Ahem. Drum roll, please! Crickets chirping. I said drum roll, please! Coughing -.-' Okay forget the drum roll. The Great Kazemaru-kun is back! Now let's skip the formalities and jump straight into chapter five!
Disclaimer: My bank account never really recovered from buying those airplane tickets to fly home for Christmas and all those gifts I bought for my mother. Not to mention that Ft.Gordon, GA was bloody boring and I spent at least two hundred of every paycheck on DVDs and comic books. Sigh If military paid by the hour I'd be freakin' rich enough to own Kingdom Hearts and Batman Beyond, but the military doesn't and I don't.
-/-
"How long have you know your mother, Sora?" It had seemed like a very odd question to ask, but the brunette could see that Riku honestly needed an answer.
"All my life. From the moment she gave birth to me."
"And after?"
"Until I found my father she was all Roxas and I had." Riku looked up form the letter in his hands. The letter which contents he had yet to reveal to the twins.
"And you, Roxas?" The blond looked stunned for a moment, but found his voice at Sora's nudging.
"Same as my brother. Our mother has been with us from the start." With the smallest wisp of a smile, a sad pitiful thing to see really, Riku balled up his letter and stuffed it into his pocket.
"I'm an awful son." Riku couldn't even bring his self to believe he loved his mother anymore. "But then-" She hadn't been all that wonderful of a mother either. "I have to go."
-/-
"Well? What are you waiting for? Follow him!" Roxas had said, along with smacking his little brother on the back of the head. As if Sora really needed to be told. It took him all of ten seconds to snap his rollerblades on and speed down the street after Riku. Roxas shook his head absently wondering if he should have followed as well.
-/-
Considering the fact that Sora was wearing rollerblades and Riku was wearing...well sneakers, it was surprisingly difficult to catch up to him. "Rik-Ompfh!" Take his eyes off the path ahead and he slams into the first thing in his way. "Sorry 'bout that." Sora mumbled his quick apology while climbing back to his feet. Never noticing what had fallen from his pocket the brunette took off back on his Riku hunt.
"Man, who was that guy, ya know?" Rai asked, rubbing his sore bottom.
"ID." Fuu said simply. Seifer bent down to pick up the plastic rectangle that Sora dropped.
"Institute 13 Identification. Name: Sora Strife. Sex: Male. Age:15 Year: First." Great more Institute trash in my neighborhood.
-/-
"You really didn't have to come." Riku sat on the ground, his right arm resting on a propped up leg. The letter was still a crinkled ball of paper clenched in a tightly closed fist. Of all places Sora would have thought he'd find Riku, sitting here in front of a tombstone was the last place he would have looked.
"I know." Sora bladed forward until he was right next to the silver haired teen and plopped down. "But what kind of friend would I be if I hadn't come?"
"The kind that minds their own freakin' business." Riku sniggered. Sora grinned broadly.
"You know what they say about the difference between a good friend and a best friend?"
"If you get your butt thrown in jail you're bailing yourself out and if you get us both in jail I'll kill you."
"You know that really isn't what they say, Riku." Sora grumbled with a pout.
"Hn." Riku directed his eyes back to the solemn marker before him. The person buried here, he had never hated and loved anyone as much as he did the person buried here. "When I was a kid I thought that it was my fault. I thought...I thought that I had done something wrong, something terrible to be forced to live with Au-with Maleficent."
"Riku-" The teen shook his head. He needed to get this off his chest. He wanted to tell this. Sora really didn't have to be there, but Riku was glad he was.
"How big of a person do you think it takes to beat a baby? A child?" Sora remained silent. "That was Maleficent's way of raising children. I lived with that woman for seven years." The jagged white scars that crossed his body were testaments to that. "The only thing I had ever done wrong was be born." He could still remember it. The way Maleficent would sneer at him and say he was a mistake created by a broken condom or called him the forgotten pill.
Nasty little children, who were never meant to be born, should be grateful for the meal they get. Maleficent had snapped at Riku when he complained about eating a cold ham sandwich for the fifth night in a row. Listen to me Riku, she said grasping his chin with her bony fingers, your birth happened thanks to a night of drunkenness and stupidity and a broken condom. She smirked that ugly smile he hated so much. Your mother doesn't want you, tears were welling in his eyes, he knew it. Your father doesn't know you exist. The tears were rolling down his cheeks now. Be grateful, Riku. I'm all you have.
"I hated Maleficent, but not as much as I hated her."
"Riku?" Two green eyes shifted in his direction. "Who's grave is this?" That same smile, the one that made Sora's heart ache to see, was back on his friend's face.
"You could never hate your mother, could you Sora?" This was her grave. Riku hadn't known it existed or that she had died nearly two and a half years ago. According to the letter she was walking home, a car jumped a curb. It happened during the night. Visibility was low and the driver was drunk. She'd probably never knew what hit her, but she hadn't died on impact. She was still semi-conscious when the medics arrived. She was loaded on the stretcher and into the ambulance. She was mostly unresponsive and seemed unaware, but she kept whispering one thing over and over again. His name-Riku, her baby. She wanted to see him again, she wanted to see how much he had grown, she wanted to hold him again and take him to the zoo, she wanted to tell him the words she had never told him. Riku's mother had died on the way to the hospital. "I told you I was an awful son." Were he younger and still a child he would have cried, but not now. Riku just couldn't muster the energy to feel any real emotion right now, nor was he sure as to what he should be feeling. Overjoyed because all his childhood tormentors had gotten what they deserved in the end? Or grief? The woman was still-No, had been his mother and in her final moments she had all but begged to see him and for his forgiveness. "What do you want from me?" He asked the silent grave. Sora gently clapping him on the shoulder jerked him out of his musing.
"Come on, Riku." He stood up with his rollerblades slung across his back and a pair of worn skater shoes on his feet. "You're eating dinner at my house tonight."
"My father-"
"You don't have to." Sora interrupted. "Let's go. My Dad's home by now and Rox's is probably wondering where we are."
You don't understand, Sora. Riku thought as they left the cemetery. My father...is Sephiroth.
-/-
"Hey!" Sora screamed at the truck as it sped by. "Watch where you're going you jerk!" He turned to Riku, shrugging his shoulders before shaking his soggy head of brown quills. "Man, this rain is just what we need." They hadn't even made it half way home and it was all ready pouring.
"Maybe you should steer clear of streets." Riku could hear his shoes squishing with every step he took, he was no near as drenched as the brunette who was unfortunately walking on the side of the sidewalk closest to the road.
"I should have brought a ra-AAACHOO!" Taking a moment to silently curse the weather Sora tried that again. "A raincoat."
"Rai, you know what I hate more than finding Institute trash in my neighborhood?" Riku stopped so suddenly Sora nearly slammed into him. "Finding it in loads." Seifer slowly circled the two teens, leering back at Riku glare for glare. "There aren't anymore of you pampered rich boys running around here, are there?"
Carefully, hesitantly, so as to not draw attention to himself Sora slipped his left hand into his pocket. Four against two. Can't say I really like these odds. Sora's blue eyes bounced from person to person, the usually warmth and cheerfulness in them replaced by a cold, calculating stare as he quickly assessed the possible danger. The blond and that big guy are probably the power houses. The kid...yeah right. The girl doesn't look like much of threat, but he wasn't going to drop his guard around her based on looks. "Who are you?"
"Sora, I'm hurt. You don't even know my name." Seifer pulled the lost identification card from his coat and flicked it back to its owner. "It's Seifer Almasy, rich boy. Know it, remember it, fear it." What the young blond didn't know was that turning his back on the smoldering green eyes practically burning holes into him was his second big mistake. His first? Picking the fight in the first place.
"Know it, huh? Well when I write one of those 'Sorry I beat the snot out of your kid, but he was asking for it,' notes I'll be sure to remember that, but fear it…" When Riku's hand slipped inside his cloak Seifer took a cautious step back. Most of the rich boys he found wandering his neighborhood didn't carry weapons.
"Seifer! Watch out, ya know!" Rai had never been considered the brightest crayon in the box, but he knew a dangerous situation when he was in one. If the silver haired one was armed with anything they were at a huge disadvantage, unless… "Vivi!" The little boy flew nearly a foot into a air.
"Right!" He responded, running out to Rai carrying a metal bat. Vivi didn't quite make it. Halfway there he tripped on an upturned curb and hit the ground, the bat spiraling out of his hands.
Good enough, ya know. Rai caught the wayward bat and tossed it to his leader. "Catch, ya kn-Arghh!" Sharp shooting pain exploded in his right hand. It had been cut badly, blood freely flowing an angry red gash, but the was the least of Rai's injuries. Three of his fingers were bent at incredibly odd angles. They were twisted over in such a way that he'd never would have been able to do without extreme pain. They looked broken.
"Rai!" Seifer caught the metal bat before it could rocket passed.
"I'm okay, ya know." But what had hit him? What did this to his hand?
"Okay?" Rai's head jerked to the left, starring wide-eyed at the crouching brunette who was facing away from him, which Rai found to be very strange. The last he'd looked at the boy he was standing slightly to the right and in front of him with his back turned away. "You two are very far from okay." He stood, sharply pivoting on a heel and toe to face Rai. Although it was near impossible to tell in the rain the large boy had broken out in a cold sweat.
That thing! That thing in his hands, ya know! That thing was what had happened to his hand. "Stay-stay away from me, ya know!" Waving his hands Rai attempted to ward the brunette off as he stumbled back.
Sora arched a brow at the frantic boy, shouldering the object that was the cause of Rai's panic. "My father gave him to me when I was ten. He's kind of an antique so I don't use him to spar, but I like to carry him for luck and protection." It was huge, charcoal black in color and oddly shaped like a key. A tiny yellow bird keychain dangled from its handle. Had it not been for the rain the broad metal would have been splattered with blood. "His name is Metal Chocobo." Shaking all over Rai fell on his butt. "I don't know why you guys feel the need to attack Institute students, but I hardly care. Today was just not your lucky day. You picked the wrong rich boys to mess with."
A keyblade-a keyblade, ya know. He named his keyblade and Rai was sure he wasn't carrying it beforehand. That was no ordinary weapon and he was no ordinary rich boy. Oh help me. Eyes clenched shut, Rai threw his arms up to protect himself against what he was sure would be a painful beating, but all he felt was a cold gust of wind blowing passed him.
"Hey." Not thinking of his safety Rai dropped his arms and looked up. Sora stood besides him, his head tilted slightly to the left so he could glare at the crouching boy over his shoulder.
Such speed. Rai didn't believe he would have seen him move even if he'd kept his eyes open.
"Don't flatter yourself. Metal Chocobo's blade isn't meant for someone as unworthy as you, especially when you're unarmed." As Sora finished his sentence Metal Chocobo disappeared from his hands in a bright display of light. "Don't mistake that for sympathy. You picked this fight so you don't have the right to pull out of it." Sora cracked his knuckles. This would probably be murder on his hands. "Real men finish what they start."
The last thing Rai saw before blacking out was the sight of Sora's gloved fist speeding towards his face.
"Shit." Sora shook his bloody knuckles hoping to bring feeling back into them. "Your face is as hard as your head." Perhaps his two hit combination was a little overkill. After all one punch had flattened Rai's nose like an empty Coke can. The second blow to the temple that put him under really hadn't been needed, but Sora had probably done the boy a favor. "Hope you've learned it doesn't pay to pick on others."
-/-
So much rain and it came so suddenly. The storm was fierce and raging out there and he could barely see anything. How was he to find them in this? Never one to really complain though, Roxas glared hard through the car window as the rain continued to pound against it. They were out there somewhere. They had to be-Wait! Was that them? "Stop!" His door was thrown open before the car even made a complete stop. Roxas practically dived from his seat, running out into the storm.
-/-
"Rai!" Seifer caught his weapon with his right hand. Now he was ready for anything that rich boy could pull out his pockets.
"That's the second time you've turned your back on me. Do it a third time and I'll make sure you regret it." This was one of those rare times Riku wanted to kicked his self for having such long hair. The rain had plastered his bangs to his face. The teen was sure he looked more like a shaggy dog than he looked threatening.
"You're going to make me regret?" The blond took a few practice swings with his bat while advancing towards his target.
"That's right." Riku drew his hand back out revealing it to be void of a weapon. Sora had drawn his keyblade first in an attempt to prevent the exchanging of the bat, but the brunette wasn't fast enough and instead he ended up turning Rai's fingers into bony pulp. "I'll even give you two handicaps." Sora did, however, ultimately defeat his opponent without his keyblade. "One is that I'll fight you barehanded and two," now his plastered bangs would be of no consequence, "I'll beat you with my eyes closed."
Beat me with your eyes closed? A wooden bat would have splintered under the pressure Seifer was applying in anger. "Arrogant bastard." One slim, silver eyebrow twitched at the insult. "That cockiness is going to get you killed."
"Hn." Seifer took one second out to blink and Riku was gone. "It's not cockiness." His voice was so much more closer now.
Flash step. He's behind me! Seifer could see from the corner of his eyes. Riku raised and arm up his hand balled into a tight fist. I can't evade it. With his eyes sealed closed the teen brought his arm down at the same time Seifer brought his bat up.
"It's not cockiness." His whole arm tingled. The blond had blocked fairly well with that bat and Riku was sure he'd see bruises tomorrow morning. Perhaps fighting barehanded against a metal bat wasn't the best idea he'd ever had, but nothing could be done for it now. "It's confidence." This was how he said he was going to fight so he would.
I'll admit you had me a little worried with that move earlier, but it doesn't matter how fast you are. You can't win against this bat. "I don't care what you call it. I'm still going to kick your ass." Seifer didn't have anything like Riku's flash step, but he was quick in his own right. Closing the distance in leaps and strides he flanked the silver haired teen's left, making as little noise as possible. You're going to regret walking into my neighborhood. He swung the bat up in a wide arc and then sent it whistling down towards Riku's skull.
The bat and Seifer's entire body jerked to a stop.
"What the-F-ck!" No matter how hard he pulled he couldn't break the vice grip Riku had on his wrist. "How!"
"I heard that coming a mile away." Riku tightened his hand and the bat clattered harmlessly to the ground. "The difference between being confident and being cocky is knowing you have the strength to back it up." He applied more pressure. The blond dropped to his knees, gritting his teeth against the pain and the sound of his bones cricking. "I'm glad I met you Seifer Almasy, because now the next time I hear about an Institute student getting harassed I'll know who to come looking for." With one extra hard squeeze and a sharp twist of both their wrist-CRACK!-Riku released Seifer and finally opened his eyes. "This fight is over. I suggest you see to your buddy. I think mine went a little overboard on him." He spun on his heel and walked away, leaving Seifer glaring at his back and holding his broken his wrist.
-/-
"Damn, Sora you're a beast." The brunette grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. He would say something about Rai's condition.
"I'm a beast?" Sora gestured to the girl lying unconscious at their feet. "Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but where'd you come from?" Mere seconds after he'd knocked Rai out Sora had heard a loud thump followed by a surprised gasp. He turned around just in time to catch Fuu's thoroughly knocked out body and see Roxas smirking at him.
"The same place as you. Our mother's womb." Was his brother's smart aleck reply. "You don't normally drop your guard like that, not feeling well?" Sora shook his head, brown wet spikes flying everywhere.
"I'm feeling fine, but Riku's-"
"Riku's what?" Said teen asked, arms crossed over his chest. "Talking about me behind my back-Hhmm?" Brows arched Riku stared at Roxas as if he couldn't believe the blond was there and he couldn't. "When did you get here?"
Roxas shrugged. "Does it matter?" He hooked his thumb in the car's general direction. "Our Dad's waiting. You guys ready to get out of the rain?"
"Lead the way Roxas, lead the way." Riku snickered. The blond turned red.
"Shut up." Roxas growled. For some reason Mr. Satyr liked to call on him to lead the class in their warm-up and cool-down exercises.
-/-
"Stupid rich bastards." Just looking at them made Seifer sick to his stomach. "You're going to pay for this." Rai, Fuu, his wrist. They were not going to leave unscathed; especially that silver haired one. Pressing his broken wrist into his chest Seifer stood up and grabbed his forgotten bat. He hoisted the metal up, holding it as if it were a javelin. "Just one good shot." Seifer muttered, before hurling the bat at Riku's head.
-/-
"Roxas, there's no shame in being a good motivator." Choosing instead to respond physically than verbally Roxas slugged Riku. "Ow! That hurt."
"Good." Roxas smirked, jumping away and quickly back pedaling out of striking distance. Riku followed-Or tried to before he was knocked to the ground.
"Damn, what the-Sora!" He had raised his self off the ground, looking up just in time to see a silver bat collide with the side of the brunette's head.
"Sora!"
-/-
Sora+Injures+KairiRomance. Just remember that if you're a little disappointed at the lack of any romance in this chapter. Hopefully chapter six can be done within the next two weeks.
Now that that's out of the way-Thanks for all the support you guys! I know it was a long wait because I had to live through it without the comfort of electronics(for the first two and a half months anyway). But now I am a Private Second Class and a trained and qualified 25B(Information Systems Operator-Analyst).