Authors Note: Hello, all. Sorry that this is a bit later than usual... I could use the excuse that I was too busy getting the sixth Harry Potter book to update... but I feel that that's an invalid excuse seeing as how I'm not going to read it right away. But it's pretty in a very green way. I like green, aside from yellow it's my favorite color :)
Thank you for your wonderful reviews: SatoDai Fan (I'm trying with the Riku/Sora but it just refuses to happen! Grrrr...), Casey (I don't really mind telemarketers that much, they're only doing their job...), Queen of the Insects (they never sleep O.O), kana (down with Kairi! This fic isn't as Kairi hating as my first fic, though), Jaguira (whatever was under Sora's bed is for you to decide... it wasn't the boogie-man, though. I can tell you that much), OK-kun (I think that evil pervy Riku is cool, too), Lack Thereof (I'm glad that you liked the last chapter :) and it looks as though more people were looking forward to the banquet than I thought), Aeshma-Daeva (dark lord of darkness... It probably would be fun...), rogue solus (I'm glad that you like it!), Cacao Me (No, thank you! Comments brighten up my mood as well).
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, but I own the story, so read and enjoy but please do not take.
Summary: One day a man in a wet shirt and leather pants shows up on Sora's doorstep. So, Sora gets a roommate, a young artist named Riku who turns out to be the most charming person he has ever met. So charming, infact, that he proceeds to charm the clothes right off of all of Sora's friends. But that's okay, because Sora doesn't know. Yet.
The door was opened by a young man wearing a square hat. The young man winked at Riku, who pretended that he had failed to notice. He had ended things with the doorman months ago, and yet the doorman still persisted.
They walked into a grand ballroom full of beautifully dressed people.
"Well, isn't this... lovely?" said Aeris. It wasn't lovely, but lovely was the only word in her vocabulary that even marginally fit the occasion. The more accurate word would have been awesome, in the original sense, meaning inspiring awe.
Sora inhaled deeply. Kairi smiled. Tidus looked around in wonder. Wakka scratched his nose, and Cloud raised an eyebrow. Riku shrugged. "Here it is," he said.
A pretty girl in a yellow dress rushed up to them. "Riku! Where have you been? I missed you...!" She threw her arms around him.
Riku looked marginally uncomfortable. "Well... everyone. This is Selphie, my girlfriend."
"And don't you forget it, Riku, dear!" she exclaimed before giving him a quick kiss. "Riku, who are your friends?" she asked a moment later.
Riku put a hand on Sora's shoulder and pushed him forward a bit. "This is Sora, my roommate."
"Your roommate!" Selphie smiled and shook Sora's hand energetically. "But how can you stand him walking around naked all the time? When I lived with him, I just couldn't stand it, so I bought him some clothes-"
"Which is why I moved out," interrupted Riku. "Okay, moving on," he said before Selphie could start talking again. He motioned towards Kairi, "this is Sora's girlfriend, Kairi."
"Wow!" said Selphie, "you're pretty! If you weren't Sora's girlfriend, Riku would be all over you!"
Kairi laughed nervously. "Yeah... heh heh...I guess."
"And who's this? You're cute!" Selphie leaned in towards Tidus. Riku took her by the elbow and pulled her back.
"You don't stand a chance, love. This is Tidus, the red head next to him is Wakka." Riku stopped. "They're both gay. Together," he whispered into her ear.
"It's alright," Selphie grinned, "you were gay when I met you..."
"Not quite... I was pretending to be gay so that you would leave me alone."
"No!"
"Yes... you were very annoying back then..." A normal person would react to such a statement by furrowing their brows, getting really angry, and/or slapping the person who had the audacity to issue the statement. Selphie reacted by grinning and nudging Riku in the side.
"Yeah, yeah. Now who are these lovely people that you have neglected to introduce?"
Riku glanced up. "Those are Sora's parents, Cloud Strife and Aeris Gainsborough-Strife."
Selphie let her smile slip for a moment. "Oh... Hello!"
Selphie paused. She leaned towards Riku and whispered, "Riku... your father's not going to be happy that he," she nodded in Cloud's direction, "is here... What were you thinking when you brought him here?"
"Only of a good show, my dear."
Selphie looked up. "I'm sorry, but I have to go and see that the chef is finished with the... drinks..." Selphie smiled apologetically before rushing off back the way she came.
"You walk around naked all the time?" asked Wakka after a moment. Tidus elbowed him in the stomach, as sign that, to Riku, meant that he didn't have to answer.
"Well..." said Riku with an odd smile on his face. "I think I'd better go... help... her..." He looked at them. "I'm sure that you all will be fine without me," and then he turned and strolled after his cheerful girlfriend.
"Hey, Tidus, let's go get us some punch, ya?" asked Wakka and the two of them walked off. Wakka didn't actually know where the punch bowl was and even if there actually was a punch bowl. Judging by the signs, more specifically the fact that no one had punch, there wasn't one. However, Wakka thought that going on a legendary quest to search for the punch bowl would be much more entertaining than milling around in the entrance hall.
Kairi took Sora's arm. "Sora! Let's go mingle with rich people!" she said and dragged him off. She didn't notice that he was looking a bit green. "Rich people, Sora! I've always dreamed about an opportunity like this!"
Sora let himself be led away. He looked back at his parents. "Well... you have fun, mom, dad..."
"You too, dear," said Aeris with a beaming smile.
Cloud didn't notice, he was deep in thought. And then he flinched "Damn it!"
"What's wrong, honey?" asked Aeris with concern.
"I just figured it out! I can not believe that I didn't realize this before! The hair should have given it away the moment I saw him... and the mansion!"
"What are you talking about?" asked Aeris.
"I know who Riku's father is! I can't believe that we're here in his home!" Cloud slapped his forehead. "Oh fuck!"
"Excuse me? Is that an instruction?" came a cool and controlled voice from behind them. They turned around to see that a tall silver-haired man was standing behind them. He was holding a glass of red wine in the elegant fingers of one hand, while the other rested on his hip.
Cloud narrowed his eyes. "Sephiroth." (1)
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Cloud. What a... surprise." He eyed them with disdain. "And Aeris. You're looking as lovely as ever." He smiled a thin lipped smile at her.
Aeris stepped back. "Oh no, Cloud has told me all about you. I'll not be falling for your tricks!" She turned to Cloud. "I'm going to go look for Sora, you'll be okay, won't you?" Cloud nodded and Aeris left in the same direction as her son.
"Wearing black again, I see." Said Cloud after his wife had walked away. "Who died this time?" Cloud smirked.
Sephiroth swirled the wine in his glass around. "Well, actually, my uncle Hojo passed away a week ago."
"Oh... I'm... sorry?" Cloud was feeling a bit lost. Apologizing to his worst enemy was new and strange territory to him.
Sephiroth snorted, in the most elegant way possible, of course, and took a sip of his wine. "Don't be ridiculous, you know I hated that lunatic."
"Oh... that's... terrible?"
"I suppose. His death is a terrible nuisance, at least."
Cloud grimaced. "How so?" he forced himself to ask.
"Well, now all of his little drug-addict buddies come to me for heroin. It is... tiresome to keep telling them that I do not happen to have any."
"Don't you?"
Sephiroth laughed. "Of course not! It's all in a warehouse downtown."
Cloud nodded. "I see, I see..." He reached behind himself inconspicuously and turned on a small tape recorder which he had a habit of keeping in his back pocked. "In which downtown warehouse are you keeping all of the heroin? Exactly?"
(1) It was really much more effective when the chapter ended here. However. If this chapter ends here, it will be far too short, and the next chapter far too long. This way it's just right. In a sort of "let's totally ditch effect and only care about length" way.
Author's Note: No, this isn't the end of the banquet! But it is close to the end of the fic, I just thought that I'd warn you guys...
Next Chapter: Where a lot of things happen at once