by Flare Haynekie
Disclaimer: Like I said, nothing (except the plot) belongs to me.
Warnings: AU, OOC-ness
Author's notes: Welcome to the second chapter!!! Hope you enjoy it as you did the first one. This being written on whim, so don't really expect much.
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Chapter 2: The holiness of it all
Sora looked around. He didn't know the place would be so beautiful. It was absolutely breathtaking. Sion chuckled, pushing Sora out of the airport's entrance. Outside, Sion called for a taxi, and let the driver take them to their destination. Meanwhile, Sora was looking out the window, taking every detail as if he would leave as soon as he came. The island wasn't really that big, but it was kinda big nonetheless. And he sort of liked it that way. After a couple of minutes they reached the old house. A girl, no older than 18, waited for them at the steps. She had a smile similar to Sora's but not as bright. And every time she looked around, her short hair softly moved along with her. As soon as she saw Sion and Sora get off the taxi, luggage in hand, she jumped down the stairs to meet them.
"Hi!" she quickly greeted. "My name's Yuffie Kisaragi, and welcome to Destiny Islands! My parents told me to come greet you and give you the house key." She spotted Sora and grabbed him in a tight hug. "Oooh!! You must be Sora! You're so cute! That photo of you my parents showed me doesn't do justice to seeing you in person!" She let go of Sora, the brunet running off to hide behind Sion.
"Hello, Yuffie. Thank you for the warm reception. I'm Sion Barzahd, and this is my son Sora. Can we go inside, or do you wish to talk here all day?"
Sora rolled his eyes at Sion's welcome phrase. Sure it didn't sound like much, but Sora knew it meant that he liked Yuffie already and that she was welcomed to come visit them as much as she wanted. Dominique loved that about Sion. It never mattered if it was male or female, if Sion liked them, they were as good as close friends.
Anyway, the house they would now live in was a two-story house. Kinda looked like the houses Sora had once seen in San Francisco on a school trip. It was painted white with dark blue edges, and it looked like it could use a fresh coat of paint anytime soon. When Yuffie had decided to give Sion the key, Sora was already up the steps, standing under the old roof of the veranda to catch some shade.
Problem number one: Sora was not liking the idea of standing around in the sun if there was the option of shade.
Sion noticed and walked up the stairs, walking up to the door, and using the key to open it. Sora was the last one in, and the first one to claim a room. It was, he considered, the biggest one in the house.
"Anyway!" Yuffie started. "If you need anything, I live right next to you in the mint green house, with my uncles and my baby cousin."
"Actually, if you don't have anything urgent to do, could you take us to Rakuen High School?" Sion asked as Sora walked down the stairs.
"To Raku? Sure, I don't mind. I can take my baby cousin the lunch he forgot to take this morning." Yuffie grinned, walking out the house, and rushing to hers.
She returned a minute later with a small box wrapped in a napkin. Sion and Sora waited for her at the steps. As soon as they agreed, they left. It didn't take long to reach the school, and Sion was puzzled since he thought it would be much more farther than this. The school was big. Out by the gates was an old black plate with said "Rakuen High School" written in white letters.
"I'll go take this and go back home. Are you coming with me?" Yuffie asked.
Sion nodded, following her into the school. Yuffie led them to the principal's office, leaving the lunch to the secretary who agreed to deliver it as soon as she could. Yuffie said goodbye to the boys, and left. Sion then talked to the secretary to confirm that Sora's transferring information had arrived.
"Sora Barzahd? Yes, he's here. He's bound to start class next Tuesday. That should give you enough time to get used to the island and meet part of its inhabitants." She said with a nod, as she searched around her desk and found a paper. She handed it to Sion. "These will be Sora's materials for the school year. The semester is only starting so you should do just fine."
Sora looked up at her puzzled. "Starting? It's the middle of August!"
"Oh? Ah! I get it! Your classes started on March, right?"
"Yes…"
"Our system's a bit different. A school year is divided in two semesters. The first semester is from August to December, while the second semester is from January to May. You get summer break, spring break, and winter break. It should be confusing at first, but you'll understand it in the long run."
After that was done, Sion and Sora headed out the school. Sora stood at the gates, while Sion walked towards a small store by the name of "Raku's Break Spot". Sion eyed the weird name of the store while Sora looked at the school windows, not certain why he was doing it, but doing it to please his gut feeling that he should. He didn't expect anything. Maybe a notebook flying out the window or something close to that, but certainly not a boy with silver hair to look directly at him. Sora softly blushed as he kept looking up to the silver haired stranger.
Meanwhile, in the classroom, the silver haired boy was wondering who the heck was the cute girl who was looking at him from the school gates. It didn't last long since he saw what he thought was her father or brother calling her from Raku's Spot. The silver haired bishonen (had to put that there) pondered if the cute girl would be there when he left to help the old lady.
Sora walked into the small store, which wasn't really so small inside, and searched around for Sion. He found him at the counter talking to the old lady behind the counter. Apparently, Sion was trying to make an offer and see if she'll give him a job here. And being such a sweet person, she just couldn't say no. Sora shrugged and walked around the store. It was a nice place to hang out. It even had a few tables for students to sit and rest. Of course, there was a small time limit, so students weren't normally allowed to be the whole lunch hour there doing nothing. In his random searching for something entertaining, Sora found something that made it worthwhile. They sold here the cell phone he always wanted. Sora gave something close to an almost light squeal, before he rushed to where it was. Sion, knowing almost all of Sora's screams, sounds, and squeals, rushed to find Sora to know what exactly his son had found that made him oh-so-very-happy in just a few minutes of entering the store.
"Sora? What did you find?" Sion asked, rushing to Sora's side.
"Cell phone! Cell phone! 3300!!! The holy one!!!!" Sora squealed, jumping up and down like a happy puppy while pointing to said item so Sion could understand why he was so excited.
"Hey, you're right! But these are a bit different…"
The old lady walk towards them, chuckling. "Of course they are. They were made exclusively for Destiny Islands. Each one has a charm that matches with another one that another person might have, but you're not supposed to know who. The only special one is the Paopu charm one, which is completely random, but it's supposed to share the same legend as the real Paopu fruit. I was also told of one pair where the other was lost in an accident." She explained with a soft smile.
Sora looked at her, then at the cell phone, then at Sion. "I want one." He declared, at which Sion just smiled, and nodded to the lady. She smiled, walking behind the counter to retrieve a box. Inside it were tiny boxes completely sealed. She showed it to them.
"Pick one." She said.
Sora inspected the box. He picked a box and stared at it. Then he softly moved it, then placed it back down. He did that for a while until finally at one he heard a small tinkling sound. The small box looked in very bad shape, but Sora looked at it and nodded.
"This one. This is the one I want."
The old lady looked at him puzzled. "Why that one? The box is so tattered. It could be damaged."
"No, it's not. I can tell." Sora said. "I want this one." He turned towards Sion. "Won't you pick one?"
Sion looked at him puzzled, but picked one anyway. "I don't really mind much about what I get, but I could use the phone."
The old lady nodded to them, putting away the box, and leading them to the cash register. After Sion paid, he was the first one to open his box. The charm was a small white rabbit. Sion looked at it sadly.
"A rabbit. Your mother liked rabbits, Sora." Sion remembered.
Sora nodded, before opening his. His phone was a soft blue that hued into a blue/green from the center southeast. The charm made the small tinkling sound Sora had heard before, kind of like a small bell. It was the famous Paopu charm that Sora had been secretly wishing not to have.
"Oh? Well this is rather surprising. My, my. How will this end?" The old lady chuckled.
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To be continued!
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Author's note: Isn't this surprising? Naw, probably most of you knew that would happen, ne? =P Riku hasn't shown up yet. What exactly will happen when he does? And what is up with the old lady??? The answer to this on the next chapter.
Thank you to my sister and to Sapphy-chan, who helped me fixed the small mistakes and eaten words in this chapter. =)