Heh, wait 'til Sora finds out I beat his high score of 25 in 'Flappy Chocobo.' Man, he'll never catch up to me at 40.
I accomplished that feat a while ago, though. Actually, it's been a good few hours now, since Kairi and Sora left me. I don't even know what could possibly be taking them this long. I mean, they're pretty vanilla, so they're probably not doing anything kinky. Heck, I don't even think they've gone all the way yet. Sora won't say anything about it, but I'm pretty sure that's the case.
The festival has gotten extremely busy. There are screaming kids everywhere, loud vendors trying to pawn off their stuff, and tons of people just running around to try to get to their desired booths. Although it's been busy, I still managed to buy a little more food for myself. Sushi, lobster bisque, fish tacos, and a couple of other dishes that are currently slipping my mind…What can I say? Waiting makes one hungry. All in all, it's been a pretty dull time. Nothing really out of the ordinary. I haven't touched any of the games yet; they're not truly entertaining without Sora and Kairi, since whooping their asses is what makes it fun.
I've been walking around—Sora's chowder in hand (somehow it hasn't gotten cold…must be the Island heat, I don't know)—checking some stuff out and chatting with people I know as I bump into them. Flirted with a few girls here and there because, hey, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I have a way with women. It's a gift, and a curse. But, hey, you already knew that. No one's really piqued my interest today, though. Not that anyone usually does, but now that I've (rather annoyingly) got Amaya on my mind, all the other girls are standing out to me even less than usual. It's almost déjà vu. Although, last time there was a situation like this, no one really forced the issue and tried to make anything happen. Which is why the amount of time Sora and Kairi have stretched their "minute to talk" out actually has me a little worried.
Seriously, where are they?
"Riku, there you are!" I hear Sora's voice call out, as if on cue.
"Where the hell have you been?" I ask, annoyed, as I look up to face him.
"Kairi needed to talk to me, remember?" he shrugs.
"Yeah, for a minute. It's been hours, the sun's gonna set pretty soon. We haven't even done anything fun yet. And where's Kairi?" She didn't come back with him.
"Oh, well, we've come up with a plan," he explains. There's definitely some sort of mischievous twinkle in his eyes going on right now. I don't think I like where this is headed.
"A plan pertaining to what?" I ask, cautiously. He grabs the bowl of chowder from my hands, nonchalantly takes a huge spoonful, gulps and continues:
"Amaya likes plushies."
"…and?" He takes another spoonful of chowder, before he responds:
"If you knock out all the bottles when you play Potion Bottle, you get a plushie as a prize." He takes another gulp.
"…are you seriously suggesting that I win a girl—who, I'm pretty sure the last time I had a proper conversation with, was when were in the second grade and I needed to borrow a crayon or something—a plushie? That's probably the dumbest, cheesiest thing ever, Sora."
Instead of actually responding, Sora starts slurping the rest of the chowder directly from the bowl; he tilts his head back and begins to chug down the remainder. Some of it starts dribbling down his chin.
"You know, you still haven't told me where Kairi is," I say, rather impatiently, as he takes his time with that damn chowder. He finally finishes with a huge gulp, brings the bowl away from his face, and uses the back of his hand to wipe his face.
"Well, we did agree that we'd hit up some games after I was done eating," he states. With that, he begins walking towards the area with all the game booths. Shady.
I don't think I like where this is going.
Regardless, I guess I'll just go with the flow and see what happens. Not like I actually even have anything better to do at this point, to be honest.
Navigating through the crowds is not an easy task. It's obnoxiously packed, with all the people walking around and exploring and whatnot. There're tons of little kids running around, too. Sure, they're cute, but they get in the way when you actually need to get somewhere, and I think trampling over them is probably not gonna be good for my reputation. Luckily, we're not too far from the game area. Or unluckily, I really don't know at this point.
"We're not too far from the Potion Bottle booth," Sora says. "Oh, there it is!" He points to a colorful booth to our left. Two girls are there, talking about something. It's when we get closer I realize that it's none other than Kairi and Amaya.
"Sora…what the hell?" I ask, trying to sound as calm as I can to mask my irritation. This is ridiculous. Are these two actually trying to play matchmaker right now?
"Amaya's really bad at these kinds of games," he replies, matter-of-factly. "So, Kairi's gonna convince her to go a round, and try to knock all the potion bottles down. When she misses—which she's going to—you can step in and be hero, by playing the next round and winning, and then give her the prize!"
"Sora, this isn't some shitty-ass rom-com, this is real life. And, honestly, if your sister's base enough to fall for me after something like that, I don't think I'd want to date her anyway," I reason.
"My sister's not dumb, Riku," he scoffs, and swats me on the arm. "She's one of the smartest people I know! And I'm not saying she's gonna fall in love with you like that, I'm just saying it would be…cute! Girls dig the cute act. That's why I have a girlfriend and you're single." He has that stupid smirk on his face.
"Have you even thought this through?" I sigh, ignoring his quip. "I mean, this is your sister. You know my history with girls. And you and I are best friends. Something like this might come between us in the future."
"Sure, you've had a rough time with girls in the past, but you're not a total asshole, Riku," he reassures. I feel so much better. Yes, that was sarcasm. "And like I said before, my sister's smart. You're pretty smart. If it works out, great, and if not, it won't be the end of the world for you guys. You'll move on. You'll both understand. If anything, she won't try getting her vengeance on you by giving you some really crappy haircut."
"Can we please stop talking about the hair?" I cringe. "Anyway, I still don't think this is a very good idea."
"Well, think about it. You, me and Kairi don't really hang out the same way we used to, after I asked her out. We feel bad, making you feel like a third wheel sometimes," he reasons. Okay, fine, I'll admit, he has a point. Things do get awkward at times.
"I'll admit," he continues, "I was hesitant when Kairi came up with the suggestion. But, after talking it out with her, she has a point. You guys are two of the most important people to me in the world, so of course I'm scared that it won't work out. But at the same time, if it does—and I really think that there's a great chance it will—then, hey, two of my favorite people in the world end up together! There's nothing that would make me happier."
I'm taken aback, to be honest. I don't know, I feel like…with Sora's blessings, maybe it is okay to give it a try. But I'm still a little iffy. I mean, if I go for it, it means I can't go in with a one-and-done mentality. I have to go in with a looking-for-commitment mindset. Am I really ready for that?
"If anything, just…get to know her a little bit today, before you decide to ask her out. It'll make everything easier!" he says, reassuringly. Damn, does he read minds, now, too?
"…I'll think about it."
"Sora! Riku!" Kairi calls out.
"Coming, Kairi!" Sora responds, and he proceeds to run towards the booth. Well, I can't really just walk away now. Damn, there's gotta be some way to get myself out of this stupid plan these two have come up with.
I really need new friends.
I approach the stand. It looks like the three are arguing about something; it doesn't seem serious, but they are bickering.
"Come on, Amaya, don't be so unconfident!" whines Kairi.
"It's not about confidence," Amaya giggles. Ugh, that smile, though. Is that a dimple? "It's self-awareness. I'm not wasting ten munny on a game that I perfectly well know that I am not going to win."
"Aww, but you love plush dolls! Look at the cute plushies!" Sora points at the array of stuffed dolls stashed on the shelf next to the booth.
"Well, why don't you try winning one, Sora?" questions a stern, almost melancholy voice. I glance over to see none other than my ex, Lulu, manning the stand. And I'm not gonna lie, she's looking good. All I'm gonna say is that that bikini top probably should be a little bigger. But, of course, she's Wakka's girlfriend. Definitely off-limits. Plus, don't wanna go down that road again…
Shit, now I'm really starting to question whether this is a good idea. I mean, it's been four years since Lulu and I were together, and even that wasn't particularly serious, so her doing something to me really isn't my concern. The problem is, even if I do cave and win the stupid stuffed…whatever, I know for a fact that it might be afflicted with some crazy voodoo magic or something.
Yes, I refuse to win the doll because I fear for our safety. Perfect.
"Lulu!" chirps Amaya. "How's it going?"
"Not bad, this shift is pretty boring," she replies. "I'm filling in for Wakka's dad while he goes to eat."
"Aww, that's sweet," Amaya smiles. She needs to stop doing that. "These plush dolls are super cute!"
"Yeah, I made them," Lulu replies. Yep. RED ALERT. THESE ARE DEFINITELY NOT SAFE.
"Wow, I didn't know you were so talented!" No, no, you don't know what's good for you!
"Something the matter, Riku?" Lulu directs the question at me. Crap. "You're cringing."
"It's been a long day," I shrug. "I guess I'm just tired."
"You sure look funny when you're tired," Amaya chortles. Ugh. I can hear Sora and Kairi stifling their laughter from behind me. I swear, when I get a chance alone with those two…
"Oh wow, this one's really cute!" she points out this one chubby, blue alien-looking doll. It's got a yellow antenna, and the only facial features it possesses are eyes. It's kinda creepy. A closer look at the tag hanging off its arm reveals its name is 'PuPu.'
"Hey, Sora, you should win me this one," Amaya says excitedly, turning to her brother.
Except, there's the fact that he's nowhere in sight.
"That's strange…" she muses. No shit.
I'm going to kill them.
"Did they say they were going somewhere?" she turns to me.
Shit. It's just me and her.
"Uh…"
"He seems just as confused as the two of us," Lulu chimes in. Oh, right, she's here, too. Lovely.
"Huh, I wonder what the two of them could be up to…I mean, they're pretty vanilla…"
"That's what exactly what I said!" I splutter, without even thinking. Shit, I have engaged in conversation.
"Hm?"
Well, point of no return. "There was a good few hours, earlier, where I was looking for them, too. I had no idea what they were up to," I shrug.
"That's…suspicious," she thinks aloud. She starts stroking her chin and squints her eyes, as if deep in thought. Well, we don't want her thinking too deeply, now. If she's as smart as Sora says she is, she might figure out that this is a whole stupid scheme to set me and her up.
"Why don't we go look for them?" I suggest, trying to break up her train of thought. "I mean, I'm just as concerned by it as you are."
"Hm…you know, I was going to just go back to my friends, but…you are right, it's definitely bothering me. Let's go take a look!" she beams.
This is either the best or the worst thing that's ever happened to me, it's too early to tell.
"Lulu, I'll definitely be back with Sora for that PuPu doll!" Yeah. That works perfectly fine for me. No way in hell am I winning that plush thing.
"My shift should be over by then, so I probably won't see you here," Lulu says.
"Aww, well, we'll be sure to see you around!"
"Yeah, see ya," I nod. Well, hey, creepy doll crisis averted. Now I just gotta keep my cool and, hey, maybe I'll have a date for next Friday night or something. Or I'm going to have to beat Sora's ass. Although that's gonna happen regardless.
The two of us start walking, side by side, as we begin our quest to locate the missing couple. The circumstances might not be ideal, but I guess this is my chance to get to know her, and decide whether or not it's actually worth pursuing something with her. I keep my gaze ahead, so I don't get distracted by her looks—if anything is going to happen between me and her, it's gotta be something deeper than aesthetics or else, as I've learned from the past, it's not gonna last. Hey, that rhymes.
"Hmm, where do you think they could be?" she asks.
"Beats me," I reply. "There's so much to do at this place, they could be anywhere."
"Well, let's see…I'd say there's about an hour until sunset, and then another half hour after that 'til it's completely dark. That's when the mayor makes his speech, and then it's time for fireworks. Any ideas?" she directs the question toward me.
"Mm…" I keep my eyes on the ground so I can think clearly. I try to think back to all the conversations I had with my best friends earlier today, and suddenly, it hits me. "Ultimate Frisbee."
"'Ultimate Frisbee?'" she echoes.
"Tidus challenged us to a rematch of the huge Ultimate Frisbee game we had last year," I tell her. "He said that we'd do it right before the fireworks. After the way things went last year, there's no way Sora wouldn't want to redeem himself. He's definitely going to be there. And Kairi's likely to be there for moral support."
"Oh, yeah, I remember watching that last year!" she giggles. "Oh, now it makes sense. Why you were buying Sora the chowder, I mean. He ended up crashing into and destroying that booth!"
"Yep," I chuckle.
"Still, he might not be the most coordinated person, or the sharpest tool in the shed, but, he's a good brother. Even though he's a year younger than me, sometimes, with the way he looks out for me, it seems like he's the older one."
I don't see that side to Sora that often—the serious, protective side, that is—but she does bring up an old memory. It was a couple years back in high school, and Sora was ranting one day about how he was going to whoop this one guy's ass since he broke up with Amaya. I scoffed at him, and told him there was no way he'd come out on top. From what I remember, this guy was one of the best on the…boxing team? I wasn't really paying attention to the details, but it was some sort of violent sport. Maybe it was rugby, I don't know. Anyway, Sora was fuming, and on the rare occasion that that happens, he's stupider than usual. I tried talking him out of it, but it was impossible to convince him otherwise. The only option was for me to let him learn his lesson on his own.
The next day, I found out that the guy was out for the season. Broken ribs. Sora had this smug smirk on his face for the rest of the day, and I have to say, I was pretty impressed.
Sora would never get away with that kind of shit with me, though.
"You know," she starts, "it's funny. You're Sora's best friend, and I don't even remember the last time we talked to each other."
"Huh, I never really thought about that," I reply. I want to say 'I kind of forgot you existed,' but that might be rude. "I guess I never really see the two of you together." Yeah, that'll suffice.
"True, Sora and I don't really spend a lot of time together when we're outside of the house. We hang out with pretty different groups of people. Hm, kind of makes me wonder if the two of us would be good friends. I mean, I love Kairi, and the only other person that's that close to him is you."
Did I just get friend-zoned?
"Well, I guess we're not gonna find out unless we get to know each other, huh?" I reply, coolly. She can't decide to friend-zone me until she actually has a full-on conversation with me, right?
"Yeah, definitely!" she chirps. I glance over at her only to see her peeking up at me, with a warmth in her eyes. I look away to keep from melting.
And now, it gets awkward. I have no idea how to progress this banter any further. The fact that we can't remember the last time we talked to each other also kind of means that we have no idea what the other person is interested in, or even where to start a conversation about that kind of stuff. I don't really want to keep bringing up Sora; that's just gonna make me more prone to getting friend-zoned.
"So, what do you think those two are up to right now, anyway? We'll definitely run into them at the big game, but we can't really get any revenge on them for running away from us then." Well, she killed the 'not-talking-about-Sora' plan, but I guess it's a step above awkward silence.
"Knowing them…something stupid," I sigh.
"Huh, well, Sora will drop anything and everything to make Kairi happy. What would Kairi be wanting to do right now?" she thinks aloud. She has a point; I'm pretty sure Kairi's the mastermind behind all this shit going on. She's also probably the one who dragged Sora off out of nowhere. There are two possibilities I can think of: somehow, somewhere, they're spying on us, or they're goofing off on—
"The mechanical chocobo," I think aloud.
"What?"
"Kairi loves that thing. I don't know why. I always thought it might be some sort of latent expression of sexual frustration or something—I mean, come on, you know she's getting nowhere with Sora— but, regardless, if there's a party with a mechanical chocobo, Kairi's gonna be riding it."
"That…ugh," I look over to see her scowling at the image I've just painted for her. "Although, as much as I don't like that thought, it strangely makes sense."
"Just block the picture out of your head," I shrug. "The goal is to find them, we can leave the psychoanalysis for later."
"I mean, considering you've already got that part taken care of," she smirks.
"Alright, this conversation's over," I scoff, and I begin to walk in the direction of the mechanical chocobo. I can hear her giggle as she jogs to catch up with me.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" she says, lightheartedly. "But you gotta admit, you totally set yourself up for that."
"You might be more annoying than Sora," I groan dramatically.
"Ah, so that's your assessment from spending a solid five minutes with me?" she prods.
"Well, first impressions do make a lasting impact on perception."
"Hmm, if that's the case, you might want to work on your own first impression," she winks.
"Oh?"
"Shirking your way out of a favor by making a girl you barely know go ahead and pay for and carry twice the amount of chowder she originally planned on getting because you were too lazy to do it yourself? Not the most gentlemanly thing, if I do say so myself. And, I'm totally not buying the 'I thought it might be funny excuse,' although if that is the case, then you must have a really strange sense of humor."
"Alright, alright, you caught me," I play along with her. I'd rather her think that than her knowing that I thought she was way too pretty for me to even be able to look at her straight.
Spending more time with her though…I think that feeling's subsiding.
"Still, you're lucky I don't judge based on my first impressions of people," she says, sticking her tongue out at me. "Otherwise, I would have totally turned Kairi down when she asked me to hang out with you guys."
"Huh?"
"A couple hours ago, Kairi and Sora came to hang out with me and my friends. It was cute, Kairi said that the two of us needed to spend more time together, especially since her and Sora are getting pretty serious and all."
"They were pretty serious a good five years before they actually started going out," I scoff.
"You know what I mean." She rolls her eyes at me. I don't know, there's something fun about getting on her nerves. And hey, if she can put up with it, then maybe this is worth a shot. Maybe. "Anyway, it looked like Kairi was starting to get a little uncomfortable, and when I asked her about it, she said she was a little intimidated by hanging out with so many new people." Oh, bullshit. Chick's a social butterfly. Have I also mentioned that Kairi is also one of the best liars I've ever met? "But she still wanted to spend time with me, so I offered to spend a little alone time with the two of them. It was then, that Sora went off to grab you."
Damn, they had the whole thing planned out.
"Although…it's weird, they insisted I spend time with the two of them, and then they just run off without a word…" she muses. Crap, crap, need to throw off her train of thought before she figures out what this is all about.
And just as luck would have it, the mechanical chocobo is in sight.
"Hey, let's go take a look!" Without thinking, I grab her wrist and begin leading her towards it. It's weird—a few hours ago I could barely look at her, and now, I'm touching her. She's going along with it though; instead of fighting her way out of my grasp, she lets me lead her without protest. And damn, is her skin soft.
"Huh, I don't see them anywhere," she observes, snapping me back into the real world. I didn't even realize that we had already reached the area. Gah, this spacing out crap better not be a common occurrence if I decide to ask her out.
I scan the vicinity and, whaddaya know? She's right. My spiky-haired best friend and his red-headed girlfriend are nowhere in sight—they're pretty easy to pick out, even in a huge crowd like the one that surrounds the stupid chocobo thing.
"Okay," she sighs. "Where should we look now?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"Hmm…let's walk around some more. Maybe it'll spark an idea!" A smile creeps up on her lips.
"Alright." At this point, I've pretty much given in. Things haven't gone horribly yet, and, I gotta admit, she's pretty cool so far. A little more time alone with her couldn't hurt. Right?
"Pick a direction, and we'll walk straight that way!"
"My decision, huh?" I feel myself smirk. I'll be the first to admit, I like being in charge. Her letting me have my way right off the bat? Can't complain about that. My stomach's happy about that, too, 'cause I can feel it ready to rumble. I think they're starting to serve dinner. "Hey, why don't we head back over towards the food?"
"You know, that's a good idea. Knowing Sora, if he's not fooling around or sleeping, he's stuffing his face."
"Accurate assessment." I turn around and lead the way back to the food booths. The beach sure is getting livelier, as if that was even possible. There's a good half hour left until the Ultimate Frisbee game and—
Crap. I can't eat. I've got to be ready to play in half an hour.
"Riku, something wrong? You look kind of…annoyed," Amaya observes. I realize I never told her that the main reason I wanted to go back wasn't to find Sora, but to get food for myself, so I'm just going to have to play along with that.
"Your brother just seriously pisses me off sometimes, that's all," I sneer.
"You just have to learn to be a little patient with him," she giggles. "And I'm learning that that's the case with Kairi, too."
"Like two peas in a pod."
"At least they're cute!"
"Not even going to respond to that." She chuckles, and then the two of us fall silent. Not gonna lie, this is getting kind of awkward. I'm desperately trying to find some sort of inspiration from our surroundings to strike up some sort of conversation with her.
My acute senses pick up a rustling behind a set of bushes to our left. I look over at Amaya, and her confused expression lets me know that she sees it, too. I press a finger to my lips, motioning her to stay quiet, as I walk over stealthily to inspect.
"D-does it taste good, K-Kairi?" I suddenly hear a nervous Sora behind the bushes.
…Maybe they aren't as vanilla as I thought.
"Yeah, refreshing, actually," she replies, shyly. Well, damn, I never thought I'd say it, but I'm gonna need tips from Sora, if that's really the case. "It's so…juicy, and…I can't really explain it. Here, try it."
Woah, what?
"What is it?" I hear Amaya whisper in my ear. WOAH, WOAH, WOAH where the hell did she come from?! Her warm breath against the back of my neck and soft hand on my shoulder catch me totally off guard, and before I can brace myself, I fall face-first into the bush.
"R-Riku!" Kairi blurts out in surprise. I don't even dare look up, I do not need to see—
"Aww, you guys are adorable!" Amaya sputters. Wait, what?
Either it was too good to be true, and she is bat-shit crazy, or…
Do I dare look up?
"Amaya, have you tried this before? It's amazing!" Sora cries.
"What the hell?!" I can't help but blurt out as I whip my head up to see Sora's hand holding—
Oh. It's only half a paopu fruit. Everything is still right with the world.
"Well, it's not like we're going to tell you every aspect of our love life, Riku, jeez. I know you miss us, but we need our own space, too," says Sora, matter-of-factly.
"Oh, it's nothing like that," Amaya replies, sweetly. "We were worried about you guys, since you just sort of ran away without a word, so the two of us came looking for you. But, you're right, you guys need your privacy, so Riku and I are just gonna be on our way." And with that, she grabs my hand and tries to pull me up out of the bush. I would probably just sit there, limp and dumbstruck, if I wasn't aware of the stupid smirks plastered on Sora and Kairi's faces. Oh, I refuse to be a source of their dim-witted entertainment. Instead, I squeeze back on her hand as I scoot myself up and stand, and let her guide me away from them. Once we're in the clear, I let go of her.
"Your hands are really rough," she points out.
"Happens when you work out a lot, I guess," I shrug. And never have I been so grateful for that fact. I am completely aware of how good I look in my swimming trunks, and as I peek over at her, I totally catch her glancing out of the corner of her eye at my abs, six-pack proudly on display. Her cheeks are a little red.
Oh, things are going to go a lot more smoothly from here on out.
"Well, anyway…" She clears her throat and blinks rapidly a couple of times, trying to compose herself. "I never would have thought I would walk in on my brother sharing a paopu fruit."
"There are worse things to walk in on," I remind her.
"True, but that was a really intimate moment for them. I feel terrible that we intruded."
"Well, they were being pretty suspicious, hiding in the bushes and all."
"I guess you're right," she beams. "You know, to be totally honest, I don't even see the huge deal in sharing a paopu with someone, anyway."
"What?" I don't think I've ever heard anyone else question the legend of the paopu fruit before.
"I mean, the legend goes: 'If you share a paopu fruit with someone, your destinies are intertwined. You'll always be a part of each other's lives, no matter what.' Which, I mean, I guess is sorta romantic, but at the same time, look at where we live. The island's so small, there's no way you're gonna be apart from someone."
Damn.
"Heh, you know, I don't think truer words have ever been spoken," I smirk at her.
"That's strange," she starts, with a laugh. "Normally, people start arguing and debating with me, as if that opinion's blasphemous."
"I guess I'm just not a normal person, then," I wink. Her face flushes slightly.
My, my, how the tables have turned.
"Well, I guess I have to agree with you there," she grins.
Oh, she's putty in my hands. I think back to that look she was giving me earlier, when she thought I wasn't paying attention. In two seconds, she's gonna be gushing about how amazingly perfect she thinks I am and how much she totally wants me.
"Oh?" I cock up an eyebrow.
"Earlier today, you could barely look at me, and now here you are, trying to flirt with me," she smirks. "What's up with that?"
That…did not go according to plan.
The universe really wants to take a dump on me today.
"Uh…"
"Ay, Riku, there ya are, man!" I look over to see none other than Wakka running up to us. I don't think I've ever been happier.
"Hey, Wakka, what's up?" I reply, turning all my attention and focus away from Amaya to talk to him.
"We're heading over to the clearing right now for the rematch! You're coming, ya?"
"Wouldn't dream of missing it."
"And you'll be there ta watch, Amaya?" he asks her.
"Yeah, I'll be sure to come by in a bit," she replies, gently.
"Alright! I'm going to head over now, don't want to keep Lu waiting too long! She and some of the others are already there. You coming, Riku?"
As much as I'd rather not see Lulu again…
"Yep, let's go!" I'd rather not continue this conversation with her right now.
"Good luck!" she says, patting my arm before she walks off. I can feel the heat rushing to my face from her touch. Luckily, Wakka's too hyped up for the game to notice.
A/N: Hey guys~ Lol yeah I ended up splitting the chapter again. I'm having too much fun with this flashback. BUT I PROMISE IT'LL BE OVER IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.
Sorry I took so long to update; had a little writer's block, plus school's started back up. But hey, this chapter's slightly longer than the last two so there's that.
Definitely review and let me know what you think! Do I have my characterizations down? Is there chemistry between Amaya and Riku? Am I kind of funny? Is Sora/Chowder YOUR new OTP?
Oh and if you want to know what Amaya and Haru look like, check out the new cover photo ;) Full version on my deviantArt account, link's in my bio
Annnnnd shoutouts! Thank you so so much to ANP Productions, mystic moogle, ultimatebrat, and Songbird Rebel for your reviews on the last chapter, y'all are what keeps me going :)