Chibified

Shizuka Usagi

Chapter 8

Riku, Roxas, Yuffie, and Sora were at the mall, searching for clothes for the young keyblade wielder. His usual attire was many sizes too large for him. The sleeves hung past his hands, and the baggy pants dragged along the floor. Aerith sewed a temporary outfit for him, consisting of a simple black T-shirt and blue denim jeans. But it was beginning to get soiled and ripped at the knees from his childish antics.

"What about this?" Yuffie asked, holding up a green shirt with yellow stripes.

"No." Sora refused bluntly. Yuffie frowned and hung the shirt back on the rack.

"How about this one?" Riku inquired, holding up a blue and red Spiderman™ shirt.

"Hmm… uh-uh." Sora declined after some thought. Riku shrugged and handed it to Yuffie.

"Would you like this?" Roxas questioned, holding up a black T-shirt with a zipper and a hoodie. It bore a resemblance to his old top.

"Okay." Sora accepted cheerfully. Roxas grinned in triumph. He selected a few other shirts of the same style and moved on to the next section.

"Well, they are—were—a part of each other. They're bound to know something about each other's tastes." Yuffie offered. Riku nodded but said nothing. She knows more about Roxas and Sora than I expected. I wonder why Sora would tell her so much. Is she the only one with this much knowledge about them? Or are Cloud, Leon, Aerith, and Cid included?

"C'mon, Riku. We have to pick out pants for Sora." Yuffie said, tugging on his arm.

"Or rather have him reject our choices and stick to Roxas' decisions." Riku voiced aloud, pointing out the obvious. He smirked when Yuffie punched his arm playfully.

"At least, pretend this is remotely enjoyably. For Sora's sake?" Yuffie requested.

He sighed in defeat. "As long as I get to choose where we go next." But I'm mostly enduring this for her sake. She reminds me so much of Sora. They're both so similar: cheerful, optimistic, and young at heart. However, she hides her emotions better than Sora. This is not surprising, since she is a ninja.

"Okay." Yuffie agreed enthusiastically. Then she hooked her arm with his and dragged him to the little boys' section.

"Hey, where were you guys?" Roxas asked good-naturedly, but instantly it became jealously and suspicion when he saw Yuffie's arm hooked with Riku's.

"Oh, Riku was just being a jerk, and he didn't want to pick out clothes for Sora anymore." Yuffie responded sarcastically. Riku 'hmphed' and crossed his arms.

"Oh? And why is that?" Roxas asked.

"He's just jealous because you have better taste than him." Yuffie replied for Riku who just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." Roxas said; his jealously and suspicion fading. Yuffie was just being silly and naive again. But that's what I like about her. She's not serious and uptight… like me.

Roxas took Sora's hand and led him to the checkout. Riku and Yuffie followed. Roxas began to ponder something as the cashier ran the clothes through the laser. I wonder how long these clothes will fit Sora. With the Time Reversal Curse and everything… How long will he even stay this age? How long will it be before—no! Roxas shook the negative thoughts out of his mind. After we're done shopping, we'll check with Merlin to see if he has found a cure yet. I have to stay positive… like Yuffie.

He spared a glance at his budding crush… or was it something more?

—

Riku decided on going for ice cream next. They all were getting tired from the shopping spree. And Sora was more than happy to oblige. The father and son took their place in the long, winding line for Sea Salt popsicles. Riku and Yuffie sat in a booth, waiting for them. Yuffie rested her feet on the edge of the table and leaned back in her seat, yawning.

"You seem pretty bushed." Riku commented.

Yuffie shook her head. "Nah, not really. Just bored. Shopping isn't really my thing."

"Not mine either." He replied. Ignoring the admiring looks from the girls behind them.

"Oh my god, Becky, isn't he like the hottest guy you've ever seen?" A blonde with an overabundance of makeup inquired. Her mascara nearly stuck together like glue.

"No, he is the hottest guy I've ever seen." The excess amount of jewelry her friend wore clanged loudly as she clasped her hands.

"How many long-haired guys do you know that look that good?"

"Like none."

Their ear piercing giggles practically burst Yuffie's eardrums. Annoying preppy wanabes…

"His eyes are the best feature. It feels like he's staring into your soul."

"Did you check out his muscles and abs?"

"But… did you see the tomboy? She is like so ugly."

"I know right. She looks like some wannabe ninja."

"I can't believe that hunk would want to hang out with her."

You should talk about wannabes, witches. Yuffie fumed silently.

Riku heard their conversation and decided to humor them a bit. He placed his arm around Yuffie's shoulders and pulled her close to him. The girls gasped in surprise.

"On second thought, if she can get a guy like that… Maybe we should dress like that too."

"Her look is kind of cool. Spunky with a touch of Goth, you know?"

Riku snickered. I can't believe they actually fell for it. After the girls steered their conversation away from them, Yuffie removed his arm from her shoulder. For some reason it doesn't feel right…

Riku noticed her uneasiness. "Sorry about that. I had to find some way to give those girls a taste of their own medicine."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." It's not like he meant anything by that, right? Yuffie looked at his face, which was unreadable as always. Yet, he seemed pretty comfortable holding me.

Just then, Roxas and Sora finally returned with three Sea Salt ice cream sticks, breaking the awkward silence. Riku and Yuffie each took one and the subject was dropped.

I can't explain why, but I feel a little guilty. As if I was cheating on Roxas. An image of the blonde with intense azure eyes appeared in Yuffie's mind.