A/N: Woot! Thank you to all of those who reviewed! You always make my day. :-D

Well, okay, I wanted to point this out now just in case – the Whiplash aspect of this fic is not just for the AkuRoku. See, I realize that LiD needs some real three-dimensional competition – like, people who deserve to win and the readers know almost as much as the original characters do, you know? Not like, "AHHH! TEH OTHER BANDZ R TEH n00bZ n theyz EVILLZ!!" XD. Point made.

Btw, ALL lyrics written in this chapter are my own.

And no offense meant to any DDR fans!

Summary: AU: Riku's band has the chance of a lifetime--they've finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? Sokai, Namiku, AkuRoku. Rated for strong language and suggestive themes.

Disclaimer: Nope! I own nothing! All belongs to Disney and Square-enix!

LiD: Rise and Crescendo

Chapter Seven: A Piece of Paradise

Naminé watched the early sun's ribbons trail across the horizon, spilling on to the streets before her. The sky bloomed with rose; the indigo blue of last night slowly fading away behind her. She could still see the half-moon peeking through the veiling of the morning sky. Settling her sketchbook onto her lap, her gaze shifted to include the quiet city before her.

It was only an hour after sunrise; even now though, the dusty streets rippled with the first few of its citizens. Vendors threw open their stalls; she noticed men rushing away, off to work. Curtains of cloth cascaded over the vendor's spot of choice, which were set up against tall, stone buildings. Strange plants bloomed in the dry heat of this place. Off in the distance, a banner of sand stretched across the horizon, and gleamed gold against the white pillars of the bridge they had driven across last night.

Sandsea. Renowned for its unnatural ocean of rolling sands.

It was amazing really, Naminé had thought to herself, and Sora had been just awed by with what they saw ("Dude! This place is unreal!" he said, eyes wide. He had stretched over the edge of the car to get a closer look, but Riku had only grabbed the back of his shirt – "Hey!" Sora had cried – with Riku muttering in return, "Idiot.") She too had never seen such an unnatural phenomenon before in her life. The sand contained the fluidity of water, but looked soft and refined. A truly remarkable sight and Naminé struggled to capture it on the few pages left of her sketchbook.

Naminé sighed, and rubbed her forehead. She glanced down at the half-eaten breakfast before her – a now-cold cup of pekoe tea, and some fancy exotic fruit-filled pancakes 

that the waitress just insisted that she try. Naminé had – and then put the rest back down. She'd polished off the teacakes, though. Those were good.

She was sitting outside on the patio of a quaint restaurant called The Oasis, which, conveniently was also a hotel. A modest-sized one, but it had air-conditioning, and everyone had been more than thankful for that, considering how hot this particular region was. What Naminé liked best about the hotel was the fact that it had a balcony – a thick white stone wall that surrounded the perimeters, opening up to the lively streets below.

And she had paid for it all.

Naminé smiled. The way the boys had practically thrown themselves at the counter – particularly Tidus – was funny, and oh-so-chivalrous. The way Sora's eyes filled with concern and tried to reason everything out, how Tidus kept inching around her, ready to haul her aside, the way Kairi just stepped in, and they just automatically backed off, the way…

Naminé's smile faltered. The way a certain silver-haired, aqua-eyed, mood-swinging teenager hung in the back, who had barely uttered a word to her since that night, including the "she's a guest" line he had stated during the check-in. And he had barely looked her in the eye.

Ugh, what was going on? Naminé bit her lip, and began to methodically tap either side of her pencil on her sketchbook, her gaze lost in the drawing in front of her. The previous night's events were still fresh in her mind - did they not have a small, but polite conversation? Did they not talk? She distinctly remembered how when Riku had softened his tone, his eyes, and began to walk away, she could not let him go - she had wanted him to stay. His hand had felt rough against her smooth skin, his grip gentle, yet secure.

Secure, she remembered dimly. That's how I felt. When she was alone, outside, and the fiery redhead had sauntered up to her, almost towering over her, she had felt so vulnerable. And so ashamed. Kairi would never have let something like that happen to her (as she had oh-so-tactfully stated, "You should've friggin' punched the loser!" during the brief conversation they had held in the car with Sora's and Riku's absences).

But Naminé had only stood there in fear, helpless, and not knowing what to do. Ignorant. Naïve. Childish terms chased her conscience, taunting. Naminé had felt so bad - she felt as if they were baby-sitting her or something - she had felt like such a burden afterwards. None of this would've happened if it weren't for me, she thought glumly. Not Axel, not the single-bedroom-thing, not the drag race, not anything.

Was the rest of the trip going to be like this too? Huh. And Naminé thought the madness ended with all the events that transpired a month ago...

"Hey Naminé!" a voice called out from inside the restaurant. Naminé was about to twist her head towards the door (along with the rest of the early-risers, it was quite a 

commotion), but suddenly, a body with familiar nut-brown hair threw himself into the plastic chair across from her. A set of sparkling blue eyes twinkled before her.

"Going to go sight-seeing without me, huh?"

Naminé smiled. "Morning, Sora."

"Morning yourself; beautiful day, isn't it?" Sora said brightly, as he leaned back into his chair, hands folded behind his head. She saw that his hair was still wet; fragrances of soap and shampoo emanated from him. He'd carelessly thrown on a sky-blue t-shirt (which really brought out the blue in his eyes, she noticed) and khaki-coloured cargo caprice that were still half-wrinkled. If she didn't know better, she'd say that Sora had practically leapt out of the bathroom in his excitement to start the day.

Sora noticed the food on the table, and his eyes lit up. "Whoa! Pancakes! Can I eat some too?" he asked, grabbing a nearby fork, and stuck a rather large piece into his mouth. Naminé laughed, watching as his eyes widened in delight.

"Mmm! Where's the waitress? I want more of this stuff!" he said, looking around. The young woman noticed, and she hurried over. Not only did he order said pancakes, but some coffee.

"You sure you really need the coffee?" Naminé asked when the waitress left. "I kind of think you have enough energy right now to, you know, last you the whole day."

Sora laughed. "It's just this place! It's so… alive, you know? The city, the people, the music, I can't wait to look around – I wanna see it all!"

Sora's eagerness didn't surprise Naminé in the least, but the contagiousness of it did. He had to be the most open-minded person she knew – reveling in other cultures and foreign cities would energize him. It was an adventure for Sora; a chance for him to learn and experience something new.

And now, she was looking forward to exploring as much as he was. This should be fun.

"Hey," Sora began, as the waitress arrived with his food, "Whaddya say we go around for a look-see, huh? The others won't be awake for another hour or so."

Naminé thought about it for a moment. There was no way that anyone could contain Sora's eagerness. He was clearly itching to start.

She nodded. "Sure; Kai asked for a few things, and it wouldn't hurt to look for a new sketchbook." She glanced at the table. "But what about your food?"

"I'll just bring it along!" he said cheerily, standing up. He began to roll the two large pancakes up, and wrapped a couple of napkins around them. Sora nodded for her to stand up as well, as he grabbed his coffee in the other. "Come on, let's go!"

Naminé smiled, and grabbed her tote bag. A little distraction would be nice, after all, and where else for her mind to drift, but into what she'd only been trying to capture moments ago? She stood up, and walked over to Sora, who was already out on the roads.

LiD

"This place sucks ass."

"Don't be so negative, jeez."

"Well, maybe if you'd tell me where the frig' we are, I wouldn't have to be."

"It's a surprise."

"Hmph," Roxas grunted at Axel, glaring out the window. "You're so annoying." Axel chortled at him, only pissing an already pissed Roxas off. Instead of responding again, Roxas watched the passing scenery.

Dingy buildings and dark streets encompassed the majority of the city they had traveled through, hazy smoke and neon lights blinding the unwary citizen. Past the busy intersections, past the roaring clubhouses, past the street-roamers, were endless stretches of night however. Almost like home, Roxas thought, feeling grumpy. Home was the last place Roxas wanted to be right now – half the reason he'd been so ecstatic to go on this trip.

Grimacing at the thought of his family, Roxas did remember not all of D'Arc looked like the city passing by. On the outer rims of their hometown, wealthy suburbs and lame friendly neighbors resided in harmony. Like something out of a friggin' movie. Well, gay-ass romance and comedy movies, that was.

Fear was way more fun. Who cared about who married who, who was sleeping around, what fights were started, when CGI effects could mutilate people?

Next to him, Axel was drumming his fingers to the beat of the music, looking for – what had he called it? The Black Pearl. Sounded like the lamest place ever, in Roxas' opinion. Not to mention, suspicious. It was probably some freaky cave underwater, or an abandoned island, and it was probably the base of some retarded scientist's laboratory.

Ooh… and then, and then, the mad scientist indulged in mixing genes and he probably had armies of freakish and demented, angry beasts that were full of radioactive-ness and… and… they had a fetish for human flesh! And blood! And they used the bones of the victim to pick their teeth afterwards! Yeah!

Wait… what movie was that from? The Mountains Can Hear. Yeah… Roxas shuddered. That had definitely been a scary one.

Axel must have noticed Roxas' reaction to his thoughts, because he cocked an eyebrow and said,

"Relax; Jack told me the Black Pearl is the coolest place around." Roxas snorted. Captain Jack, what kind of friend was that? Who the hell thinks he's a pirate? And a friggin' Captain? Axel hadn't explained how the two had met, but Roxas had a firm guess that it was when one or the other was thoroughly wasted.

Axel sighed. No doubt he was depressed, what with everyone being so not interested. Roxas rolled his eyes – normally, he supposed, he'd care, but right now he was feeling rather grumpy. And the screeching music about some loser who's daddy never hugged him wasn't exactly lightening the mood. Roxas scoffed – his dad had rarely hugged him, but nobody saw Roxas bitching.

Xiggy, in the back, groaned, "Are we there yet?" Axel let out another dramatic sigh – jeez, the band could be so friggin' immature sometimes, Roxas told himself – and tried to lighten the mood with,

"Awww, you guys are just unhappy 'cause of all the emo shit!"

Roxas grunted again in response, hood up and hands jammed in his front pocket. Xiggy rolled his eyes,

"No, it's not the music, Axel – it's you. You suck." Maybe it was because he was feeling annoyed, or maybe it was as payback for Xiggy's insult, but Axel slammed the radio button, changing the station.

"Feel that! That air is a-rushin', you don't stop crushin', oh baby…"

Roxas rolled his eyes. Xiggy groaned. Demyx continued to snore. Axel bobbed his head, and had he known the lyrics Roxas was certain the redhead would be roaring along.

"Sweets and tarts ain't got my heart, you got it all… feel that! It's looooove!"

Axel just had to choose the hoppiest, most beat-bopping, gayest song there was. With a lightly dancing drum; a cheery, bouncing bass (Roxas scowled here, feeling insulted); a tag-along guitar that doubled the vocals; the singer running up and down a complete major scale, Roxas wanted to punch the radio.

"Dresses and ties ain't got my eyes, baby… oh babbyyyy… it's you! Yeah, you! Cuz we're in looooooove…" "Love! You! Love! You! Looooooove!"

"Yeah!" Axel enthused; half mocking, half cheerful. "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!"

Typical Axel to do something so out of character. Back when they'd first met, Roxas was sure Axel had to be the biggest jerk around. The cliché bad-ass; shit, had Roxas been scared of him. Demyx, on the other hand, instead of the typical lackey, had actually proved to be what Axel saw as an equal. A best friend. Huh – Demyx had been a lot friendlier, right off the bat, towards Roxas than Axel had. He'd harass the hell out of Roxas, just because he could.

And yet, unlike what Roxas had expected, Axel had proved to be a startlingly loyal friend when the time had come. That alone was enough to slap Roxas back to reality.

Roxas glared at the radio, but felt it loosen a bit. Axel was still bobbing his head along to the cheesy, yet layered tune. Roxas' lips twitched into a smirk, and even in the back, Xiggy had stopped complaining. But then, he was willing to bet that the older man had just zoned out – tripping-up enough tended to give people that ability. Roxas supposed he should be glad he wasn't that deep in yet.

Leaning back in his seat, Roxas sighed. Hopefully, whatever Axel had planned wouldn't be anything to push him in farther tonight.

LiD

Kairi bounced out of the bathroom, her hair still wet and wrapped in a towel. She'd woken at half-past nine, only to find Naminé already gone.

Figures – they'd had a long talk last night (something they hadn't done in like forever), and running through the conversation in her mind, Kairi really wasn't surprised if Naminé wouldn't have been able to sleep. Everything that had happened almost a month ago still wouldn't leave Naminé's mind, and Kairi cursed herself for not having been there. Although Naminé had assured her – over and over, at that – that it was not Kai's fault that they were hundreds of kilometers away from each other, and there was nothing she could've done, Kai still wouldn't buy it. After all, she was the big sister, dammit! She was like, supposed to be there and stuff! Naminé shouldn't have to deal with school drama alone! Thoughts still raging in her heads, she hadn't even realized she was already heading towards the boys' room.

Huh – looked like as much as they got on nerves, she found herself heading towards them every damn time. The thought actually made Kairi smirk a bit to herself, as she shoved open their door (they hadn't bothered to lock it, again – don't males know anything about security?).

"Rik's in the bathroom, and I dunno about Sor," Tidus greeted the moment she entered, lying upside-down on the bed lazily.

"It's good to see you, too," she replied, rolling her eyes. She could hear the shower running… and something… else…

"Where's Naminé then?" he asked, ignoring the last statement. Almost. "Oh, yeah –good morning." Tidus peered around Kairi, as if the blonde girl may have been hiding behind her sister. Kairi rolled her eyes again and said bluntly,

"Away. She ran as far as possible from you, dumbass." Well, Kairi wouldn't have blamed her if she had. But then, knowing her sister, she was probably downstairs, or hanging out with Sora.

Huh. Kairi wouldn't be surprised if Sora was already outside, taking in the city. He'd been more than ready to go exploring last night, but both Tidus and Riku had dragged 

him into the hotel/restaurant, muttering about "being awake too long" and "too much driving". Tidus brought her back to the moment though, when he wailed dramatically,

"And you let her? You let the girl of my sweetest and forever-ness-ness dreams just abandon me like that?"

"With my blessings."

"Hey! That's not – "

Just then, though, the bathroom door swung open; Riku walked out, rubbing the towel through his wet silver hair. He was dressed in a red t-shirt (some brand name or another printed darkly on the front), with its sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, and light jeans. Upon seeing Kairi, he flashed her a brilliant smile.

"Good morning!"

Kairi blinked. Holy crap; and this guy had been humming? In the shower? Riku?

"Well, someone's awfully cheerful today," Kairi noted, as Tidus got up and walked into the bathroom. She watched as Riku dropped his gathered clothes into a heap in the corner of the room. Kairi frowned. Boys. They're all the same, dammit. She didn't know how many times she'd find Sora's clothes all over his room everytime she came over to his house. Kairi grimaced inside – Tidus' room was probably the worst of them all.

"Hey – it's a nice city. I wanna look around," Riku replied, digging through his bags on the bed she was sitting on. Shaking her head, she smiled.

"Seems as if Sora's beat you to it."

"Whatever – he's just scouting out the territory for me, so I don't have to waste any time."

Kairi laughed, and shook her head. Knowing that they had grown up together, she saw there were some strong similarities that Riku and Sora shared, and this was one of them. Their love of adventure; always wanting to try something new (and dangerous, Kairi thought wearily, reflecting on the countless times they and their friends had pulled ridiculously stupid stunts). So she shouldn't really be surprised to see that Riku was in a good mood, but the cheerful smile had thrown her off – especially considering in light of what had happened yesterday.

Kairi paused, collecting her thoughts, all the while giving Riku a careful glance. Riku noticed, and looked up. "What?" he asked, curiously.

Kairi bit the inside of her cheek hesitantly and peered up at him. "Are… you all right?" He paused, before giving her a lighthearted smile, returning to digging through his things. He pulled out his music player, and slipped the headphones around his neck.

"Yeah, of course," he replied, but then mumbled, "Better than before." She nodded thoughtfully.

"She told me what happened – the other night," – Riku gave her a side-long glance – "and…" Kairi wondered if… because if it was… then she'd have to…

"Riku… is there something – "

A loud knocking suddenly interrupted their conversation.

"Room service!" a perky voice called from the other side of the door. Kairi and Riku exchanged glances, and Kairi sighed. Naminé.

Of course, Kairi knew that Naminé had paid this time… something about owing the gang back for all their hospitality, even though Kairi told her not to worry. And technically, Kairi had paid too… considering it was their parent's credit card she had used – something their parents had given Naminé to help pay for expenses in Radiant Garden. Kairi was surprised though, that Naminé had also opted to pay for room and laundry service, though inside Kairi had squealed.

Riku walked over, and answered the door. A woman was standing outside, holding out a rather large laundry bag in her hands. Riku shook his head, as he gathered up the clothes in the corner, and put them in the bag.

"Thank you! Laundry will be washed, dried, and folded within the next two hours," she chirped, as she tagged the bag, and dragged it away. Riku offered to help carry it, but the woman just shook her head with a big smile, saying, "Enjoy your day!"

Kairi hopped off the bed, as Riku closed the door, again, shaking his head.

"Well, you heard her – let's enjoy our day!" she enthused. Tidus walked out then, clad in a navy blue sleeveless hoodie, with silver basketball shorts, and sockless, white running shoes. Kairi raised her eyebrows, and Tidus responded with a cheeky smile.

"I checked out way too many girls last night." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, before rolling them once again, and marched over to the door.

"Come on! Let's just get downstairs!" With that, Kairi walked outside, the two trailing behind her.

LiD

Axel leaned back in his chair, watching a disgruntled Roxas in front of him. They'd arrived at the Black Pearl a while ago; turned out to be a rather…er… dramatic restaurant, in Axel's opinion. Pirate-theme overruled everywhere – from the manager and owner (Captain Barbossa, he demanded to be called), to the costumed crew for waiters; all accented by treasure chests spewing with fool's gold, crossbones and olden tables.

Jack had arrived early with a reserved spot for them, right by the fire roaring in the hearth. He was sitting with his legs sprawled out and that same retarded hat on his head – Axel smirked, remembering how he'd been wearing it when they first met. Sparrow had been utterly drunk, and had been wandering through D'Arc city alleys when Axel had taken the loser in, feeling pity for the strange character. Jack crashed on his couch and the next morning he left again, telling Axel to stop by if he ever happened through his city.

Tortuga.

A pirate's paradise.

"Jack!" a female voice cried out. Axel raised an eyebrow, and saw a busty, vivacious young barmaid walk by. He smirked, as Jack responded in equal delight,

"Marie?"

"Oh?" the women sneered from behind a mask of make-up. " 'Oo's she?" Slap.

Nice – Axel smirked again, as Jack was rubbing his cheek in discontent. Another scraggly bar hand came by sometime after the girl had stormed off,

"What 'ill the sirs 'e 'avin then?" Axel briefly wondered if they were paid to put the accent on, or if it all came naturally. Maybe the whole friggin' city was as insane as Jack was.

"Well," Jack said with extravagance. "I'll be 'avin the usual, my good man – er – Pintel, and give the same to the rest o' the lads here." Jack looked around, but raised an eyebrow in surprise at a very awkward looking Roxas, and quickly added, "Oh! But for the lad – the short one – give 'im the special."

"The Dead Man's Chest?" the waiter asked. Jack nodded with a smirk,

"Aye."

Roxas, looking horrified, cut in, "No! Really – I – that's very kind, sir, but I – er…"

"Nonsense! Tis your birthday, lad! Don't 'ou think you deserve the special?" Jack laughed, flamboyantly. "Don't worry mate – every'ing's mostly dead in it, anyways! Well, last I checked."

Demyx and Xiggy couldn't help but snicker at the expression on Roxas' face. Even Axel couldn't deny it wasn't just cute – hell, it was friggin' hilarious, seeing the death glare/flabbergasted/ horrified expression on the blond's face. Axel leaned over and ruffled his friend's hair, much to the blond's dismay. But, wait – there it was. Roxas was pouting a bit now.

LiD

Strolling along under the burning heat, Riku tugged his headphones off for a moment, before slipping them back on. The bass was blaring, pounding Riku's already aching head. As intrigued as he was with the new culture, heat and Riku had gotten along about as well… ugh. Something that didn't get along – it was too exhausting to think properly right now. They'd been walking for around half-an-hour, after Sora and Naminé hadn't shown up at breakfast.

Focusing back on the music, Riku ran through the lyrics mentally this time – even though he usually carried a pocket notebook around with him.

Should I just drown in your sea? No, damn, that wouldn't work… but damn, a sea would be nice right about now…

Are you gonna leave me in this sea? Crap, no…

Think I can float in this… sea… ah! Riku's creativity seemed to be withering in this blasted heat.

He mouthed out words silently, with a half a mind – the other absorbed in the music pounding into his ears. The music was their own – instrumentals they had pre-recorded themselves either using a recorder or the computer program at Tidus' house. Most of the time, Riku just wrote the lyrics to fit the mood of the music.

It feels like I'm sinking but maybe not

Maybe I'm floating in what I sought

Perfect… but argh, what about the line before that? What about, what about… argh!

Damn it! He ripped off his headphones, jamming his hands into his pockets. Glaring at the vendors calling their wares, Riku's eyes shifted to the sandy road they stood on. He knew the competition required original work, and they had most of the songs already planned out, but there were still a few left reverberating through his mind.

They had stopped at a vendor, with Kairi eagerly looking over some exotic looking bangles ("Holy crap!" she squealed excitedly. "Guys, look! The diamond-dust pink compliments the ochre luster black so perfectly!" The vendor backed away a bit after she did a little jump-thingy). Riku rolled his eyes, moving in closer under the shade of the vendor's booth.

"How's it going?" a voice spoke, breaking through his thoughts.

Riku looked up to see the blond drummer grinning at him.

Riku shrugged, flipping his hair out the band of his headphones. "I don't know. We've got the music down, but these lyrics…" He ran a hand through his hair, before resting it behind his neck. "Just give me a few more days."

He felt a hand rest firmly on his shoulder. Riku glanced to see Kairi had turned to him (her wrists glittering), and she smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry too much. We'll have plenty of time. The competition lasts over almost a week or so, right?"

"Yeah," Tidus said breezily, "Plenty of time. No worries." Riku sighed, but his eyes flicked up to see the bangles jingling from Kairi's wrists, and he frowned.

"You did pay for those, didn't you?" he asked. Kairi grinned cheekily, and replied,

"'Course not! I told the nice salesman you'd be more than happy to cover the bill!" She raised an eyebrow expectantly at the lead singer, and Riku scowled, fishing for his wallet. How does Sora put up with this all the time? Once he handed over the ridiculous amount (a whole 175 munny, honestly, how did women spend that much on accessories?), he tucked his wallet away. Tidus, who'd been laughing jovially at the whole ordeal (and glad it wasn't him, probably), glanced up for a moment; he flashed a broad grin.

Kairi looked over to see what was so interesting, and groaned. "Not again." Riku, too, threw a glance over his shoulder.

Ah, it was those giggly girls again. The same ones that had been passing them as they walked around, twice. They seemed local, with dark, yet sun-streaked hair, and slightly tanned skin. They had yet to drop eye contact with himself and Tidus. Every time they glanced his way, Riku could feel the back of his neck heat-up – they were really pretty – but he tried to ignore them anyways.

Tidus, however, kept encouraging them with his oh-so-charming smiles.

"Hey ladies," Tidus greeted, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Hiiiii…" they cooed in response this time (Wow… and Riku had assumed they were mute) before once again – with their muffled giggles and all – disappearing around the corner.

Kairi sighed loudly. "Don't you ever stop?"

"Nope," Tidus replied brightly. Riku smirked in despite himself.

"That's our man," he said lightly.

Kairi's eye twitched. "Someday, Tidus…" she steamed. "Someday…"

"Someday, what, Kairi?" a voice rang out. The trio looked up to see Sora smiling broadly, a strange delicacy in hand, and Naminé tailing behind him as they weaved their way through the crowds to reach the other two.

"About time," Kairi pointed out. Sora just grinned, and placed a kiss on her head. Tidus punched Sora in the arm good-naturedly and began leading the group away from the expensive-bangle-stall. Kairi and Sora strolled side by side, holding hands (he offered 

some of what he was eating, but she just shook her head). Tidus was walking with his arms behind his head, an eye out for those girls again, and Naminé had pulled up beside them, walking with her eyes to the gravel.

Riku felt the netted-silk of her dress brush his arm. He briefly glanced down, and from the corner of his vision, he caught that she was wearing a soft, printed summer dress that just grazed her knees. He briefly wondered if she ever wore pants - she seemed to be the complete opposite of Kairi. His memory tugged though, when he remembered she wasn't really.

Something stirred inside of him. He had barely spoken to her since that night. He had wanted to… but…

"What'd we miss?" Sora asked, breaking his brief reverie. Kairi pouted a bit, swinging their joined hands.

"Oh, just Tidus being an ass as always, and flirting himself stupid." Kairi threw the said flirt a stern look. "When are you actually going to get together with one of these girls, hmm?"

Riku quickly exchanged brief glances with Sora, and they both sighed, knowing what was coming. Naminé was watching the conversation intently though.

"Aww… I'm just trying some different tastes – no harm in that, is there?"

The keyboardist smacked her forehead. "Of course there is, dumbass."

Tidus lifted a corner of his mouth, turning around to walk backwards and face the redhead. "Now, now Kai, just because you can no longer play the field doesn't mean I can't."

Kairi scowled, and walked a bit faster so that she and Tidus were closer. Her voice shrill, she cried, "Riku's not playing the field" – Riku's eyes widened – "why can't you be more like him?"

"Hey!" Riku protested, indignantly. Tidus and Sora laughed.

"Well, you're not," Kairi pointed out. She quirked an eyebrow. "Are you?"

"Not for lack of trying, on your part," the guitarist countered. Kairi rolled her eyes. He had so had girlfriends in the past – no, wait, okay, maybe they were just dates, or rather "blackmailed-setups-as-awkward-companions-for-forced-durations-of-time". And it was always thanks to Kairi ("But I already told her that you were coming!" she had pleaded once, when Riku had clearly told everyone that he wasn't going). Pfffft.

It wasn't that he didn't like girls – he just hadn't been interested with them. He always had other crap going on that needed his attention. Of course, time wasn't the problem – it was his mind that was preoccupied. He felt that entering into any relationship would just complicate things even more, and he didn't need the additional stress or the 

distractions. And besides… Kairi's choices in potentials were never what he was looking for. Rather, he found them to be a few feathers short of a chocobo.

"Ugh! Boys are impossible!" Kairi raged, "This one" – she pointed to Tidus – "can't get girls out of his head, and the other won't let them in!"

Tidus grinned with pride; Riku rolled his eyes in annoyance, eventually trailing to watch the passing locals.

Sora sighed. "Well, at least one of us is still sane, right Naminé?" Naminé glanced up. "You've never had to deal with this kind of stuff."

Something unreadable flashed in Naminé's eyes. "Actually…" Naminé bit her lip. "There was someone…"

What? Riku stiffened – in fact, all of LiD suddenly looked at her at once.

Tidus raised an eyebrow, and actually stumbled a bit (the idiot was still walking backwards, despite having knocked into goodness-knows how many people). "Whoa – seriously? Who?"

"You have?" Sora choked in awe.

Naminé lowered her eyes. "I…" She brought them back up to rest on Sora, and Riku almost started at what he saw. Walking so close next to her, he saw the way her eyes had hardened in the subtlest of ways; her dress scrunched up in tight hands. "Did… did you think… that I couldn't?" she asked softly.

Sora's eyes widened. "No! I-I didn't mean it like that! Really!" he asserted, letting go of Kairi's hand to grab Naminé's arm in apology.

Tidus turned back around, and with eyes to the heavens he asked conspiratorially. "Really, Naminé. So, like, holy crap, who like, was it?" Wow – Tidus pulled off the mock-girlfriend impression a little too well, in Riku's opinion.

Kairi looked worried. "Guys… Nami… you don't have to –"

Naminé shook her head, clasping her hands in front of her as she walked. "It was nothing, really. It didn't even last that long." Riku caught the slight frown embedded on Kairi's face. He felt like he should say something… but damn. Naminé's hooked up with someone before? Like, a serious relationship?

All of a sudden, his curiosity piqued, and Riku wanted to know how it happened. Naminé could not handle guys – that much he'd seen – yet she was still able to get together with someone? How? She was so quiet – how'd the guy get her to say yes?

Naminé locked eyes with him briefly; it was right then that he noticed he'd been staring. The back of his neck prickled - crap. He shifted his glance so she was in his peripheral.

"Aww… come on Naminé. Tell us," Tidus prompted, dropping the teasing and sounding genuinely interested as well. Naminé smiled softly.

"Some guy at my school… he turned out to be a jerk – too self-absorbed, I felt – and it just… led to a messy break-up. That's all."

It was quiet. From what Riku could see, Kairi was biting her lip, Sora's eyes shone with concern, and Tidus was surprised. For Riku himself…

To some extent, he was stunned. So she'd been through her first relationship, and from the sounds of it, it didn't end too well. He grimaced inside. Shit – did he feel bad for her.

Riku blinked.

Wait – was that why she was awake the other night? Riku thought about it. Girls did tend to get over-dramatic in their break-ups… but maybe that was how Naminé was dealing with it? Playing a flute… Riku frowned. No way, he thought to himself. That can't just be it.

"Maybe we should split up now, you know?" Kairi suddenly asked, beginning to tug Sora away with her. "You know, to cover more ground and the likes."

He watched as Naminé locked eyes with Kairi, an unspoken message flitting between them. Naminé's smile was sudden, and she nodded at her sister.

"Yeah – we can meet up back at the hotel in about an hour and a half, okay?"

Sora nodded slowly; his eyes were still searching Naminé's face. When he saw there were no traces of sadness, or bitter pain, he finally let out a grin. Riku knew she had successfully masked her emotions. He rarely saw anything like it.

Tidus stopped in his tracks, causing Naminé to stumble into him. With a flirty, playful grin, he steadied her. Riku felt the tiniest flicker of anger – the idiot, she had just talked about her first break up, and he was flirting with her? Watching the flaxen-haired girl though, Riku let his anger ebb away.

"Naminé! Oh, come head off with Riku and I to forget the woes of the past, don't you think?" Tidus asked gallantly, grabbing her hand and swinging it with ridiculous zest. Kairi scowled, and looked about to say something when –

"Kairi – don't." Sora had clasped a hand over her mouth and she glared. He instead tugged her along a different path, nodding a good-bye to the others. Before he left, Riku remembered to call out,

"Hey – don't do anything stupid, got it, kid?" Sora laughed and waved a response. Riku rolled his eyes, and walked quickly to catch up with Tidus and Naminé. "I'll hold those," Riku offered, motioning to the bags in Naminé's hands (after she'd wriggled free of 

Tidus). The girl shook her head, and continued walking in between the two teenagers, and flicked a look at him.

"No, it's okay, I got –"

Riku held her gaze. "Let me."

Naminé hesitated a moment, before finally letting go of the bags. She locked eyes with him for a fleeting moment, before holding her elbow behind her back. He shifted the bags in his grasp, preoccupied – but not before catching the amused expression on Tidus' face. Riku shrugged it off, and focused his gaze on the passing market place, intrigued locals and vibrant spices in the air. He sighed though, mind coming back to the blondie beside him.

It was time to fix a few things.

LiD

Some time after they'd finished their meal (the Dead Man's Chest, apparently, was some strange, suspicious seafood meat cushioned in vegetables and shit loads of sea weed; served in a chest), Roxas stood up to go excuse himself to the bathroom. Not that Roxas had to piss – mostly, he just wanted to avoid talking to strange patrons or something.

Earlier that evening, Captain Barbossa himself had come to their table, roaring out, "We got us a bir'day, you scurvy dogs! Let's 'ear us some merry-makin'!" The entire restaurant complied, breaking into a rowdy, sailor-ish, drunken version of Happy Birthday to You (clanking their mugs together and a few pulling him into a rough group noogie hug). Roxas had tried his hardest to just die – later, he realized if he stayed out of sight, that sufficed as well.

Damn, this place was so friggin' lame. Just as suspected – okay, maybe the whole "set-out-of-a-movie" thing had been cool at first, but seeing Davy Jones' Locker on one restroom door (from where the barmaid had pointed him, anyways) and the other one with Mermaid's Paradise set Roxas into an darker mood. No fair – what kind of man wanted to relieve himself in a supposed death zone, while the women got to enjoy themselves? And they call us sexist.

Stepping into the hypothetical hell, Roxas was amazed to find that no, he was not about to be attacked by some heart-broken man-thing with a squid for a face.

By the time he was done with his business (there had been a rather disturbing man with a friggin' wooden eye who'd been gawking at him, so Roxas had hurriedly decided to use one of the stalls), he came out and –

"Roxas! My man, come on, we're heading downstairs!"

Axel had grabbed his arm, and was dragging him along. Getting over the momentary shock of being latched onto out of nowhere – he had just come back from the dead, after all – Roxas managed to ask while being forced to walk backwards, "Huh?"

Axel grinned, sly twinkle in his eyes.

"You think this place is just a restaurant? Dumbass, downstairs there's an awesome clubhouse where all the ruffians can hang out in." Roxas lightened a bit, and managed to turn himself around, trailing an Axel who explained that Jack, Demyx and Xiggy had gone ahead. Roxas didn't mind – Roxas had come to like parties quite a bit, as long as he didn't get too wasted (which was saying something, considering the kind of guy he'd been a few years ago). He enjoyed remembering what he did those nights – or who he'd done, at that matter.

So far, he'd only woken up next to chicks, so it was going all right. As long as some dirty old man didn't decide to explore his homosexual tendencies with a drunk (tripped, smashed, wasted, smacked, high, stoned, whatever – anything Roxas had been up to that night) young man, Roxas figured he should be fine. Or dirty Axel. Roxas glared at nothing, trying to make the thought go away.

He found himself being led down rickety stairs, to a "below-deck" designed under house. And damn, was this place for ruffians. Music was blaring so loud, Roxas was curious as to why it wasn't heard upstairs.

Gritting his teeth, Roxas realized music was all up-beat, drunken sailor/pirate tunes that had been techno remixed (who the frig' thought that one up?) so they sounded like one of those crappy DDR songs. Warm, flushed bodies pressed against one another in the limited space, screaming, laughter and cheering roaring from mouths; lips meeting beer bottles held in hand, or any part of a fellow ruffian. Above them, on a small stage, Demyx was standing – slamming away at his guitar, following the poppy beat of the music to the delight of the crowd.

Axel grabbed Roxas' forearm, and pulled him close. He whispered, with warm breath tickling his ear,

"Happy birthday, man," before disappearing into the crowd of people. Roxas smirked, too ecstatic – best he'd felt all day, at that – with the new found entertainment to even worry about Axel's not-just-friendly gestures.

LiD

"Hey, Naminé, how about this place?"

Naminé swiveled around, following the direction of the blond's voice over the array of several others. Tidus was up ahead, among the thriving locals who bustled throughout the market place. It was loud, and extremely busy – there wasn't enough room to walk through the roads without bumping into one person or another. Among the stalls and vendors, the awkward conversation – at least on her part – had drifted from her mind. Apparently, Riku must have too – right now, he was no where in sight.

From every direction, Naminé could hear the vendors pitching their sales. There wasn't a shop around that didn't have customers or tourists browsing through their contents. The sun was beating down, and there was barely enough wind to carry away the heat. They'd only been outside for a half-hour so, and she'd already drained her first water bottle.

"Check it out; this one's got brass, silver, and wooden frames," Tidus said, pointing out said items. Naminé walked closer, waving the guidebook she'd pick up in front of her face as a fan. She spotted a frame, with intricate designs around the edges, and cheery-wood finish.

"Can I see that one?" Naminé asked the vendor, a burly man with a rather large mustache that reminded her of a brush.

"Ah yes yes! Tis very good! Made from best wood around – won't find anywhere else!" the man offered in a speeded tone. Naminé took hold of the frame, and felt the texture. It was smooth, and very beautiful – she was sure her parents would love it. She wanted to frame one of her artwork pieces, and give it as an anniversary present.

Naminé handed the frame over to Tidus, as she took out her sketchbook.

"Think it'll fit?" she asked, holding it up next to the frame.

"Definitely. That's a great picture, you know. You're really talented," Tidus remarked. Naminé blushed. "So… when do I get one?"

"Oh?"

Tidus' eyes twinkled. "Your pictures. Sora has one of yours, doesn't he? He said you gave it to him as a present."

Naminé's blush grew darker. He still had that picture? She remembered it all too clearly – it was an experimental piece around geometrical shading, and she hadn't been particularly proud of it. She was going to throw it out, but Sora had beat Kairi to it ("Whoa! That's so cool! Let me keep it!" he had marveled). Wow…

"Would you mind?" Tidus asked. Naminé swallowed, but shook her head.

"Of course not," she answered quietly. It's not like she wasn't used to people requesting for her artwork, but they were usually people who were fellow artists and professors from the Academy. She didn't think Kairi's friends would, well, appreciate that kind of stuff.

"Great!" he said brightly. Tidus turned around, searching. "Whoa… hey, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere, 'kay?"

Naminé nodded as she watched Tidus' retreating back head over to a vendor a few stalls away. With a couple of girls milling around it. Oh, Tidus. Smiling, Naminé shook her head and went back to looking at the frames laid out before her.

"Don't I get one?"

Naminé started; she spun her head either way, and it was then that something caught her eye.

Riku was leaning against the wall of the building close to her shop, arms crossed against his chest. His silver hair and bright red shirt contrasted with the dull tan of the wall.

She quickly looked away, back to the frames, but he was already moving towards her. Her face was already beginning to heat up; damn – what was she was going to say?

"Hey." And he was there. She still didn't meet his eyes, but she knew he was standing close to her; a light scent of sandalwood and spices tickled her nose.

"Hey," she responded quietly, still unable to meet his eyes. What am I supposed to say? she thought desperately. She knew she'd come off as stupid and childish – the familiar embarrassment flushed her cheeks. Ugh…

He moved into her line of sight. He shifted, before prodding quietly, "Naminé?"

She looked up at him.

He was watching her, intently, his long bangs falling lightly into his eyes. His face was no longer full of anger as she last remembered it, but with passive inquisition.

"I…" she started, but Naminé was finding it difficult to form any words. They hadn't spoken to each other in a whole day – what was she to expect?

A small crease formed between his silver brows. "Are you still mad?"

No, she thought fervently. Ashamed, or guilty, was more like it – but there was no way that she was going to voice that. She shook her head.

"No," she said quickly, before returning her attention back to the vendor. She indicated that she wanted the frame she'd picked up earlier, and he began packing it into a box.

Riku frowned. "Doesn't seem like it."

Naminé mentally rolled her eyes. For the love of… oh, forget this. She paid for her purchase, and began walking away.

"Naminé –" he called out, grabbing her forearm. She stopped. Riku still hadn't let go, and they were blocking the street – a few people were giving them annoyed glares as they milled around them. Naminé turned to look at him.

She watched him bow his head slightly, his hair fringing his eyes. His grip loosened.

"I'm… I'm sorry," he said. Naminé blinked. He continued hurriedly, "I… know I kinda came off as an ass, I shouldn't have lost my temper like that." He caught her gaze. "I didn't… mean to scare you."

Naminé stiffened. What? She watched as he let go of her arm, and began to rub his neck awkwardly.

"Look, I know I upset you that night, and I wasn't thinking, and things just got out of hand, and I know I shouldn't have blown up like that after, it's just –"

"Riku."

Riku glanced up at her, surprised. Naminé shook her head, and sighed. Here goes…

"You don't have to apologize," she said quietly, beginning to walk forwards again. Riku didn't hesitate to follow.

"But –"

"Look, it was my own stupidity that I was even out in the middle of the night," she began quickly. "It's – it's my fault you were out there; it wouldn't have happened if I wasn't." She ducked her head, and she added more quietly, "None of it would've happened it wasn't for me."

"Naminé…" Riku walked up to match her stride.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too," he said again, and she caught his gaze, intent once-again. Suddenly, he tilted his head, and the sun reflected off his aqua eyes. He smiled a bit. "Guess we're in it together then, huh?"

And just like that, a weight she hadn't known she was carrying dissipated off her shoulders. She returned the smile.

"I guess." Riku's eyes crinkled into a full-smile.

LiD

Heaving a dramatic sigh, Axel rested his elbows on the bar-counter in front of him. Somehow, after smashing through crowds of people, he'd found this place in the back once he'd tired of dancing, grinding, flirting and the whatnot. Besides, the bartender was pretty damn hot – Elizabeth, she said her name was. A bit bitchy, but Axel had managed to charm a few flirty laughs out of her.

But she said had a boyfriend, anyways – Will, or something rather. Still though, she seemed oddly friendly towards Sparrow whenever he stopped by. Such as now, for example.

"Ah, my lovely lass, was I in your thoughts, 'earest?" Why did Sparrow talk about a century behind times or something? Jeez.

"Jack – I'll have you know that I've been doing perfectly well, up until you had to show your face."

"But Elizabeth, love, that must mean your lov-uh-lee thoughts of yours truly, hmm?" Elizabeth smiled here, in spite of herself.

"So?"

"So I'm off, love! To fraternize and make merry, so that you may 'e kept in your wondrous thoughts o' Cap'n Jack!" Though she glared at him, but the moment he was back standing on one of the tables (performing some insane move Axel would've called the Yo-Ho-Fo'-Sho), Elizabeth smirked a bit before turning to attend other patrons.

A shot glass was in front of him – he was legal, so no more faking for him – finally, jeez. It was such a drag. Plus, since he was eighteen, it was easy enough to get shit for Roxas and Demyx – but then, Xiggy usually supplied that. Axel swirled the remains of the liquor in his glass, not feeling particularly woozy yet. He was about to order another – and maybe try hitting it off with Elizabeth, again, when something caught his eye.

While Demyx was off still dancing – the kid's never energy died, jeez – and Xiggy was no where in sight (probably off dealing shit in the back), Roxas was currently off to the side of the ruffians.

He was not alone though – he had some trashy-looking brunette up against the wall, whom he was currently engaging with in all sorts of not-exactly-PG activities. Axel narrowed his eyes, looking away.

This is so not fair, Axel thought, raising a hand to get Elizabeth's attention. He didn't have the heart to enjoy himself, after seeing that. Little pricks of jealousy were attacking him from every angle – that stupid girl. Wait – Axel shook his head. It is Roxas' birthday. You brought him here, dumbass. Still though – he couldn't shake off the secret wish that he could be in that girl's place right now.

As Elizabeth poured him another shot, Axel barely even chatted with the chick. Dammit, now his whole friggin' evening was ruined – there really wasn't anything to make it worse for Axel.

Oh, wait; but it could – the girl was dragging Roxas to the back door, right past Axel. As he stumbled by, flimsy grin on his face, Roxas grabbed his friend's arm. Voice husky and words slurred, Roxas breathed into Axel's ear (Axel tried to stay focused at this),

"I'm going out – call you tomorrow or something." Well, that was after Axel translated mentally. Roxas was so smashed, the words would have been incoherent if Axel didn't have experience with drunk Roxas before. They'd all been rushed – the girl was holding Roxas' hand, tugging him to come along – slurred and just shitty. Totally shitty.

The girl dragged a stumbling Roxas out the back door, giggling the whole time. Stupid, shitty, crappy, stupid… gah. Axel wished he had a bigger vocabulary.

Everything sucked. Now supremely upset, Axel ordered yet another shot. He was gonna need all the alcohol he could get if he wanted to enjoy himself at all tonight.

LiD

"Whoa! Sora – slow down!" Kairi squealed.

Running a hand through his messy brown hair, Sora laughed and grabbed Kairi's hand with his other free hand. Damn, it was boiling in this place… but everything, the sounds, the smells, the people… Sora almost yanked Kairi again, in his eagerness to explore everything. How he wished his own hometown had this much culture, this much vigor and life… there was a tug on his hand, and looking behind him, he felt Kairi stopping in front of a stall selling little rice-bread pouches, filled with what looked like yellow potato and spices in them. Mmm… potatoes.

That scent was prominent, and Sora did love the damn things. There was a few other scents of vegetables he didn't recognize, but damn, did it smell good. Kairi smirked a little at him, and she quickly ordered two of whatever they were for them.

Smiling, Sora stepped into the shade – considering the sun was still high in the sky, as it was late afternoon. While he waited for her to make her selections, his eyes caught on to something colourful. Raising an eyebrow, he gently eased out of Kairi's hand (who was currently making light, broken conversation with the cook). Making his way over to the stall, he found himself surrounded in colourful shawls, clothes and jewellery. The place smelled of spicy wood and old perfume – but pretty, nonetheless. Sora grinned, and glancing at Kairi (still distracted), he sorted through the shawls till he found something. Perfect.

A sharp, lime green shawl with delicate yellow embroidery caught his eyes, flower designs tailing the ends. Graceful tassels clung to the ends, shimmering along with the rhinestones embedded into parts of it. The material was silky but netted in his hands – soft, smooth, pretty, but just a little bit rough – Sora smirked again.

Quickly paying for the shawl, Sora came up around his girlfriend, who now held two rice-rolls (or whatever they were) in her hand. She wasn't facing him, but she must have known he was approaching, because she said aloud,

"Sora, come here you bum, I got your food and – " Kairi gasped as the silky scarf wrapped around her abdomen, tugging. Kairi spun around immediately – but her angry expression melted the moment she saw her grinning boyfriend.

Sora leaned forwards and tugged the scarf a bit more that he held in both his hands. Kairi, smirking, didn't resist and came closer to him. Leaning over, he nuzzled her cheek gently with a smirk of his own. Kairi giggled – she couldn't do anything back though, seeing as to how there was a rice-roll wrapped in paper in each hand, that she was holding to her sides. Sora took advantage of the extra space, and moved in.

"Look, Kai," he whispered teasingly, giving the shawl a bit of a jerk. Mmm… she smelt like strawberries, even in this foreign place. Strawberries and sugar and wonderful… Sora tensed for a moment, pulling him out of his thoughts – Kairi had pulled away from his grasp, and was now resting her forehead against his. Deep blue eyes sparkling, she teased,

"Dumbie, it doesn't even match me." Sora laughed and pressed his lips to her forehead, relishing in her soft skin in spite of the mild sweat. Eh – everything about Kairi still seemed right to him. He pulled her even closer, and slowly, since it was too hot outside, he began to tie the shawl around her hips. Kairi squirmed a bit, but giggled, eyes still meeting his.

"I know it doesn't," Sora said mildly, touching his forehead to hers. Pulling back, he gently kissed her cheeks before saying, "I saw it, and it just jumped out at me – pretty, fierce and a little bit unpredictable." Kairi giggled again here, but gently shoved him off of her with her wrists. Mild grease stains hit his shirt, but Kairi rested her wrists on her hips and leaned in to say,

"You're so lame, Sora."

"Isn't that why you love me?" he asked, eyes twinkling. Kairi laughed again, and pulling up one of the rice-rolls, she put it to his mouth. Sora took a bite, snapping playfully at her hand.

"Hey!" she squeaked, and dodged the attack, bouncing back playfully. Sora pouted a little, but couldn't say anything as he was chewing on his food. Hmm… yeah, definitely potatoes, and… something kind of turnippy, oniony, something tasting.

Sora winced a bit. Eww… he hated onions. If that's what it even was.

Kairi must have noticed his expression, because she chuckled and bouncing her head from side to side, she leaned in and kissed him briefly on the lips before saying,

"Of course I love the corniness. What girl wouldn't?" And with that, she playfully flicked his forehead. Sora whimpered in mock pain, and Kairi laughed and walked away, munching happily on the roll. They continued to stroll forwards.

Kairi took another bite, and suddenly made a face. "Ugh…this doesn't taste that great."

"Really?" Sora piped up. "I like it." Even though it had a squishy taste to it. He held out his hand, and Kairi placed the roll in it.

"You would," she teased. Sora shrugged, already starting on Kairi's piece. Now that his one hand was free, she intertwined her fingers with his again. Something churned in his stomach.

"What now?" she asked, as she looked around at all the different vendors calling out their wares. Sora wasn't sure if he wanted to do anymore shopping… he'd gone this 

morning with Naminé to buy a new sketchbook, and a charger for himself, picking up little trinkets along the way. Sora frowned.

"Hey Kai… I think those things made me a little thirsty," Sora said. His throat was left feeling dry, and he was finding it difficult to gather any spit in his mouth.

"We can get a drink, if you like," replied Kairi. He could tell she was watching him closely now. Kairi furrowed her brows, asking, "Are you okay?"

Sora started to rub at his mouth; his lips and gums were getting drier by the minute.

Suddenly, a flaming-hot poker pierced the inside of his stomach, and the pain shot up through his ribs. What the hell? He groaned involuntarily.

"Sora?" Kairi gazed at him, eyes awash with worry.

"It's okay – I'm all right," Sora insisted. "It's just a cramp, really." Cramp, his ass, but he wasn't going to let Kairi know that.

A shudder ran through him, and he bent over slightly. A slight ache was starting to pound its way into his head.

"Sora – let's go back to the hotel now," Kairi said, gripping his arm. She was chewing her lip.

"But we've still got time until we meet up!" he cried. No, he wasn't ready to go yet! There were still people he wanted to talk with, see stuff that Naminé showed him from the guidebook – ugh, no!

Sora shook his head, trying to straighten his back, and took a deep breath.

No pain.

He let out a sigh. Okay. It was over – just a temporary pain – probably the damn onions, ugh, how he hated them so much.

"Okay, let's go," Sora said, snatching Kairi's hand up again. "There's still time – come on, I wanted to show you – "

His breath hitched. The world blurred before him, before acid engulfed his throat. No! He stumbled over to the side of the road, and his knees gave out. The contents of his stomach churned ferociously, before they were making their way back up his throat. No!

He coughed violently, releasing the pent-up rage in his stomach. He could feel Kairi's iron grip around his shoulders.

"Sora!"

The world wasn't getting any clearer; sounds of the busy bazaar drifting far away from his ears. He started to shake slightly.

"Come on – we've got to go –"

Her muffled voice barely reached his ears, as the world suddenly swayed, and fell away from beneath him.

A/N: Haha, cliffhanger. AND a LONG chapter. I'm sorry. XD For those that were wondering about how different Whiplash is, they present some contrast for LiD, as you saw in this chapter; what with the situations and such. A nice juxtaposition (hehe big word) if I do say so myself. ANYWHOS, thank you all soooo much for reading this far, and it would be ever so kind of you all to review! Thanks again!

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