Chibified

Shizuka Usagi

Chapter 5

"Very strange… very strange indeed." Merlin mused aloud peering down at the—as Yuffie insisted he be called—chibi Sora.

"What do ya think coulda happened to him?" Goofy asked a bit worriedly.

"At least, I'm not the shortest one anymore. Hehe..." Donald chortled. Then Sora took his sailor hat off his head and held it above Donald's reach. He giggled at Donald's efforts to snatch it back.

"I dunno, Dona. I think I'm talluh' than you." Sora responded, placing the hat back on the angry duck's head. Goofy guffawed.

The old wizard had a full house tonight. The news of Sora's 'chibification' had spread like wildfire. As soon as Goofy and Donald were informed of the news, they flew to Hollow Bastion as fast as they could. Leon, Aerith, and Cid were there to check up on the five year old, as well. Yuffie, Roxas, and Riku accompanied chibi Sora there.

Merlin placed his spectacles on the bridge of his nose and scanned through the pages of his spell books. After a few minutes, he found what he was looking for. He took the heavy, dusty text labeled Ansem's Reports from the shelfand dropped it on the table for everyone to see.

"Aha! Here we are… the Time Reversal Curse: A rare condition that causes the patient to go 'backwards in time.' Their age decreases rapidly and they seem to have a case of amnesia. This state will continue until their age reaches zero…" Yuffie gasped and the others visibly tensed.

Merlin quickly scanned the rest of the passage in search of reassurance. "Causes are unknown. Treatment is unknown. Although, having people the patient knows well in their presence seems to help slow down the process."

"This is worse than we thought. What're we gonna do?" Yuffie said frustrated, pacing the room. Roxas placed his hand on her shoulder, making her stop.

"We should do what the book said. Just being around Sora should slow down the process of his… shrinking." Roxas consoled.

"Roxas is right. Panicking isn't going to help us." Riku added. "Besides, I know how to handle him. We've known each other since we were kids."

"I wasn't panicking." Yuffie claimed. The others exchanged looks. "I can deal with the situation just fine. C'mon Sora." Goofy put Sora down reluctantly and she grasped his hand on the way out. Although, Sora was confused of his 'mother's' behavior, he turned his head around to flash a cheesy grin before he was out the door.

"What's with her?" Riku asked perplexed.

Leon sighed and placed a gloved hand on his forehead. "She's just in one of her moods again." Riku and Roxas just stared in confusion.

Aerith slapped Leon playfully. "What he means is that Yuffie doesn't like being treated like a little kid. She tries to be independent and doesn't like others to think any less of her."

"She cares about everyone very much—sometimes to the point where she can be… annoying." Leon added, causing Aerith to look at him disapprovingly. "Ever since that… incident many years ago, she makes sure everyone is happy and of good health.

"Not once does the brat think of herself—unless she's bored. Then she goes around town causing mischief and gettin' everybody's attention." Cid said, swiveling around in his computer chair. Leon and Cid were not helping Yuffie's image too much.

"In any case," Aerith interrupted, "please watch over Sora and Yuffie."

"Will do." Roxas said and Riku nodded.

"Cid and Merlin will get as much information about Sora's curse. We'll let you know if they're any updates." Leon said.

"Okay, see ya." Riku and Roxas bid them adieu before leaving.

—

When the two entered the house, Roxas went immediately to the kitchen to fetch something to eat. He was starved and he had missed out on breakfast because of Sora's predicament. Riku rolled his eyes. Sora and Roxas both have the same weakness: hunger.

He decided to apologize to Yuffie. He didn't think what he said was offending—it wasn't even directed to her. But after what Aerith and the others said, he didn't want to be on her bad side. He didn't know how scary a ninja could be.

Leon mentioned the incident that happened in Hollow Bastion many years ago. He remembered King Mickey telling him that Hollow Bastion was the first planet invaded by the Heartless. This was plausible since that is the place where experiments were conducted by Ansem the Wise. The King also said, unfortunately, Hollow Bastion suffered the most casualties.

Riku could tell. He could sense the darkness and pain in their hearts—especially in Cloud and Leon. Though they masked it with indifference, it was still apparent. However, Aerith and Yuffie were different cases. Aerith always wore that half-hearted smile and she wore bright colors that contrasted with the atmosphere of Hollow Bastion.

And Yuffie… she was the most unusual case of all.

Riku could barely find the darkness in her heart. Her happiness seemed to radiate hope in her heart as well as others. She may have been annoying and immature at times. But she was the only one who could—not only mask her sadness—but attempt to overcome it.

When Riku climbed up the flight of stairs, he heard a light snoring coming from across the hall. He peered through the crack in the door to see Sora curled up and asleep in Yuffie's lap. She was slumbering along with him, slouched in her chair. He smiled from underneath his bangs at the unusual, but sweet sight. He sneaked in and threw the covers from the bed over the duo before quietly closing the door behind him.

Riku would apologize later.

It was nighttime now. The stars were visible in the sky despite the city lights below. Hollow Bastion was a busy town even at night. The HBRC, excluding Yuffie for the time being, spent long hours working to repair and rebuild the world. The threesome that occupied the once vacant house was asleep. Yuffie and Sora hadn't woken up from their nap on the chair. The ninja would probably wake with creaks in her back.

Riku lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. He was sharing the room with Roxas who slept on the bed next to the window. Moonlight poured through Roxas' side of the room, illuminating his sleeping form. Shadows hung in the corners of the wall where Riku's side was.

"How ironic…" He said softly to himself. Then he turned his head towards Roxas. Sora's other part. He wondered if he remembered when they fought back in TWTNW. He wondered if he remembered anything about his past. Most likely not. The truth was Roxas knew bits and pieces here and there but never had full memory of them.

What Riku was really worried about was Sora's condition. He did seem pretty sure of himself at Merlin's house. In reality, he was trying to convince himself his best friend would be alright. No one knew what was going to happen to the brunette.

Riku shook his head, trying to rid himself of these pessimistic thoughts. He had to think of the bright side of the situation. Which was…

He couldn't wait till this all had passed. Till they could look back on this memory and laugh. He hoped this would be soon.

Who knows? Maybe this could be fun. And I'll have a chance at blackmail if I ever need it… An amused smirk spread across his pale features.