Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (II), Sora, Kairi, Riku, etc.
Author's Note: I didn't know I'd get so many reviews for two chapters! THANKS SO MUCH, EVERYBODY!!! So here's this chapter…Sora chapter…
Warning: Dude, there IS none. I seriously have no warning.
Quick Author Babble: I enjoy writing this story! YAY!!!
Chapter 3: Sweet Song
Sora sighed. It was Monday morning. Sora hated Monday mornings—it stood for the beginning of five whole days of school. He eyed the students suspiciously. They were staring at him in a funny way. Sora could swear he saw admiration in their eyes.
"Yeah, right," Sora muttered.
He was obviously kidding himself. They were just masking their true intentions. They were going to do something really horrible to him today.
At least he knew he wasn't alone. SCARF was the best thing that had ever happened to Sora since he came to Destiny Islands. He had friends now—Kairi and Yuffie. And they agreed with him that Riku was pure evil and out to get him.
Sora stopped at the message board. There was a vibrant, yellow poster pinned up. It was huge and nearly covered up the whole board. Sora looked around the hallways. He realized they were pinned up everywhere—someone really wanted the message to be noticed.
In big, red letters was the words "semiformal dance". Sora's eyes widened as he read the rest of the poster.
"The semiformal dance is this Friday?!" he shouted, making everyone turn to look at him. "No, no, no!"
He hammered his fists into the message board. School was painful enough, and now a dance? Sora groaned.
"Oh, Sora," said a voice behind him. "Just the guy I wanted to see."
Sora turned to face gleaming, icy blue eyes.
"Oh, Riku," he muttered. "Just the guy I didn't want to see."
"Watch your mouth," Riku said. "I suppose you noticed the others looking at you funny?"
Sora just glared back.
"I'll take that as a yes," Riku stated. "Well, everyone saw the news last night. The main article was 'Boy Skateboarding Over Cars in Club Road'."
"What?!" cried Sora, looking up.
"I knew that would make you pay attention," Riku said. "Someone filmed you. No one could see your face, but everyone could tell it was you. Your hair stands out like a lighthouse on a beach."
Sora nervously touched one of his brown spikes, thinking about the skateboarding he'd done to get Yuffie's attention.
"That wasn't the only thing you did interesting yesterday, was it?" Riku asked, an eyebrow going up.
"What…what are you talking about?" Sora stuttered.
"Does the name 'Kairi' sound familiar to you?" Riku asked.
Sora turned a bit pink as he thought of the redhead.
"Yeah," he answered. "She's my friend. Why?"
"Well, my sources tell me that yesterday night Kairi was about to get hit by a truck," Riku said. "But she's still alive today. Why is that?"
Sora frowned. Kairi had been really upset, and Riku was treating it like it was a good thing.
"You pushed her out of the way," Riku explained, noticing Sora's silence. "Do you know what this means?"
"You're a jerk because you're smiling while you're talking about someone who almost got killed?" Sora said, crossing his arms.
"No," Riku answered through clenched teeth, obviously getting impatient. "Sora, people admire you! You know how to skateboard like a pro and you saved a girl from being crushed by a truck! And by the way, witnesses saw the grand finale as well. Smooth moves."
Sora turned bright red.
"She was upset!" he shouted.
"I don't know why you're shouting," Riku said. "Don't you understand? You're not the bottom anymore. I mean, how can people attack you when they found out you saved someone's life? Well, I better go. If I hang around any longer, some normal might rub off on me."
And he left, Selphie and Tidus obediently following him. Sora gripped his hands into fists. He might not be picked on anymore, but he still couldn't stand Riku. Sora reminded himself that Riku was still pure evil.
"Sora, hi!" chirped a familiar voice from behind him.
Sora turned and smiled weakly.
"Hi, Yuffie," he said. "Where's Kairi?"
"She's not coming to school today," Yuffie answered, looking a little depressed. "She's still traumatized, poor thing."
Sora's frown deepened.
"Is she okay?" he asked.
"Physically she's fine," Yuffie answered. "Mentally…I don't know. I went to visit her this morning. She said she had a nightmare about him last night. She burst into tears…I feel awful…"
"You're not the only one."
Sora looked down. Yuffie put a hand on his shoulder.
"You saved her life, Sora," she said. "You were there for her."
"I wasn't there early enough," Sora stated. "This is all my fault!"
"No, it's not!" Yuffie cried. "Don't be ridiculous! It's nobody's fault! It just…happened. Kairi's just lucky that you were there in time to stop her from being run over by a truck. Now stop beating yourself up and get to class!"
111
Sora looked at the small, white house with colorful flowers surrounding it. Was this where Kairi lived? He looked down at the small piece of paper Yuffie had given him with Kairi's address on it. This was the place.
Sora walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Ire answered the door, her red hair tied in a bun and her wavy bangs hanging in her face.
"Oh, hello," she said.
"Hi," Sora remarked, planting an awkward smile on his face. "I'm Sora. I'm here to see Kairi…"
Mrs. Ire smiled warmly.
"Sora?" she repeated. "Come right in."
She moved aside so Sora could step into the house. It was warm and homely. Potted flowers were on every windowsill, and you could see the kitchen and living room right from the front door.
"Kairi's in the living room," Mrs. Ire said. "Honestly, Sora, I can't thank you enough for saving Kairi from that truck."
"It…it was just luck," Sora muttered.
He walked into the living room, where comfy, designer couches and armchairs were scattered everywhere, the TV in the corner. Kairi was sitting on the sofa, staring at the TV with a blank expression on her face. She was in her cow-spotted pajamas, her arms around her knees.
"Kairi?" said Sora, approaching her.
Kairi looked up at him and attempted a weak smile.
"Hi," she whispered.
Sora sat down next to her. Her eyes were bright red, her skin pale, and she was shivering.
"Are you okay?" Sora asked.
"I'm fine," Kairi answered.
"Will you be going to school tomorrow then?" Sora asked.
"Go outside?" Kairi said.
An expression of horror came over her as if she was looking at the truck's headlights. Sora immediately regretted bringing up the subject.
"No," Kairi remarked, closing her eyes. "I can't. He's still out there."
"I know you're scared," Sora said, "but you can't hide in your house forever. It's better to go outside and get it over with quickly."
"You're right," Kairi sighed. "Of course you're right. It's just…"
"Hard. I know."
Sora looked at Kairi's almost white face and tried to smile comfortingly.
"Tell you what," he stated. "How about tomorrow morning, me and Yuffie come and walk with you to school? I'll ask Yuffie."
"You'd really do that?" Kairi said, a tiny smile growing on her face. "Thanks, Sora."
"No problem," he remarked. "After all, you need to get better."
"You make it sound like I'm a mental patient!" Kairi cried.
"And who said you weren't?"
"Sora!"
Kairi chucked a pillow at him. Sora laughed.
"Well, it's good to see that you're not that sick."
111
Sora and Yuffie walked down the sidewalk to Kairi's house, Yuffie nagging Sora to keep his manners.
"And remember, let her take her time," Yuffie ordered. "She's very sensitive right now and…"
"I know, Yuffie!" Sora snapped, crossing his arms. "I get it!"
"See?" Yuffie said. "This is the kind of attitude I don't want you showing around Kairi."
Sora glared at her.
"I was just kidding!" Yuffie cried. "No one can take a joke anymore…"
Sora shook his head and strolled up the walkway. He rang the doorbell and Kairi immediately appeared, her face as white as snow.
"Guys, I'm not sure about this…" she murmured.
"What do you mean?" Yuffie said, crossing her arms. "You can do it, Kairi! You're safe with us!"
Sora nodded his head in agreement.
"You don't understand!" Kairi cried. "He's still out there. If he finds me again, he might do more than steal my money and throw me in front of a truck…"
"You can do more than that?" Yuffie asked.
Sora elbowed her in the ribs.
"Ouch!" Yuffie cried, glaring at Sora. "What I was trying to say is that he's gone, and he's probably never coming back. He'd be stupid to try to attack you again. The more familiar he becomes to you, the more you can describe to the police. Besides, you're with us and it's broad daylight out. I doubt many people would be out stealing now."
"I know, but still…" Kairi said, looking down.
Yuffie bit her lip. She turned to Sora.
"Say something to her!" she hissed.
"Like what?" Sora asked. "You were the one telling me to let her take her time."
"I know, but obviously that isn't working. Just…just say something soothing."
Sora was still reluctant. Yuffie gave him a pleading stare and he sighed. He looked at Kairi, whose violet eyes were still locked on the ground as if there was nothing better to look at.
"Kairi," Sora said, making her look up. "Do you really think we'd let anyone hurt you? Because we won't…"
He took her hand.
"You can trust me on that."
Kairi looked down at Sora's hand holding hers and turned bright pink. She took in a deep breath and nodded.
"Okay."
"Aw…if we had more members in SCARF, I could be watching you guys and whispering to someone else," Yuffie stated. "It's a darn shame with moments like these…"
Sora turned a vibrant red and quickly dropped Kairi's hand.
"Yuffie!"
"What? It's true! I'm truthful! I can't help it."
"Kairi, remind me to bring duct tape next time we meet with Yuffie."
"Hey! Stick tape on my mouth and you'll get a shiner!"
Kairi giggled and grabbed her backpack. She walked with her friends, her eyes darting warily around.
"So did you guys hear about the semiformal dance?" Sora asked.
"Yes, unfortunately," Yuffie said. "Dances are for popular people! Why do we have to go?"
"There's a semiformal dance coming up?!" Kairi cried. "Oh no! I hate dances! I always end up making a fool of myself…"
Sora sighed.
"Well, I'm not going," he stated. "I just got out of my loser stage and I'm not going back down."
"Sora, are you crazy?!" cried Yuffie. "You have to go! It's the law! There's more a chance of going back down if you miss it."
Kairi nodded, straightening her hairclip.
"Besides, we can get more SCARF members when we're there," she said. "Dances are a great opportunity to meet people. Just make sure I don't bump into the snack table."
"What?" Sora asked.
"Uh…nothing…"
Yuffie was looking down at the sidewalk.
"There's absolutely no chance of me getting a date," she said. "Naminé has cut off all my connections with the other students. It's horrible. There's this guy named Leon who I've been keeping an eye out for…"
"Ooh, he's cute!" Kairi squealed.
"Please go talk about boys somewhere else," Sora stated. "Maybe I should've walked to school by myself…"
Yuffie and Kairi laughed at his disgusted expression.
"Well, I'm not going on a date either," Kairi said. "Who would ask me anyway?"
"I'm not dating either, because I'm not going," Sora remarked.
"Sora!" cried Yuffie. "You've got to go! We'll all go together, since we're all dateless. We'll find more recruits."
"TV sounds much better to me."
"You're just lazy!"
"I am not!"
Kairi looked pleadingly up at Sora.
"I'm not going to a dance without you!" she cried. "I'll be wearing a dress. It'll be too painful to just go with one friend."
"No. I'm not going and that's final!"
"Please?" Kairi and Yuffie asked at the same time, giving him puppy gazes.
Sora sighed.
"Ugh…fine," he muttered. "But let me tell you, I'm not going to be happy. Tuxedos are not my thing, and my hair is always uncontrollable! I'm going to look like a total ditz."
"We don't care," Kairi said. "As long as you're there, we're okay."
Yuffie nodded in agreement.
111
It was after school. Destiny High was almost completely empty. Sora ran down the silent hallways. He was going to the music room.
He stopped at the door and looked around to make sure no one was watching him. Quietly, he opened the door and crept in. Sora walked right toward the guitar in the middle of the room. He picked it up, sat down on a chair, and strummed a few cords.
Sora always visited the music room after school to think over things. He could play the guitar rather well, he just preferred no one to know. Sora didn't talk much, as already proven by when he randomly picked up a skateboard and was soon riding it over cars.
Sora thought about the upcoming semiformal dance. He remembered what Kairi had said before: "Well, I'm not going on a date either. Who would ask me anyway?"
Sora smiled. The girl couldn't get more clueless. Sora wanted to ask her, but he couldn't. Kairi was his friend, and so far, it seemed like she was his best friend. Besides, it couldn't get anymore awkward with Kairi in a formal dress and Sora in a tuxedo, let alone with Yuffie tagging along.
Kairi didn't feel the same way anyway. She blushed at the smallest things—a clear sign she was uncomfortable around him.
There were so many reasons to not ask her that Sora couldn't name them all. He decided he would just forget it and continue to be what they were—friends.
Ever since he'd saved her life he'd been like this—thinking about her nonstop. He kept remembering when he was going to the CD store and he saw Kairi about to be hit by a truck. There was this terror that rose inside him and he lunged forward, knocking her out of the way.
Sora picked up a tune in his mind, and absentmindedly started to strum along with it.
"She rolls the window down and she talks over the sound of the cars that pass us by," Sora sang quietly. "And I don't know why but she's changed my mind. Would you look at her? She looks at me. She's got me thinking about her constantly. But she don't know how I feel. And as she carries on without a doubt I wonder if she'll figure it out. I'm crazy for this girl…"
"Sora, is that you?"
The voice came in so suddenly that Sora nearly dropped the guitar. He quickly grabbed the handle to stop it from crashing to the ground. He looked up to see Kairi's startled face.
"K-Kairi!" he cried. "Please tell me you didn't hear anything! Not that you would, because I wasn't making any noise…"
Sora quickly hid the guitar behind his back.
"Sora, you never told me you play guitar!" Kairi shouted. "This is the same as the skateboarding! You're just full of surprises."
"So you didn't hear me…?" Sora began, when he stopped himself. "I mean…I don't really talk about myself…"
Sora breathed out in relief. She hadn't heard him sing, which mean she hadn't heard the lyrics. That was good—very, very, very good. Kairi reached into a drawer and pulled out some music paper.
"You don't tell me anything!" Kairi said. "I hardly know anything about you."
"Maybe it's better that way," Sora remarked, putting back the guitar and hopping out of his seat.
Kairi crossed her arms and pouted.
"No, it's not better that way!" she shouted, jumping up and following him. "Sora, I want to tell me everything about you right now."
Sora looked at her and smiled.
"Okay, for starters, I can't sing for the life of me…"
Valor999: Thanks! Here's your chapter!
KeiraLoveKH: "Aw" is right…maybe. Is it? I don't know. But ANYWAY, yes, I have made Sora rather amazing. He can already skateboard though…I think. Wait, yes…yes, he can. But that doesn't matter. Thanks for reviewing!
Cheychey41: Everyone loves the part with the skateboard! Come on, guys, give Kairi some credit. I hope you like my Roxas x Olette one!
Isler: I'm glad you think I'm a good writer and you love this story. Yeah, it was pretty cute. I don't usually like cute scenes, but I had to put it in there, but I needed lots of room for Naminé and Yuffie, so it ended up all squished in the end. I'm glad you like the title! Next chapter you'll find out what I titled it that for.
SupernaturalFreak101: Naminé can TOTALLY be evil! I can make ANYONE evil, because I AM EVIL. MWA, HA, HA!!! No, just kidding. Naminé is a very special case. I hope SCARF works out too.
Nohime: I didn't know you read Sora x Kairi stuff! I am AMAZED. Well, not really THAT amazed, but somewhat. I haven't surpassed you in fan fiction writing! I'm reading your stories and they're totally awesome! And I MIGHT be older than you, I might not be. It remains a secret. All I can tell you is that I'm NOT an adult and I'm not an elementary kid. Yeah, I am SO BAD at description it's not funny. I don't know how to DESCRIBE things, they're just THERE. I'm surprised I already have thirteen reviews, so…I'm pretty happy.
P.S. I'm reading your chapters and I'm going to review soon.
MOOnlite-dUSk: That's ironic. (My funny bone broke. That's funny!) Don't sound so surprised when Sora's smart! Okay, yes, you can say that, I guess.
DarkShadower: I'm sorry if you dislike the evil Riku and Naminé thing, but I'm glad you like/love the story! (I put the reason Sora was there in this chapter for you.)
So, there you go! I hope you liked it! Read and review!