guy thought he was to just walk up and stare at him like he owed him money. The teen simply looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey." Hey? HEY! He fucking invades his privacy and the only thing he comes up with is hey? What the hell? Sora then glared and walked away.

"Fucking bitch," he muttered as he stormed off to the main building. Though his day started out pretty…well, horrible, he was determined that luck was going to be on his side. 'I'm gonna have a damn good day or I swear to God, someone's going down!'


After his bout of acting out of character, Sora finally landed in his seat. The list of classes was surprisingly normal. He thought he would be taking courses like The History of Defensive Military Tactics or Combat Strategics 101 but he stubbornly was beginning to learn that not all military schools are the same and not all things in movies are real though they say 'inspired by a true story' in the trailers.

The students were all talking, leaning against their desks and dishing out the latest news. Not knowing what to do, he simply sat in his seat, waiting for the teacher to begin class. The grizzly and older man sat behind the teacher's desk, mud hardened boots resting casually on the once clean surface as he leaned back in his chair and read some kind of mechanical manual. It seemed to be for some kind of four wheel vehicle. He then pulled out the neat toothpick from his thin chapped lips and gave out a sigh which came out more like a drowsy bear's groan.

"Take your seats!" he said in a conversational tone. Sora raised an eyebrow. How did he expect to get anyone's attention when he himself could barely hear him through the incessant chatter?

However, at the small command, all of the students then cut their conversations and moved quickly to their seats, not in a panic, but in a respectable fashion.

'Do they whip these kids or what?' the teen thought as he sighed and sat up, trying to give a good impression. 'Remember, I can be who I want and no one has to know how I used to be.'

The teacher stood up and tossed the newspaper behind him before clearing his throat. "Mornin' class," he said tiredly. He looked as if he had recovered from some kind of hangover, his face unshaven.

"Good Morning Cid," said the students in a chiming manner. They called the teachers by their first names too? Now that took the cake. This might actually be a very good school.

"Now, there's a new kid here. So lets just do some kind of a quick intro and get back to business," he said, scratching his blond head. Sora looked around uneasily. He didn't know whether to stand up and start or wait until he had been officially called upon. Deciding the safer and less embarrassing option, he did the latter.

Cid scanned the rows of the classroom for the new kid and, after finding a rather new face in an isolated section of the desks, he nodded his head over in his direction. "Hey you, you're up."

"Oh, okay," said Sora as he tried to shake away his nervousness when a sudden shift of heads turned to peer at him as well. 'This whole damn school has a serious staring problem,' he thought as he shifted himself out of his seat and stood up next to it. "Um, in the front of the class sir?" he asked.

"Well you said it first."

After making his way successfully to the front of the teacher's desk, he began his spiel. "Well, my name is Sora Strife. I'm obviously 17 years old, and I just moved here yesterday from Destiny Islands way out on the coast. Its really nice there so you should check it out."

"What's your favorite movie?" yelled one of the girls from the back rows. He scratched his head in thought as he looked to the floor.

"Uh… X/1999."

"What's your favorite sport?" asked one of the bigger guys from the left side of the class.

"Oh, its definitely blitzball. My friend Tidus got me into it. Its really awesome and a big event where I come from."

"What's your type of girlfriend?" asked another girl. Girlfriend…

Sora got quiet as he remembered the screeching of the tires on the slick pavement roads and the blur of the windows from the monsoons. He had a girlfriend, the best one in the world, but she was now gone.

Cid noticed the silence and pat the boy on the back. "Okay kid, nice intro. Go sit right between those two over there," he said as he pointed to an empty seat in the middle of the class. Sora simply nodded and sat down. He then laid out the plan for the rest of the day. Make it through the first day and then quit school while he was ahead.


It was lunch time and his now tired eyes lit up. The cafeteria was like a small gourmet diner. There was a section for sandwiches of all types and shapes, with the soups and salads next to it. Then there was a pizzeria stand and they cooked the pizza for you while you stood there. To the side was an Asian cuisine section with fresh sushi platters and broccoli and chicken rice bowls.

'Food! Okay, this school is still pretty cool,' he thought as he looked to see what he wanted first. And the best part was that lunch was an hour long, instead of the fun but crummy half an hour it was back home. This meant he could spend time hanging out with friends, playing games like basketball or something, and get tutoring if he needed it.

Following his gut he decided to go after the one thing he felt the craving for, sushi. He'd always loved sushi since the day when Sephiroth had surprised Riku and him after school by taking them to a really posh restaurant. The sushi there was to die for, and Sora loved each and every piece. Getting in line, Sora looked at the menu. Some of the things he didn't know but there was one thing he liked.

"Spicy crab please," he ordered and watched as the man nodded and gathered the morsels into a Styrofoam bento. He was definitely going to like this. A girl next to her giggled and smiled shyly.

"That's my favorite too," she said as she received her order of salmon over steamed rice. She had the features of a doll, nicely tanned with tiny but plump lips pursed into a cute little smile. Her long and straight black hair was swept back and tied into a knot with an ornamental pin through it. She reminded him of the native girls on the islands that loved to bathe themselves in the warmth of the sun and place tropical flowers all through their hair. They had seemed so beautiful and mystical that Sora never had the guts to even go up to them to say a friendly hello.

"Oh, uh… really?" he asked as he stood gawking at her beauty. She smiled and moved her way down the line, Sora eagerly following behind. Placing in their pin numbers into the machine, they checked out their food and walked out to the mass of tables.

"Would you like to sit with me?" she asked.

"Oh , sure. That would be great."

She walked out to a table in the corner and sat down. It was a considerably less noisy part of the cafeteria but the whole room seemed to be booming with activity. The girl smiled and held out her hand.

"My name is Shell Bastion. Pleased to meet you." Her voice was heavenly, like an angels harp plucked just at the right key. He blushed and took her hand in a handshake, grinning as well.

"I'm Sora Strife. Nice to meet you too."

"Oh, you're the new guy huh?" she asked, her bright orange eyes glittering in excitement.

"Yeah. Is it that obvious?"

"Well, you don't act like the other guys here. You're very laid back, a real type of person you know?" she asked. Laid back? Did she think that he was a bum, some kind of lowlife that really shouldn't be here at all. And how the hell did his mother randomly have that butt load of gil to be able to get him into this school in the first place? That was totally off topic.

"Is that bad?" he asked, lowering his eyes a little bit. He really felt the need to escape right then. Sora was just another guy, not rich with boats for their pet cats, he just had enough money to buy a pair of jeans with island prices. Who knows how much the prices here were.

"Oh no, not at all! Its just that guys here are just so, fake. They really don't act like who they are deep down here. They have to follow rules and live up to the ideas of what their parents want out of them," she said matter-of-factly. Shell sipped her tea as Sora gave an inner sigh of relief. He had a chance with her, at least to be friends. He really needed friends right now since he lacked in that department recently.

They talked for a few minutes about various things, where he came from, the fun things in Sector 3, and what teachers were good and who weren't. Apparently, her father was Professor Ansem Bastion of psychology and field research. Supposedly, he was really tough on his students and even tougher on the ones he liked. Fortunately for Sora, that class wasn't supposed to be in his schedule until next semester, plenty of time to get used to the idea of it. He sighed in relief.

"He's really nice if you get to know him. But he really doesn't like me having any boyfriends so you better watch out. He might go after you if you get too close," she said with a playful giggle. Get after me? What the hell was she talking about? Maybe this might take a little time to work out. All of these things went through his head as he sat and finished up his plate.


The rest of the day went pretty good, Sora happened to be able to get Shell's number and was intent on calling her when he got home. It was his last class of the day, Elite Literature. The teacher was a beautiful woman with long red hair in curls and a pair of thin rimmed glasses on her nose.

"Today class, we have a new student here. Please stand up Sora," she said as she seated herself in her chair. Sora sighed and walked up to the front of the classroom, it seemed like his fifteenth introduction today in class and he felt sick of being himself now.

"Well, you have probably heard my intros before so I'll keep this short. The name's Sora and I come from Destiny Islands. I love blitzball, hate soccer so don't ever ask me to play it. My favorite movie is X/1999 and I've never seen Beaches, never have and never will. I don't have a girlfriend and I don't intend on having a boyfriend at all, so don't ask. And I don't say dude and surf, so there. That's me."

The class just sat there silent, trying to digest his whole rant about everything in the world. The teacher blinked in confusion and clapped awkwardly. "Yes, very good dear. Now, just sit right there next to Rai," she said, pointing to one of the desks in the middle right. He retrieved his messenger bag and made his way over to what he assumed to be his desk and stood in horror.

Right in front of him was the bastard that had the nerve to inspect him on his way to school that day. He shot a glance back to the teacher and whimpered, "Where do you want me to sit again?"

She looked up from the agenda she had planned out the day before for class and frowned a little. "Right in front of you next to Rai. Rai, raise your hand."

The smug termite of a teen slowly did as he was told, looking Sora right in the eyes while doing so. The other classmates laughed at the minuscule spectacle. 'This bitch…' he thought spitefully as he sat down in his now assigned seat next to the devil. Lucky this was the last class of the day because if it wasn't, the poor teen would might as well explode.

"I see you remember me." It spoke! The slimy little bastard spoke! A feeling of stiffness came over Sora as he mechanically turned his head to give this Rai person an evil glare.

"I'd remember Satan if I saw him," he spat and went back to waiting for the teacher to start her damn lecture. 'Hurry up you chunky cow! Move it!'

"Sorry about the mix up this morning. I thought you were someone else."

"Someone else? Who the hell else could I be? And why not even a damn apology? I mean its not that hard to say 'Oops, my bad!'" ranted Sora, face reddening in anger. One thing that Sora didn't and never did like was someone trying to dominate him. He hated it with a passion. It was as if the other person didn't have an inch of human compassion to realize that he was a human being too, filled with emotions, hopes, thoughts, and a flurry of fists ready to kick their asses. He now felt in this situation.

The bastard grinned and pats him on the back. "Well, oops my bad. Better?" he asked. Now he was mocking him. Who the hell did he think he was? Like he owned the place?

"Fuck you," he muttered before going back to his failed attempt of avoidance. The students behind them simply laughed as Sora made a complete fool out of himself. Sure, Rai had won the battle but Sora Strife would definitely win the war.


"Over here little nephew!" yelled Zack at the front of the school. He sat proudly on his purring beastly motorcycle, causing the attention of a few classmates. The girls all squealed about how 'hot' his uncle was and how much they wanted to ride the monstrous bike. If they had only known of the terror involved in riding with a driver such as himself.

Sora smiled uneasily and waved a reluctant hand over to him as he walked down the steps. As he walked down, he saw the devil yet again. The taller boy leaned against the light post that rested next to the steps, his arms crossed in waiting, mouth in his constant grin. 'Stupid bitch.'

"Hey Sora," he said as walked towards him. Rai then descended the steps with him, much to Sora's dislike.

"What would you want?" asked the irritated one.

"I don't know, I just thought that maybe you might not know Midgard that well and maybe you wouldn't mind if I showed you around a little later tonight."

"Why the hell would I want to do that?" asked Sora as he stopped his descent, eying him suspiciously. The teen wasn't that shady looking. His hair was a jet black in a silky and choppy long cut that rested on his shoulders. He had a small patch of blue streaks that was dyed in to give him a more untamed and wild edge. His eyes were the most intense brown he'd ever seen. Their shape showed his obvious Asian heritage but the color of his eyes was unusual for that lineage, a soft and light warm brown that hinted to the fact that he was indeed of a mixed parentage.

"I just have nothing to do and I thought 'hey Kisaragi, maybe you should help the poor guy out. Without you, he's not gonna have a life for sure.' So I thought why not?" he explained in a humorous manner. he explained in a humorous manner. The guy was hilarious but he had better things to do that evening, like call up Shell.

Guessing his answer would be that he was busy, he pulled out a pen and grabbed his hand. "Well, if you end up having free time tonight, call me at this number and I'll pick you up myself." With that, he scribbled out his number on the boy's arm. "Think about it okay? Bye."

Sora stood there confusedly. 'What the hell was that? At first that guy was a total asshole to me and now he acts like he wants to be my friend? This has been one big day.' As he made his way to the motorcycle, he saw his uncle now grinning at him. What the hell is it with these people, is it infectious or something? He sighed and hopped on the bike behind him.

"So Sora, who was that?" asked his uncle, revving up the engine. Sora simply grabbed onto his waist and sighed.

"Just some asshole I met at school."

"Well, it seems like he might have an interest in you my cute little nephew," he said. Zack started the bike and they zoomed off towards the condo. What did he mean 'he might have an interest in you?' Its not like he openly hit on me or anything. Maybe his uncle was getting a little too bored at home since he had his week off from duty. They managed to only piss off a few drivers before they made it into the garage of the small complex.

Zack took the chains from the ground and tied them securely around his bike in an archaic fashion. Forget the new little anti-theft devices, this one worked in all situations. No thief would go through so much trouble as to saw through and cut so many thick chains to get to his customized and otherwise not so valuable motorcycle.

Sora on the other hand rolled up his sleeve and looked to see what the demon actually did write. A telephone number was messily scrawled out along the span of his arm and a few hearts were drawn in the corner with the words 'call me' written between them. He blinked in confusion. 'Man, I must have spaced out. I didn't realize her wrote that on me,' he thought as he shoved his sleeve back up. No way was he going to let his uncle see it, he would die laughing and he would probably never hear the end of it.

They rode the elevator up and walked into the condo. Sora walked into his room and tossed his bag into the chair and loosened up his tie. Today was a long day and he would need a rest, a long one. Reaching through his bag, he found the small piece of notebook paper and walked into the hallway. Picking up the cordless, he went back into his room to lay down.

'Should I call her? I mean, would she even be home right now? Maybe we could watch a movie or something.,' he thought as he looked up at the paper he held above his head in contemplation. Deciding to call, he took a deep breath and dialed the number. It rang shortly until it was answered by a deep and sensual masculine voice.

"Hello, this is Ansem Bastion."

Holy crap! This was her overly protective father picking up the phone. If he knew he was some guy wanting to date his daughter, he would have his ass kicked, if not killed. Sora nervously gulped and searched in his dry mouth for the words he desperately needed.

"Um… this is Sora. I was new to the school and uh… is Shell there?" he asked sheepishly. Great first impression. Before he decided to simply give up and say goodbye, he heard the chiming voice of an angel.

"Hello? This is Shell." Thank God and everything that was or could possibly be holy! He didn't get grilled by the seemingly evil father of hers even though he had never met him anyway. He smiled and almost jumped for joy.

"Hey, its me Sora! How are you?"

"Oh, hi Sora! I'm fine, and you?"

The giddy little boy smiled and practically hugged himself in happiness. 'I like meaningless conversations, they have so much… meaning to them,' he thought as he rolled over to his side.

"Oh, I'm great now. Your dad is kind of intimidating you know."

"Oh yeah," she sighed. "But its because he cares. You know how parents are," she said with a slightly annoyed voice.

"Yeah, sometimes they do do the right thing though," he joked, earning a good laugh from the girl.

"So, how are you liking Sector 3. You're from Destiny Islands right? It must be a big adjustment now. Have you been able to go around yet?" she asked curiously. Sora unconsciously scratched the back of his head and chuckled a little. He had only been there for two days and still hadn't had a tour yet. It was pretty sad really.

"Well, not really. I did have that one Rai guy want to take me around but I don't know. I'd rather stay home," he replied. That guy was a mystery in himself. One part bastard and one part an interesting guy. Still, he didn't feel right about him.

"Oh! You know Rai Kisaragi? Really?" She seemed almost eerily excited about that. Who was this guy?

"Why? Is he someone special or anything?"

"You don't know who he is?" she said in shock. Now Sora was really clueless.

"Is he some kind of celebrity or something?"

"Rai Kisaragi is a genius! And really cool at that." Rai? A genius? That annoying little asshole, a GENIUS?

"So you're telling me that that annoying moron is a genius?" That was a shocker. How could he have half of a brain with the way he acted. It was almost a shock to him how he actually had the capacity to walk. He remembered in class how the youth just laid his head down and soon began to softly snore during an important lecture. That was after his constant doodling all over the massively wrinkled notebook he had.

"You don't know? Well of course not, it was only your first day anyway. Rai Kisaragi is currently taking senior and college elite classes, the hardest ones to get into and pass, and is only a junior! Cid from mechanics met him when he was working at a secondhand hardware store and called my father to check him out. When my father saw how brilliant he was, he made a few calls and had him immediately sent to this school on a scholarship, all free for whatever he wanted as long as he would join SOLDIER when he graduated. He's totally brilliant!" she said dreamily.

So Rai was a genius. He still was a jerk. And it seemed as if Shell had a crush on him too. That was strike two in his books. The arrogant ass.

"Well, he's still a jerk."

"A jerk? No one's a jerk if he asks to help you get acquainted with Sector 3. It's a pretty huge sector you know, all of them are."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, can I come with you?" Sora blinked for a moment. She wanted to go… with him?

"Well, I uh… I wasn't thinking of actually going. I thought I'd rather just relax tonight. Do some homework."

"Come on Sora! I wanna go! They say he likes to frequent some really cool parties and I really would like to see how it's like. Please?" she begged. Sora frowned. He had to give in to that little prick if he ever wanted to get close with Shell, that was for sure. Well, not really, just for his predicament at the moment and that he was never used to having to attract someone on his own, Riku always helped him with that.

"Sure… I'll call him right now," he said, earning a squeal from the girl of his dreams. She said her excited goodbyes and hung up the phone.


Fate was smiling down at Sora at this time. It truly was a comical decision, he had fallen into the classic male dilemma. It was simple, guy likes girl, guy hates guy, guy must be nice to guy to get girl to like him, girl might end up liking other guy with original guy falling down flat, both laugh at guy.

"Hello?" asked a rather sleepy sounding male voice. The boy must have obviously been in the middle of a nap.

"Hi… this is Sora."

"Sora?" he asked, pausing for a moment that could be presumed as thought. "Sora… Sora… Oh yeah! I know, the newbie. Yeah. What's up?"

'Newbie? What kind of a dumb nickname was that?' the boy thought as he bit his lip on the other side of the phone. This was going to be some serious sucking up pride, or something. He really didn't feel like doing this anymore. But somehow his body kept forcing him to talk until the point where he said that he accepted the invitation for a tour.

"Oh really?" said Rai huskily with the sound of movement shortly afterward, probably him rolling to his side. The sound of a long and loud yawn could be heard, then a sigh. "Sure then. I'll pick you up in an hour. But be appropriately dressed. There's a party tonight that I think you might like."

"Oh…" Sora started, biting his lip yet again. How was he going to tell him that Shell was going too? And saying it like he was the one who invited her and not herself.

"What? You don't like parties?"

"No, that's not it. It's just that I kind of invited my friend Shell to come along too."

The line quieted for a minute and then a tired groan. "Fine… I'll meet the both of you at the Kigan Statue in Sector 2 in one hour on the dot. Don't be late." He sounded angry when he said that, more annoyed than anything. Did he not like Shell or something? What was his problem with her anyway? Before Sora could ask these questions, the annoyed boy hung up the phone abruptly.

Shrugging it off for another time, Sora shortly called Shell and told her the news. Of course she was excited and got off of the phone right away to get ready. This left Sora alone for a while.

"What to wear? What to wear? Something cool right?" he thought aloud as he pulled open his still fairly barren dresser. There were a good amount of fairly decent shirts and jeans but nothing really seemed to scream out to him. Maybe he could wear the serpent one with the bright green graffiti on a midnight blue shirt. Or even the simple red button up one that Riku gave him for his birthday with a white cross with raven's wings on the collar. Yes, that would be more suitable. Taking that shirt, a pair of black jeans, and his appropriate undergarments, he took his shower and got dressed.

His uncle happened to walk by as Sora was combing his hair in the bathroom. He peeked in a curious head and then grinned.

"Your first day and you already have a date? You work quick," said the sable human hedgehog, laughing a little. Sora simply glared in a childlike manner and pouted.

"Shut up! Its not a date. A friend of mine offered to take me around to get me acquainted with Midgard and there's a party we're gonna go to on the way," he said as he returned to fixing his hair to be just right. Zack left and came back with a long black silk tie. Without a word, he promptly spun Sora to face him and began to tie it on him.

"This'll make it look a whole lot better. Geesh, glad you're not my kid. At least someone should have showed you how to dress," said Zack as he made the final adjustments. It did look better, he looked dark, demanding attention and respect, something that Sora seriously lacked in both departments.

Sora smiled as Zack gave the thumbs up. No matter how much of an annoyingly bad driver he was and how moody he could get, he still was a pretty cool uncle. Well, right now at least while he still was in the happiness that he looked particularly ravishing, not really knowing if it was good or bad.

It was a half an hour until he heard the doorbell ring. "I've got it Sora!" yelled his uncle as he casually strolled to the door. The young girl in a coral summer dress and white sweater smiled and wrung her hands nervously. This wasn't the young man he had seen his nephew with the other day. He was going on a "date" date? Zack eyed her confusedly and leaned against the doorway.

"May I help you?" he asked. She shifted her eyes nervously inside of the condo and then back at him.

'I must have come to the wrong door. What do I do now?' she thought nervously. She had two options, stand her ground, or run away scared at the behemoth standing threateningly in front of her.

"Shell! Hey!" called her savior. He was ecstatic to see her, beyond words. Maybe, he was a bit too giddy. But he batted his uncle away and stood in front of her with a big grin.

"Oh Sora! Let's go. My dad's car is out on the curb," she said happily as she linked arms with him and proceeded to gently drag him off. He blushed and looked back nervously to his uncle. Getting his message, Zack tossed Sora his cell and waved before closing the door.

'That girl is going to be a handful,' his uncle thought as he tossed himself onto the comfy leather couch and watched turned back to the Blitzball game.


The young brunette sat in the black luxury car. 'I didn't know that Shell's parents were that rich,' he thought as he leaned back into the blond leather seating. The aforementioned girl turned to him and tried to begin a conversation.

"I'm so nervous. I think this was a bad idea. I don't even know him," she said while wringing her hands. Well, it was a little late to figure that out. That was what the real Sora would have said. But this version was a lot weirder and more awkward.

"Don't worry about it anyway. I'll be with you right. And worse comes to worse, I'll just take you somewhere else and we could watch a movie or something," he said while biting back a blush.

"But you don't know where the movies are. That is the reason you are on a tour anyway," she said with a giggle. He blinked and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oh yeah huh?" he said stupidly. "By the way Shell, how far away is Sector 2?"

"Well, from where we started, its about a half an hour drive in good traffic crossing. The Sectors are pretty big, the whole of Midgar used to be eight separate villages you know."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Then ShinRa came and built over it, making it the Midgard of today."

They continued chatting until they had finally made it to the Kigan Statue. It was huge, a bronze figure of a tall woman with a book in one hand and a torch in the other. Her short hair rested in curls to her chin, gentle eyes gazing outward over her book which was titled 'Amore.'

A slightly taller young man leaned against the base of the statue, gazing in its same direction. His shoulder length jet black hair was tied back, a few stray bangs brushing against his face. He looked to be contemplating something deep, something complex and mysterious. But with Sora's strongly held notion that he was still a 'devilish tard,' it seemed very unlikely to him.

"Hey!" called Shell as she waved her hands enthusiastically. The asian youth looked up to their direction and waved slowly, seeming to still be in his thinking state. They lightly jogged across the cobblestone street to him. Sora eyed his appearance.

"What's up with the eight balls?" he asked, gesturing to Rai's attire. He had been wearing a long-sleeved softball tee with black sleeves and an eight ball design with the words 'Lucky Eight' on it. Also, from the mass of chains hanging from the left side of his jeans was a miniature replica of the ever so cliché magic eight ball. Rai looked at himself and laughed a little.

"Well, they are my favorite things. It actually works too. Isn't that cool?" said Kisaragi, taking the small ball and shaking it, making a quick and silent wish. The oddly cut shape floating in the sphere of blue liquid turned to tell his answer. "Outlook not so good? What the hell is that?"

"What did you wish for?" asked the coral covered girl. Rai simply shrugged and threw his arms behind his head.

"Nothing really. Lets go everyone."

"Wait. But aren't we going to see Sector 3 too?" asked Sora. They had left the third sector and now he was even more completely lost. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. But Shell was so cute, hew couldn't resist. The other boy looked to him with an eyebrow raised and grinned.

"That, my friend, I'll show you later. Tonight is a party!"


A/N: Hey, I had to stop the chapter abruptly here. Hope you like it. I know, its long. But the next chapter will be even better. I know, this story is starting off slow, but it will pick up soon, I promise. And feel free to review and even recommend any changes. I like those! Well, hope you enjoyed this. See you soon!