The Magic of the Earth and the Sky

by Flare Haynekie

Disclaimer: …………

Warnings: AU, OOC-ness, shonen-ai, Kairi-bashing?

Author's note: This is just to, sorta, keep track of Sorae's memories. I've fixed a few mistakes, and added a lot of small details… they were in the order they appeared until I changed them all because one memory matched another, so I ended up putting them together… kinda like a puzzle. You can read it, or just skip to the next chapter. I don't think there's anything important, but then again, I could be oh-so-very wrong.

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Chapter 22: Interlude- Sorae's memories recount

"If you continue to behave this way, I shall have no other choice but to call your father in here." A voice said.

"You wouldn't dare."

"I would if there is need to. Well, then, if you are willing to pay attention and tell me what this quote means…"

"No."

"No? But, young prince!!"

"No is no. I'm leaving." The young prince stood, the large round golden bells that hanged from the rope at his waist slightly ringing, the feathers tied next to them shimmering. He moved out of the brightly lit room, his soft brown spikes moving with the force of his steps. He walked down the stairs, carefully aware of where he was and just as easily sneaked out the large mansion. "Well, that was easier than I thought." He muttered as he carefully made his way to the gates that would let him have free movement to where ever he wanted.

Once he was past the gates he jumped down to the "mortal world", choosing to land on a small island. It was habited by a few humans who were trying to cultivate the land and make their small town prosper. The young prince softly laughed and landed near the shore, quickly hiding his wings, and taking off the slippers he wore. Then, after making sure no one was around, he jumped along the shore, playing with the waves. It had been such a long time since he had landed on this island, that he had forgotten how he loved it. He loved the feel of the cold water and the wet sand beneath his feet, he loved the salty air that blew his brown hair everywhere, and he loved how no one knew him here so they didn't treat him like royalty and didn't follow him everyone scolding him and ordering him to study. After a while of playing with the waves, he picked up his slippers and made his way to the small waterfall that was nearby. He remembered all the tiny aspects of this island even though he had only been in it a few times. Placing the slippers close to the waterfall, but not so close that it could get wet, he walked into the small pool just at the bottom of the waterfall and gathered water with his hands, drinking it. The water was so pure it made the young prince want to take it home, knowing full well it was nearly impossible.

"What in the world are you doing?!" a voice suddenly exclaimed, scaring the young prince who ended up falling into the pool. "Sorry… are you okay?"

The brunet pouted, looking at the newcomer. "I'm wet." He stated, watching the stranger curiously. The newcomer had shiny silver hair that fell to his shoulders and blue-green eyes that shone like the sea with the sun.

"Well, yeah, of course you are. You did fall in there."

"You scared me…"

The stranger chuckled. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have overreacted." He extended his hand, which the brunet took, lifting him out of the pool.

"Why did you scream?" the young prince asked as he put his slippers on.

"That's holy water. Only the heaven's creatures are supposed to drink it, so please don't do it again."

"Oh! No wonder it tasted to good!" the young prince exclaimed, the stranger guiding him up some stairs and into a small pier. "Why are we here?"

"You can't go around with all those wet clothes." He stated, giving the young prince a light blue robe, the same color of his clothes. "Change into this and let's put your clothes to dry." The stranger turned around as the young prince changed, piling the clothes near him.

"There." The prince said, the robe reaching his ankles, but so light it made the young prince want to fly away and float around, but knowing full well he shouldn't.

The stranger smiled at the sight and picked up the wet clothes and hanged them up on the rope that was there for such purposes. He touched the rope from the prince's clothing, noting how the feathers had somehow shook off the water and stood proudly to show their puffiness. "You have strange decorations, Fluffy."

The young prince looked up that the stranger, looking for something to say. "What?"

"I mean, feathers and bells? It's like you want to imitate the heaven's creatures."

The prince pouted and spotted the bunny shaped pouch on the stranger's waist. "Gee, I don't know, Bunny."

The stranger laughed at that. "Oh, come on, is that the best you could come up with, Fluffy?"

"Yeah! You're so mean, laughing at me like that."

"I'm sorry, is just that, oh never mind. So, Fluffy, where shall we go and have some fun?"

The young prince looked at him puzzled. "I'm not sure… what do you usually do on your free time?"

The stranger quickly smiled. "Swim."

Fluffy followed Bunny all the way down the stairs and across the large island, going to a much smaller island that was connected to the large one by a wooden bridge. Bunny took off his shirt, shoes, and other accessories, before diving into the water. Fluffy looked carefully at the water before sitting on the edge to watch Bunny.

"That looks like fun…" Fluffy said, watching his new friend swim. Making sure nothing could be seen, the brunet held the robe down with his hands once he was comfortable where he was sitting.

"It is. Won't you join me?"

"I don't know how to swim." Fluffy stated. "And I wouldn't like to get the robe you gave me all wet…"

"Come on, it'll dry! Just jump and I'll catch you." Bunny replied as he laughed.

The young prince stared at him for a bit before deciding to trust him. He pushed himself off the island, holding the robe down as he fell right into Bunny's waiting arms. The brunet sighed. "Well, at least I know that you'll catch me."

"Of course! See? You can trust me. Anyway, let's swim." He said as he grinned and slowly placed Fluffy into the water, the brunet circling his arms around the other's neck to hold on. "Don't worry, I'm here."

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"You really like puppies, don't you Selphie?"

"You bet! They're soo cute!" Selphie happily replied, her short hair bouncing with her as she fluttered her wings. "I have one too! I was allowed to keep it when I first found it."

"That's cool. I wish my father would let me have one. They really are cute."

"But you can't? Cause you're the prince?"

"That's right. I can't because I'm the prince." He sighed.

"Ne, ne, where have you been going these days?" Selphie suddenly asked, her soft yellow dress moving with the breeze. "I've seen you sneaking around a lot wearing a blue robe thing and no shoes…"

"Shh! What are you crazy?!" in a low voice he added, "You can't tell anyone, Selph!"

"And? And? What's the big secret?" Selphie asked excited as she lowered her voice as well.

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"Sorae, have you seen the necklace I had here?" the older prince asked, searching his room again.

The young prince looked inside his brother's room. He had been on his way to meet with his Bunny when his brother called him. "What necklace?"

"The chain one with the lion on it."

"Hey, Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

The brunet closed the door, looking down at his feet. "Who exactly gave you that necklace?"

Cloud looked up. "What? And what the hell are you doing in a dress?"

"It's not a dress! It's a robe. And answer my question first."

"No one. Why are you asking so much?"

"… Um, no reason…"

"What are you hiding now?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, I'm your brother. This is why you closed the door, so come tell me."

"Leon told me to ask you if you hate him."

Cloud looked at his younger brother with wide eyes. "How do you know Leon? Sorae, where exactly have you been sneaking off too?"

"To an island."

"What island?"

"Destiny Islands?"

Cloud got up from where he was and grabber his brother, shoving him into the large closet before getting in and closing the door. "Now, I want to know, what have you been doing there."

"Meeting a friend of mine. I met him when I skipped lessons one day. Then a few days ago, I met Leon. He thought I was you. Then he asked me if I knew you… then he told me that."

"So that's why I haven't seen you around. Father said you were studying, but your tutor said you were out playing somewhere in the castle. Then you're hyperactive little friend told me that it's a secret, but you've been sneaking out of the castle practically every day. But she didn't tell me where, saying that it was your duty to tell me, Sorae."

"I know. I'm sorry… um, what should I tell Leon? He's expecting me to tell him today."

Cloud opened the closet's door. "Come on. I'll talk to him."

The young prince grinned. "Thanks a lot, Cloud! You're the best!"

"I know. So, why are you wearing a dress again?"

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The two brothers looked around. Cloud had changed into something more casual for such an island, but even so, he was still looking around in case anything happened.

"Sorae? You do know that if dad finds us, we'll be in trouble, right?" Cloud asked, for what could've been the tenth time.

"Yes, yes. Must you keep asking that?" the brunet asked before spotting the mop of silver hair that could only belong to his Bunny, and running up to tackle-glomp him. "Bunny!!!"

"Gah! Fluffy? Hey, I was wondering when you would come." Bunny looked up as Cloud approached them. "Who's the blond that looks like you?"

"That's my older brother, Cloud! He's the coolest." Fluffy stated, then lowered his voice to whisper. "He's the one Leon confused me for. He's here to talk to Leon, do you know where he is?"

"Him? I'm not sure. Last time I saw him he was trying his hand at fishing because he got tired from waiting for your answer."

"Oops… not entirely my fault."

"Fishing?" the brunet asked, his voice back to normal. "You know, I never would've imagined him fishing… beating someone in a sword fight, yes, but never fishing…"

Bunny laughed, Cloud looking at him with wide eyes. "Hey, are you okay? You look weird."

Cloud's left eye twitched. "Haven't I seen you before?" the blond asked. "Like at the Earth-Sky meet---"

"Hey look, it's Leon!" Fluffy exclaimed, interrupting whatever Cloud was saying as he pointed to the angry brunet who approached them, a poor suffering fishing pole in his right fist. "He looks pissed…"

Bunny took a quick look at the approaching Leon, before making a run for it, the small brunet still on his back. "Yeah, he is pissed." He said once he was sure they were far away from either Cloud or Leon. "I think it's because Cloud is here and no one cared to tell him."

Fluffy laughed. "Cool!" he then took a look at his brother, his grin disappearing. "Hey, Bunny? How come Leon's all over Cloud? Taking my brother's clothes off while kissing him?"

"Oh, hell no!" Bunny exclaimed, taking a quick look at Leon and Cloud before grabbing his little Fluffy and dragging him off while covering the brunet's eyes. "We are not old enough to be watching this." He stated as he walked away.

"What? What are you talking about Bunny? What are they doing??"

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Once Cloud and his little brother had returned, they went back into Cloud's room in search for the supposedly lost necklace.

"Are you sure you haven't seen it?" Cloud asked, resuming his search.

"Yeah." The small brunet replied, watching his older brother practically turn the place upside down in search of the necklace. "Hey, Cloud? What happened earlier when Leon found you? Bunny dragged me away and I couldn't find out why Leon was kissing you and taking your clothes off…"

Cloud looked at his little brother with wide eyes and a very deep blush on his cheeks. "Sorae, don't worry. Nothing happened… except that Leon's not mad at me anymore." Cloud replied as he smiled and continued his search.

The young prince sighed before walking over Cloud's mess and jumping onto Cloud's four-post bed and carefully popping one of the corner round balls off. He just as carefully (and quietly) took out a long silver chain with a lion charm that had the words 'Sleeping Lion Heart' engraved in the back, before putting back the ball where it was. Then he walked back to Cloud and held the chain up to him. "Here. You never checked the corners where you hide your snacks."

Cloud looked up, happily grabbing the necklace. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" he replied before he realized what his brother had said. "Wait, I put it in my snack hiding place?? I wonder when that was."

"Leon gave you that, didn't he?" the brunet asked at which Cloud nodded. "Thought so. Anyway, I'm going to bed. I'm tired."

"Okay. Thanks for finding the necklace."

"That's what brothers are for, right? Anyway, are you coming with me tomorrow?"

"To the islands?"

"Yeah…"

"Sure. Look for me before you leave."

"Kay. Good night, Cloud."

"Night, Sora. Don't let Selphie's mutt bite you again."

The young prince glared at his older brother. "Shut up." He said before leaving the room.

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To be continued!
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::Author's note::
The longest chapter up to date! Says me, of course. Someone had asked me if they had found the necklace in the end, but since I hadn't written it, here it is. Sora's first day of school is on the next chapter and I already have the beginning in my head. Since this chapter was more of copy-paste, and proofreading, I'm gonna get started on chapter 23.

::Things you should know::
Yes, that is engraved in the back of my Griever necklace. I wonder why tho. I always wondered if you could hide things in the corners of a four-post bed… I don't have one, which is why I wonder. LOL.

::Thanks to::

1. NaruNaru.O.k – Selphie won. Like anyone can win against someone that hyperactive… You don't like the Leon-Cloud pairing? Well, there's not much that I can do, almost everyone adores it. On my next Riku-Sora fic, Leon will be back with Seifer tho, maybe you'll like that one better?

2. yaminakathy – sankyu! I had such a nice birthday this year. Totally loved it.

3. dimonyo-anghel – nope, they did here tho!

4. Kayrana – well, Kairi's plan is put to action on the next chapter. How she'll get punished will be said later on as the story goes.

5. Ink2 – wow, lol! Well, that's certainly very interesting, lol. Kairi will be back next chapter for sure.

6. cammy-world666 - sankyu!!!!!!! Yes, had lots of prezzies. Sankyu for the plushies!!! LOL. Even tho they're virtual, they should count! Btw, I love your fic! So you update too, kay?

7. Misdarkdragon – yes, that was the last chapter for now. I'm glad the fic makes you laugh!!

8. Momochi Zabuza – (x2) omg, you have showered me with so much love, I'm not sure what to say! Um, for starters, I hope you did okay on your test! Um, thanks for all the lovely comments. Made me feel very very loved nya!!!

That's it for now people. And don't ask for much cuz this is a double post nya!

----Flare