Title: A Good Influence
Author: Andro[miel]
Rating: R
Author Notes: Kya. Long over-due update: Computer dying on me, new domain[energy-rain.net], building websites, family visiting, studying, having a roommate for a while, being addicted to my new PS2 and FFX, FFX-2 and finally actually getting to play my very own Kingdom Hearts, as well as other things. =\ Sorry.
Yes, yes, I did change my name. I'd mentioned it before on my profile various times. I hope it didn't confuse anyone. I just thought it'd be best to change it now before I become even more known. Don't worry... it's still me though. ^_^;
Thank you for reviewing!
*~*~*~
"Nifty," Sora decided, running a quick hand through his hair while he studied the -blue- pot plant next to the door. He eyed it a bit warily. As cool as it was, plants were -not- supposed to be blue. He tilted his head. It kind of looked like the punk cousin of poison ivy...
In that case, he made a note to stay away from it in the future. His father would be interested in hearing about it though.
"They're coming," Lucille commented quietly just before the door swung open.
"Hi." Sora waved a little, not at all taken back by the chilly look the woman answering the door sent him.
She was very attractive, he had to admit. If he went for the older, tall, paler than death gothic chicks.
She shot him a strange look and parted her lips to say something, then seemingly changed her mind. She shifted her attention from Sora to his mother, and tilted her head.
"Lucille Kogai?"
"Yes, you are?" The redhead inquired politely, laying a soft hand on her son's shoulder.
"Lulu Yevon. I am Riku's aunt," She explained shortly, giving Sora another strange glance.
"This is... Sora?"
"In the flesh. Unless you were expecting another Sora," He added, finding it a bit odd to be under such close scrutiny. /She looks kind of young to be an aunt. She can't be that much older than me...\
Another odd look entered her eyes, but before she could say anything else, a tall, dark haired man that looked somewhere in his mid forties joined them.
"I am Hinoi Jakunen, Riku's father..." He eyed Sora with a measure of puzzlement. Sora stared back, wondering if he'd grown a zit since he'd last looked in the mirror.
"Er, hi! I'm Sora," He introduced himself politely, offering his hand. Mr.Jakunen shook it, and began to become amused.
"You aren't exactly what we were expecting. But never mind, come in, please." He invited, stepping back.
More formal introductions were passed between the four, and luggage was dragged into the foyer. Sora immediately took interest in his surroundings, delighting in the fact that everything there looked antique as well. Leon's mom would just -adore- the house.
"Where's Riku?" Sora questioned absently out of the blue, having been tossed out of the 'grown up' talk.
"He's around here... somewhere..." Lulu glanced up towards the ceiling.
"You know I like to make an entrance," A cool, impertinent voice drawled, and Sora pivoted towards the sound automatically.
*~*~*~
Riku frowned, stopping in his walk down the stairs and stared back at the -boy- looking at him. Amazing blue eyes, a face a little too pretty to be called masculine, but that was most certainly -not- a girl.
"Who are you?"
Those cerulean eyes turned friendly, as quick as someone else would flick a light switch.
"I'm Sora Kogai!... Riku, right?" He encouraged with a smile spreading across his features.
"How could you tell?" Riku sneered, leaning against the banister casually. He didn't think he'd ever met this boy before. /But then again, I didn't think he was male either,\ His mind commented snidely.
"Lucky guess?" The other teen gave an off hand shrug. "Not many people have silver hair y'know. It's cool if you ask me, but you didn't, but now you know anyway. In any case, pleased to meet you," He finished with a wave up, tilting his head.
Riku regaled him with a strange gaze. What in the world had his father gotten him into?
"Riku, why don't you show Sora to his room?" His Aunt suggested. When he glanced at her, he noticed she looked as smug as a sleeping cat. He rolled his eyes. Oh, sure, -she- was getting a kick out of the whole thing. Whatever.
"Come on," Riku ordered Sora shortly, making his way back up the stairs. He heard a cheerfully stated 'good-bye!' behind, and then there was an echoing set of footsteps going up the steps. Within two seconds, a refreshed looking Sora came into step with him, dragging a worn backpack on one shoulder, and duffle bags on each hand.
"What are you?" Riku demanded, eyeing all the things the boy had just easily ran up the stairs with.
"I'm pretty," Sora mimicked his tone and snickered.
"Well, no, I'm a soccer player -and- pretty. If you trained under Coach Gray nearly every day, you could do the same too," He assured the older boy, blowing a strand of tawny hair out of his face. With his arms otherwise occupied, it was extremely distracting not being able to push it to the side.
"Who?" Riku frowned, starting to feel the same cynical voice getting ready to tell him he was acting stupid in front of the goody two shoes.
"Coach Gray." Sora gave up on the bang. "I mean.... you know, our school coach?" He shook his head.
"Never mind. You really don't come to school, do you?" He mused, thinking of everything he knew about the boy. Which was very nearly squat, considering Riku was -never in school-.
"Why bother?"
"Eh. It's a pain, but I like seeing my friends." Sora commented with a shrug, following Riku around the halls faithfully. He had absolutely no doubt that he was going to get horribly lost in the winding pathways afterwards.
"Summer is awesome too, but then it's like, everyone stays at home. You don't get to see each other every day. It sucks. Then you're all bored, and playing only with yourself and a ball in your backyard." He explained, a little carefully. Some-if not many- could have accused Sora of being completely tactless. And stupid. But he wasn't really as bad as others made him out to be. And at that moment, his mind was telling him to tread softly.
"What if you don't have friends?" Riku shot back blankly.
"You make some," Sora retorted immediately, as if it was the most natural, most simple thing to do in the world.
Riku pressed his hand against his forehead and shook his head.
To this hyperkenetic boy, it probably -was-.
"There's no one good enough to make friends with around here." Riku decided finally, feeling satisfied that it would end the conversation.
"Cynic," Sora accused him with a smile. "You just haven't given anyone a fair chance. I bet you'd like Sephiroth. You might even like Gippal and Baralai." He ticked off unknown names, leaving Riku to eye him with some distaste.
It was going to be harder to get rid of this Sora than he'd previously thought.
"When did you get here?"
"Six mo-wait, how did you know?" Riku started, nearly stopping in his tracks.
"How did I know what?" Sora raised his head and studied the intricate wooden carvings of the ceiling, following the graceful lines.
"Oh. That you're not really from around here? It's easy. Your speech pattern is slightly off, plus, you know, I probably would have noticed if you actually lived here all your life," He murmured, finding that one design didn't end when it met with a wall, but rather crawled down to the floor.
"Where did you live before?"
"School." Riku answered shortly, trying not to think of Credulus Academy. The last thing he needed was to get homesick.
"Boarding?"
"What do you think?"
"Boarding," Sora decided.
"Give the man a prize."
"What is it? A kiss?" He joked, grinning.
Riku eyed him warily sideways.
"What?"
"I asked what my prize was. Is it a kiss? If so, what kind? With tongue? A peck on the cheek?"
Despite himself, and the strangeness of the situation, Riku rolled his eyes.
"What kind would you prefer?"
"Don't really care I guess," Sora mused, thinking deeply on the subject. "Tidus already kissed me on the mouth, so I guess I've already had the first kiss thing down pat, and-"
"Tidus?"
"My cousin."
"...."
"See, he's on the soccer team too, so like, when we won the finals to go into the islands-wide competition, he got a little too frisky and happy," The brunette explained, his grin widening at the memory.
"Trust me, he spent most of the celebration party afterwards brushing his teeth. Most insulting, I'm sure I don't taste -that- bad. Uhm, by the way, if my room is farther away, can I start dropping cookie crumbs or something? Otherwise, I'm -really- going to be lost later on..." Sora trailed off, eyeing his surroundings with a dismayed face.
"It's not far," Riku admitted, mulling over what he'd heard. Sora was... gay?
"Cool."
*~*~*~
'Cool' was too light a word for Sora's new digs.
"Freeeak. Stick a fork in me and call the cannibals for dinner!" He announced, pouncing on the bed. It gave just the right amount underneath his weight. A luxurious mountain of feather soft pillows tumbled around him, and he grabbed one.
"You know," He pondered. "I think this is like... three times bigger than my room." He commented approvingly, hugging the pillow and looking around.
A plush azure carpet swept over the floor, set off with the pale cerulean walls. A desk was pressed against a wall, with a sleek, gleaming computer on top. The chair looked like expensive leather, and the sort that could swing around. His eyes flicked up to the farthest wall and locked firmly on the large entertainment system.
"Oh, I am going to -like- living here," He all but purred, mentally tallying up the hours and hours of fun he'd have with the new toys.
"Whatever." Riku shrugged, faithfully ignoring the purring. /Weird kid.\
Sora's attention snapped to him, and he smiled.
"S'funny, my friend says that a lot too." He snickered, and tossed a pillow at Riku's head.
"By the way. Is Lulu really your aunt? She looks kinda young. And... erm. Not very similar to you at all."
"She's my aunt on the maternal side." Riku allowed sharply, and headed for the door. His duty was done, his father couldn't complain, and he was going to plan how to get the irritating, absolutely out of his mind pain in the ass out of his house.
*~*~*~
Sora stared at his ceiling, expression distant.
This was not going to be easy. Not. At. All.
Sighing, he rolled over and drew himself to his feet. Since Riku's grand exit, he'd stayed put in his room. He got the feeling he really wasn't welcome in the Jakunen house.
Taking his courage in hand, Sora peeked out into the hallways. No one around. Okay.
Now.
Where would be the kitchen be?
Two turns later, a staircase leading down which ended in a dead end, and one close call with a disturbing human-like cacti, Sora considered trying to dig a hole through the wall when something in the atmosphere shifted.
"Lost?"
Sora's smile broke out once he recognize the husky voice.
"Lulu!" He greeted, relieved. "Would you mind terribly leading me to the kitchen? I'm hungry. When do you guys eat dinner around here anyway?"
"We don't." Lulu informed him. "We're nowhere near a family enough to have dinners together. Come. I'll show you."
The teen's cheery expression faded, and he dutifully followed.
"Are you in college?"
"Just graduated with a major in History."
"Really? What are you going to do now?"
"Keep an eye on Riku."
"I see."
"..." Lulu spared him a deliberating glance over her shoulder. "He's just as bad as he seems, and he can be worse."
"Oh, I'm always up for a challenge," Sora was quick to reassure her. "Nothing is too hard as long as you keep trying. I mean, you have to get it right eventually, even if it's completely by accident."
"Hmn." She said blandly, and reached into her purse. With a flick of her wrist, something flew at Sora. He barely managed to catch it. Puzzled, he looked at the shinny silver object.
"What's this?"
"It's a cell phone."
Sora held up the miniature.
"For what? Barbie?"
"No, you."
"Me?" Sora abruptly halted.
"Yes. Use it as you wish, but it would be a good idea to keep it on you all the time. It's been paid for in full already. I'm sure you're a smart boy and can figure out how to use it." She told him, a twinge of sarcasm threading through her words. Sora ignored her, and stared at the phone.
"Uhm. What's my number?"
"Written on the inside."
"Great! ... How do I open this thing?"
*~*~*~
End chapter
*~*~*~
Next chapter: Sora tries to loosen Riku up a bit. Riku still thinks Sora's out of his mind. He's right.
Author: Andro[miel]
Rating: R
Author Notes: Kya. Long over-due update: Computer dying on me, new domain[energy-rain.net], building websites, family visiting, studying, having a roommate for a while, being addicted to my new PS2 and FFX, FFX-2 and finally actually getting to play my very own Kingdom Hearts, as well as other things. =\ Sorry.
Yes, yes, I did change my name. I'd mentioned it before on my profile various times. I hope it didn't confuse anyone. I just thought it'd be best to change it now before I become even more known. Don't worry... it's still me though. ^_^;
Thank you for reviewing!
*~*~*~
"Nifty," Sora decided, running a quick hand through his hair while he studied the -blue- pot plant next to the door. He eyed it a bit warily. As cool as it was, plants were -not- supposed to be blue. He tilted his head. It kind of looked like the punk cousin of poison ivy...
In that case, he made a note to stay away from it in the future. His father would be interested in hearing about it though.
"They're coming," Lucille commented quietly just before the door swung open.
"Hi." Sora waved a little, not at all taken back by the chilly look the woman answering the door sent him.
She was very attractive, he had to admit. If he went for the older, tall, paler than death gothic chicks.
She shot him a strange look and parted her lips to say something, then seemingly changed her mind. She shifted her attention from Sora to his mother, and tilted her head.
"Lucille Kogai?"
"Yes, you are?" The redhead inquired politely, laying a soft hand on her son's shoulder.
"Lulu Yevon. I am Riku's aunt," She explained shortly, giving Sora another strange glance.
"This is... Sora?"
"In the flesh. Unless you were expecting another Sora," He added, finding it a bit odd to be under such close scrutiny. /She looks kind of young to be an aunt. She can't be that much older than me...\
Another odd look entered her eyes, but before she could say anything else, a tall, dark haired man that looked somewhere in his mid forties joined them.
"I am Hinoi Jakunen, Riku's father..." He eyed Sora with a measure of puzzlement. Sora stared back, wondering if he'd grown a zit since he'd last looked in the mirror.
"Er, hi! I'm Sora," He introduced himself politely, offering his hand. Mr.Jakunen shook it, and began to become amused.
"You aren't exactly what we were expecting. But never mind, come in, please." He invited, stepping back.
More formal introductions were passed between the four, and luggage was dragged into the foyer. Sora immediately took interest in his surroundings, delighting in the fact that everything there looked antique as well. Leon's mom would just -adore- the house.
"Where's Riku?" Sora questioned absently out of the blue, having been tossed out of the 'grown up' talk.
"He's around here... somewhere..." Lulu glanced up towards the ceiling.
"You know I like to make an entrance," A cool, impertinent voice drawled, and Sora pivoted towards the sound automatically.
*~*~*~
Riku frowned, stopping in his walk down the stairs and stared back at the -boy- looking at him. Amazing blue eyes, a face a little too pretty to be called masculine, but that was most certainly -not- a girl.
"Who are you?"
Those cerulean eyes turned friendly, as quick as someone else would flick a light switch.
"I'm Sora Kogai!... Riku, right?" He encouraged with a smile spreading across his features.
"How could you tell?" Riku sneered, leaning against the banister casually. He didn't think he'd ever met this boy before. /But then again, I didn't think he was male either,\ His mind commented snidely.
"Lucky guess?" The other teen gave an off hand shrug. "Not many people have silver hair y'know. It's cool if you ask me, but you didn't, but now you know anyway. In any case, pleased to meet you," He finished with a wave up, tilting his head.
Riku regaled him with a strange gaze. What in the world had his father gotten him into?
"Riku, why don't you show Sora to his room?" His Aunt suggested. When he glanced at her, he noticed she looked as smug as a sleeping cat. He rolled his eyes. Oh, sure, -she- was getting a kick out of the whole thing. Whatever.
"Come on," Riku ordered Sora shortly, making his way back up the stairs. He heard a cheerfully stated 'good-bye!' behind, and then there was an echoing set of footsteps going up the steps. Within two seconds, a refreshed looking Sora came into step with him, dragging a worn backpack on one shoulder, and duffle bags on each hand.
"What are you?" Riku demanded, eyeing all the things the boy had just easily ran up the stairs with.
"I'm pretty," Sora mimicked his tone and snickered.
"Well, no, I'm a soccer player -and- pretty. If you trained under Coach Gray nearly every day, you could do the same too," He assured the older boy, blowing a strand of tawny hair out of his face. With his arms otherwise occupied, it was extremely distracting not being able to push it to the side.
"Who?" Riku frowned, starting to feel the same cynical voice getting ready to tell him he was acting stupid in front of the goody two shoes.
"Coach Gray." Sora gave up on the bang. "I mean.... you know, our school coach?" He shook his head.
"Never mind. You really don't come to school, do you?" He mused, thinking of everything he knew about the boy. Which was very nearly squat, considering Riku was -never in school-.
"Why bother?"
"Eh. It's a pain, but I like seeing my friends." Sora commented with a shrug, following Riku around the halls faithfully. He had absolutely no doubt that he was going to get horribly lost in the winding pathways afterwards.
"Summer is awesome too, but then it's like, everyone stays at home. You don't get to see each other every day. It sucks. Then you're all bored, and playing only with yourself and a ball in your backyard." He explained, a little carefully. Some-if not many- could have accused Sora of being completely tactless. And stupid. But he wasn't really as bad as others made him out to be. And at that moment, his mind was telling him to tread softly.
"What if you don't have friends?" Riku shot back blankly.
"You make some," Sora retorted immediately, as if it was the most natural, most simple thing to do in the world.
Riku pressed his hand against his forehead and shook his head.
To this hyperkenetic boy, it probably -was-.
"There's no one good enough to make friends with around here." Riku decided finally, feeling satisfied that it would end the conversation.
"Cynic," Sora accused him with a smile. "You just haven't given anyone a fair chance. I bet you'd like Sephiroth. You might even like Gippal and Baralai." He ticked off unknown names, leaving Riku to eye him with some distaste.
It was going to be harder to get rid of this Sora than he'd previously thought.
"When did you get here?"
"Six mo-wait, how did you know?" Riku started, nearly stopping in his tracks.
"How did I know what?" Sora raised his head and studied the intricate wooden carvings of the ceiling, following the graceful lines.
"Oh. That you're not really from around here? It's easy. Your speech pattern is slightly off, plus, you know, I probably would have noticed if you actually lived here all your life," He murmured, finding that one design didn't end when it met with a wall, but rather crawled down to the floor.
"Where did you live before?"
"School." Riku answered shortly, trying not to think of Credulus Academy. The last thing he needed was to get homesick.
"Boarding?"
"What do you think?"
"Boarding," Sora decided.
"Give the man a prize."
"What is it? A kiss?" He joked, grinning.
Riku eyed him warily sideways.
"What?"
"I asked what my prize was. Is it a kiss? If so, what kind? With tongue? A peck on the cheek?"
Despite himself, and the strangeness of the situation, Riku rolled his eyes.
"What kind would you prefer?"
"Don't really care I guess," Sora mused, thinking deeply on the subject. "Tidus already kissed me on the mouth, so I guess I've already had the first kiss thing down pat, and-"
"Tidus?"
"My cousin."
"...."
"See, he's on the soccer team too, so like, when we won the finals to go into the islands-wide competition, he got a little too frisky and happy," The brunette explained, his grin widening at the memory.
"Trust me, he spent most of the celebration party afterwards brushing his teeth. Most insulting, I'm sure I don't taste -that- bad. Uhm, by the way, if my room is farther away, can I start dropping cookie crumbs or something? Otherwise, I'm -really- going to be lost later on..." Sora trailed off, eyeing his surroundings with a dismayed face.
"It's not far," Riku admitted, mulling over what he'd heard. Sora was... gay?
"Cool."
*~*~*~
'Cool' was too light a word for Sora's new digs.
"Freeeak. Stick a fork in me and call the cannibals for dinner!" He announced, pouncing on the bed. It gave just the right amount underneath his weight. A luxurious mountain of feather soft pillows tumbled around him, and he grabbed one.
"You know," He pondered. "I think this is like... three times bigger than my room." He commented approvingly, hugging the pillow and looking around.
A plush azure carpet swept over the floor, set off with the pale cerulean walls. A desk was pressed against a wall, with a sleek, gleaming computer on top. The chair looked like expensive leather, and the sort that could swing around. His eyes flicked up to the farthest wall and locked firmly on the large entertainment system.
"Oh, I am going to -like- living here," He all but purred, mentally tallying up the hours and hours of fun he'd have with the new toys.
"Whatever." Riku shrugged, faithfully ignoring the purring. /Weird kid.\
Sora's attention snapped to him, and he smiled.
"S'funny, my friend says that a lot too." He snickered, and tossed a pillow at Riku's head.
"By the way. Is Lulu really your aunt? She looks kinda young. And... erm. Not very similar to you at all."
"She's my aunt on the maternal side." Riku allowed sharply, and headed for the door. His duty was done, his father couldn't complain, and he was going to plan how to get the irritating, absolutely out of his mind pain in the ass out of his house.
*~*~*~
Sora stared at his ceiling, expression distant.
This was not going to be easy. Not. At. All.
Sighing, he rolled over and drew himself to his feet. Since Riku's grand exit, he'd stayed put in his room. He got the feeling he really wasn't welcome in the Jakunen house.
Taking his courage in hand, Sora peeked out into the hallways. No one around. Okay.
Now.
Where would be the kitchen be?
Two turns later, a staircase leading down which ended in a dead end, and one close call with a disturbing human-like cacti, Sora considered trying to dig a hole through the wall when something in the atmosphere shifted.
"Lost?"
Sora's smile broke out once he recognize the husky voice.
"Lulu!" He greeted, relieved. "Would you mind terribly leading me to the kitchen? I'm hungry. When do you guys eat dinner around here anyway?"
"We don't." Lulu informed him. "We're nowhere near a family enough to have dinners together. Come. I'll show you."
The teen's cheery expression faded, and he dutifully followed.
"Are you in college?"
"Just graduated with a major in History."
"Really? What are you going to do now?"
"Keep an eye on Riku."
"I see."
"..." Lulu spared him a deliberating glance over her shoulder. "He's just as bad as he seems, and he can be worse."
"Oh, I'm always up for a challenge," Sora was quick to reassure her. "Nothing is too hard as long as you keep trying. I mean, you have to get it right eventually, even if it's completely by accident."
"Hmn." She said blandly, and reached into her purse. With a flick of her wrist, something flew at Sora. He barely managed to catch it. Puzzled, he looked at the shinny silver object.
"What's this?"
"It's a cell phone."
Sora held up the miniature.
"For what? Barbie?"
"No, you."
"Me?" Sora abruptly halted.
"Yes. Use it as you wish, but it would be a good idea to keep it on you all the time. It's been paid for in full already. I'm sure you're a smart boy and can figure out how to use it." She told him, a twinge of sarcasm threading through her words. Sora ignored her, and stared at the phone.
"Uhm. What's my number?"
"Written on the inside."
"Great! ... How do I open this thing?"
*~*~*~
End chapter
*~*~*~
Next chapter: Sora tries to loosen Riku up a bit. Riku still thinks Sora's out of his mind. He's right.
