Summary: Donald's mischief is back on the prowl (literally) as the duck wizard decides to put his magic to use... for sheer, vengeful entertainment on Sora, of course! Goofy and Riku decide to step in, however, and make the most of Sora's "hairy" predicament...SoraxKairi

A/N: So much for a one-shot, or a "double-shot,' at that. Orginally, it was GOING to be two chapters, but, I'm just having too much fun with this, now!

But, I do my best not to go over five chapters!

Disclaimer: I WISH!

Muddling

Part II: Scaredy Cat Sora

As soon as the last lamp was doused of its enchanted, colorful flame, King Mickey Mouse puffed out a held in sigh as he fell back on the lawn.

Everyone in the castle was headed off to bed, just as he had announced in his instructions, leaving the King alone to recollect his thoughts. The day had gone exactly as he expected, only the regretful thhing was that he didn't even get a chance to speak with his Keyblade counterpart, Sora. Which seemed to happen more often then not whenever he wanted to meet the young boy.

Mickey hopped to his feet and aimlessly started walking about, trying to admire the flawless garden. Aside from his reign as King and his endless responsibilities as a Keyblade Master, he was quite bored with the usual expectation of things coming out as planned. Going from a lifestyle of constant vigilance to complete relaxation was not a good transition for him. With no news of any threat (yet) Mickey almost wished something would happen.

Pluto then randomly came running up to his master, and began nudging his hand.

"Aw, not now, boy." Mickey said quietly, trying to push the dog's head away. "Maybe in the morning-"

Pluto snorted, shaking its head, whimpering in a certain direction. Mickey knew his dog better then anyone else, and could understand him almost as much as a normal person speaking to directly to him.

"Hmm? What is it boy?" A flicker of excitement started. Finally, maybe something of interest to meddle himself in.

Pluto yipped, running around Mickey in a circle, then let his nose lead the way.

Late. Why was he late?

Kairi paced around the fountain, somewhat nervous, as she waited for him to show up. It was getting much too dark, for her taste. And though she would rather not admit, she did not like being in dark places for too long alone. She had tried to reason that maybe it was because of the fact that a Princess of Heart was a being of Light, and it was only natural for her to dislike Darkness, she couldn't help but think it was just another childhood fear that just clung to her throughout the years.

She would be easily startled by any noise beyond her reach, and even jump at invisible beings that seemed to be constantly watch her. Kairi whimpered to herself as she sat down on the fountain's edge, frantically rubbing her arms as if she would disappear if she stopped.

At first, the idea seemed so perfect and exciting for her. Sneaking out, alone, with her best friend. She wouldn't have minded so much if Sora had even brought Riku along, even though she only wanted it to be the two of them. After the event in the afternoon, which Kairi was almost kicking herself for being stupid enough to kiss him, she was almost shocked that Sora had taken it so well.

Better then "well," in fact.

It was almost impossible to separate the two of them for the next few hours, until the residents of Disney Castle had broken the two up, all wanting to meet up with them individually.

Sora did, however, manage to steal a moment with her and told her to meet her by the fountain after midnight.

So, if it was his idea...why was he not here?

Kairi knew Sora wasn't the type to break an engagement or promise, unless something extremely necessary prevented it from happening. However, that possibility seemed very unlikely, at least, with no hint of another need for a mission or quest of any sort.

Sora couldn't have forgotten, either. He was the one who suggested it, and that was just two hours ago. Kairi started to ponder his behavior. He seemed quiet energetic before dinner, but after, he was getting very tired at an alarming rate. Kairi, burying her hands in her face, came to one possible solution.

He didn't fall asleep, did he?

Twirling locks of hair between her fingers, Kairi knew how lazy the boy could be, especially when it came to falling asleep. She smiled bitterly, and stood up. Kairi nodded, finally setting a plan for herself. She would wait just a little longer, then would go check in his room.

For the past three hours; Daisy, Goofy and Riku had been searching through the Mage's Study Hall, trying to find a clue of what deed Donald may have committed. Riku had left quite a while ago to go and check on Sora, leaving the two of them to finish up.

Daisy, at first, thought it was a simple joke and had not a worry on her mind. However, the further they explained the situation to her, the more that thought dissolved. By the end of the explanation, she was extremely worried for Sora's well being, knowing exactly how Donald would react to the prank. As time went by, her worry melted away. Now, she was completely furious at him, vowing to the heavens that she would punish Donald for his acts.

Goofy and Riku almost felt sorry for Donald. Almost.

After squeezing out every detail out of Goofy and Riku, she seemed to know exactly what it was Donald was up to. A mountain of books, journals, notes and some rather absurd looking magical equipment, Daisy seemed to have found an answer.

Riku wasn't a moment too soon as he barged into the room.

"I couldn't find Sora anywhere. But," Riku paused, watching Daisy emerge from her seat at the table with a dangerous flare in her eyes. Riku gulped, and looked back at the welcoming door.

Daisy tapped her foot. "Well?"

Riku ran a hand through his hair as he finsihed his sentence. "I did find Donald."

"Where?" Goofy and Daisy said together.

"He seemed real anxious to get away," A smirk came to his lips as spoke. "Seems like his plan may have backfired. And," Riku reached in his pocket and held out his closed fist. "I found these after he," Riku forced a cough. "Left them behind."

Opening his hand, Goofy and Daisy leaned in to take a close look at the objects.

"What are they?" One of them said.

"I know what that is!" Goofy exclaimed, pointing at a glowing, golden shard. "Sora used these all the time! After the Good Fairies gave him his new duds, he would transform into all sorts of things with the help of these little guys." Riku nodded with interest, while Daisy further examined it.

"A Drive orb," Daisy said softly, then looking up at Riku. "Tell me, Riku. Was there anything else?"

"Yeah," Riku looked down and poked at the other object in his hand. "This."

Daisy picked it up, and held it close to her eye as she examined it. To Riku and Goofy, it looked like an old, broken tooth of some animal. Something in her mind must have clicked, because Daisy suddenly smiled.

"Donald never was good at potions, he always specialized in spells. He must have tried the "easy way" again, and used pure magic to compensate for his brewing skills."

Riku and Goofy exchanged looks. Daisy held up the Drive orb and the mysterious tooth. "These are two vital ingredients for a transforming potion. Now, any experienced wizard would only need to work with just these and apply other ingredients to make the formula work exactly how you want it to. But, that usually takes a few days-"

"I'm taking it that he wasn't going to wait that long." Riku said, catching on.

"He's ever the impatient one," Daisy sighed in a hopeless manner. Perking up, she continued. "Donald seems to have forgotten that if you don't allow your ingredients to settle, and if you draw their power out too soon, their effects will relate to the raw use of the materials."

"So, that means..." Goofy said, still struggling to understand.

"This is part of a Drive orb. As you explained, Goofy, Sora has used these with the magic enchanted in his garments to transform into multiple things. And this," She held up a tooth. "Is a broken fang of a some sort of feline. With the right steps and magic, together they can make whoever is on the butt end of this spell-"

"-Turn into a cat." Riku and Goofy said together, however, Goofy seemed to state it more like a question.

Daisy nodded happily. "All we have to do now, is find Sora and-"

"Wait," Riku said. "Donald wanted to turn Sora into a cat? What's so bad about that?"

Goofy and Daisy exchanged looks. "You have met Pluto, haven't you?" A light turned on in Riku's head, his eyes widening. "Unless Sora looks like exactly like Figaro, he's going to have the time of his life getting away from that pooch."

"We better go find Sora, quick!" Goofy proclaimed with a look of determination, he was about to rush out of the room, before he stopped. "Er, but how are we gonna change him back?"

"Well," Daisy said, thinking hard. "The spell won't wear off until its been twenty-four hours, but I don't know how long Sora might last if Donald and Pluto are after him. But I could easily reverse or transfer the spells effects-"

"Transfer?" The two said together. However, both immediately didn't need any explaination as soon as they saw a look of terrifying evil cross Daisy's face, where her face distorted into a diabolical grin.

Now Riku and Goofy really did feel sorry for Donald.

Within the dark and abandoned corridors of Disney Castle, a lone figure stalked the hallways, looking rather down in the dumps.

With his tail dragging along the smooth floors, Sora's head seemed to weigh heavy as walked along on all fours. Padded paws quieting his steps, but his claws canceling his silence as they clicked against the marble, Sora sighed and hid against a suit of armor.

Laying down, the lion-boy rested his head on the ground, too distraught to continue.

He should have met up with Kairi an hour ago, but how could he show up looking like this?

Sora clenched his sharp teeth, his claws unsheathing themselves. Donald was definitely going to get it now. Even with the harmless prank he pulled earlier, Sora wanted to sink his newly inhabited claws right into that no good, double-crossing duck's-

His fuzzy ears suddenly perked up, and Sora sat up, fully alert. Someone was coming, and they were doing their very best to keep quiet. Backing up so he pressed up against the wall, Sora crouched down, ready to either run or pounce.

As soon as he recognized the figure, a heavy sledgehammer of guilt squashed down on his heart, sending it crushing down into the pits of his stomach.

"Kairi..." Sora thought aloud. Unknowingly to him, it came out more as a purr then actual words.

He wanted nothing more then to rush up to her and tell her how sorry he was, how he was late and would completely understand if she wanted nothing to do with him for the rest of their stay at Disney Castle. Only the painful reminder that he was not currently his normal self kept him still.

He watched her walk gracefully by, Kairi pausing every now and then at every door. Sora's jaw nearly dropped. She was looking for him! His tufted tail swished around wildly in a panic, what should he do!

He could put his four legs to use and run to his room, hide under his covers and use pillows to make up for the rest of his missing height. His mane had retained his unmistakable spikiness, so at least she'd see his head.

But how would that look to Kairi, assuming he sneaked past her and made it to his room. He would only come across as an insensitive jerk who let his best friend stand out in the middle of the night for nothing, while he was asleep, warm in a nice bed. Sora's ears drooped at the thought, feeling utterly helpless.

His thought trailed on as he saw played other scenarios in his bed. What if she was angry? What if she tried to wake him up? Wouldn't it terrify her, that instead of seeing her expected friend, some beast in his place? Sora couldn't bear the thought of Kairi being afraid of him. He would rather eat his own tail then see Kairi scream at the sight of him.

Sora clawed at the carpet, desperately trying to think of something to do. His head jerked up at a thought. Maybe Riku would cover for him?

Just then, Sora then realized that Kairi was nowhere in sight. Looking around, Sora almost kicked himself for not at least taking advantage of his current state. Using his animal instincts to follow her scent, Sora skidded to a stop when he almost was caught by her.

"Who's there?" Kairi called out. Sora didn't breath or even blink, afraid she might hear either.

He heard her continue on, and much to his dismay, she was standing right outside his and Riku's room. Sora prayed Riku wouldn't be mad at him for accidently standing up Kairi and make him get into deeper trouble then he already was in.

She hesitated and knocked on the door lightly. "...Sora?" Another pang of guilt slammed into him, nearly making him fall over.

Kairi seemed to stand there for an eternity. Her delicate shoulders shagged, crestfallen, and she moved to go to her own room. That's when the door opened. Sora's heart seemed to stop.

Riku stood in the doorway, looking incredibly tired. He was still wearing his regular pants he wore throughout the day, only stained with wrinkles. He scratched his bare chest, blinking repeatedly as he tried to wake up a bit more. It seemed to take him a minute to realize who it was standing in the door.

"What's up?" He yawned.

"Is...Sora asleep?" Kairi said bashfully, looking at her feet. Riku looked back and sighed. Sora practically had to swallow his heart now, it being lodged up in his throat. Riku shook his head.

"I just got back awhile ago," Riku said groggily, rubbing his eyes. "He's probably out for a breather-"

"Really?" Kairi said, going off subject for a moment. "What were you up to?"

Riku stretched, pretending not to hear her question. "You want to wait for him?"

Kairi sighed, and Sora couldn't help but feel disappointed by her answer as she looked away. "No...I think I'll just go to bed now." Riku shrugged, acting like nothing was wrong, but he clearly held sympathy for Kairi. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he tilted his head.

"Get some rest, okay?" Riku said gently. "You have that sparring lesson tomorrow, remember?"

Kairi smiled, hiding her sadness. "Yeah...right!" Rising on her toes, she reached to hug Riku around the neck. "Good night, Riku."

"Night." He returned with a platonic hug and an added pat on her back.

The door closed, and Kairi stood there for a moment, then started for her room. Sora followed closely behind, stopping at his door, briefly considering to go in. Sighing, Sora shook his head and went to catch up to Kairi.

Pausing, Sora darted behind another suit of armor as Kairi stood before the door to her room, her hand on the doorknob. Head down, her hair draped over her eyes, but Sora didn't need to see to know how she was feeling. Kairi withdrew her hand and turned around, then leaned against the door and slid down until she sat pitifully on the ground.

Kairi hugged her knees, her face completely hidden in her arms. Sora's chest tightened...was she crying? Sora couldn't think of any other time where Kairi looked this depressed about something. But, who could blame her? She was completely denied of her first date with-

Wait a second...date?

Sora whimpered. It was a little like a date, wasn't it? And he screwed it all up. Sora went to the wall and hit his head repeatedly against it for his own foolishness. But after one particular bash that would most likely leave a noticeable bump later, Sora halted his self-inflicting punishments.

Donald.

Just thinking the name caused a venomous taste to build up is mouth. Sora growled, cursing Donald for causing the mess, even though he may have deserved it. But somehow, Kairi was affected by this mess, and that was going too far. Sora swore to vent out his anger on Donald for causing Kairi to be upset.

While Sora had been thinking of ways get even with the wizard, Kairi had dozed off. Sora's mouth dried, his fur feeling heavy against him. In a daring action, Sora slowly crept up next to Kairi, then gently put a paw against her leg. Instantly, he jumped back, expecting her to wake up.

Nothing happened.

Sora breathed out slowly, then an idea struck. Sora grinned, showing off his fangs, and went up close to Kairi, mimicking what he had seen cats do before. Rubbing against her side, he curled up next to her, hoping his fur might help, in any way, to keep her warm.

Maybe Riku was right, Sora mused as his tail flicked from side to side. Maybe he was a total sap...