Drabbles Written between 11:30 and Midnight
A/N: Whoa guys, sorry I was away on hiatus for so long. It's been a while, but I'm back... and hope to slowly update and produce more drabbles :D Anyways, thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or the characters affiliated with it.
The challenge: Like Whoa
Drabble 14: Gone Fishing
"Like... whoooaaaa," Tidus exclaimed in awe, "Did you guys see that blue-bellied seagull?"
"I've seen about 9,999 seagulls today, Tidus," Riku replied dryly, tugging on his fishing rod lightly.
"There's not much else out here..." Riku gestured with his free hand out towards the open sea, pointing out that there was nothing but ocean to see in the distance beyond the boat.
"AH! I GOT ONE!" Sora's scream suddenly cut through Tidus and Riku's conversation, "I GOT ONE!"
"Sora! Reel it in gently, ya?" Wakka called out from the opposite side of the sail boat.
"Tug back a bit on the line!" Tidus said excitedly, clambering over to Sora.
Riku just sighed and didn't even blink an eye at Sora's exclamation... because this was Sora's 20th such outburst. The boy had been catching fish after fish, and Riku was feeling a bit sour about it. After all, Riku was supposed to be better than Sora in everything, right?
"Like... whoa, Sora! It's a southseas blue-bellied Norwegian ocean bass!" Tidus explained energetically as Sora pulled his fish over the boat railing.
"Whoa, really?" Sora asked, looking at his fish in awe.
Riku rolled his eyes. "He totally just made that up, Sora," Riku muttered darkly.
"Now, now, Riku, don't be a bad sport," Tidus chided while helping Sora get the fish off the hook.
"Ya, Riku," Wakka's voice drifted down, "It's not Sora's fault that the fish just aren't biting for you today... or that your one catch was stolen by a spotted seagull, ya?" Wakka started chuckling at the memory of Riku shaking his fist and swearing at the poor hungry seagull, with Tidus, Wakka, and Sora doing their best to keep him from jumping off the boat to swim after the mischievous bird.
"Shut it, Wakka," Riku growled, staring intensely at the end of his fishing rod, looking for the slightest hint of a tug on the line. Riku sniffed the air. "Smells like fish." He announced grouchily, scowling deeply.
"Well, duh, Riku," Sora responded brightly, coming over, the fish he caught dangling by the tail from his hand. Sora proceeded to wave the fish in front of Riku's face.
"Sora... you have five seconds to get that fish out of my face before I throw you and that sea creature into the ocean," Riku growled, staring pointedly out at sea, willfully ignoring the fish currently being swayed back and forth right in front of his eyes.
"Well I could use a swim..." Sora mused thoughtfully, continuing to irritate Riku with his latest catch.
"5..." Riku began counting down, teeth clenched.
"...and it's pretty hot out..." Sora continued, ignoring the strain in Riku's voice.
"4..." Riku had to close his eyes for a second to prevent himself from going ballistic.
"..and the water looks so refreshing..."
"3..."
"...and I've always thought I was meant to be a merman, you know?"
"2..." Riku felt his blood pressure rise as Sora persisted with his immature antics.
"...and maybe I should try catching some more fish barehanded?" Sora stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"RAAAAAAAAWR!" Riku roared, standing up suddenly, dropping his fishing pole, crouching down, seizing Sora by the knees, and swiftly throwing him overboard. "GGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"MAN OVERBOARD! MAN OVERBOARD!" Tidus howled as he rushed to Riku's side, looking over the railing where Riku had dispatched Sora. "SORA! ARE YOU OK MAN?"
"Blblbubbglug!" was all Sora could manage as he rose to the surface and spat out a mouthful of sea water. "RIKUUUUU!" he shrieked, splashing around, "YOU –"
Suddenly, something tugged mightily on Riku's fishing rod, pulling it over the railing and into the ocean. "NO! COME BACK HERE!" came Riku's strangled cry, interrupting Sora's tirade, as he hopped onto and over the boat railing, joining Sora in the sea. "YOU'RE MY DINNER! AAAAAGHHHH!"
Riku swam angrily after his fishing pole, which was quickly being dragged further out to sea. He managed to grab onto the very end of the rod and attempted to yank it towards him. The fish on the other end, however, decided it wouldn't be caught quite so easily, and gave a great yank, pulling Riku along for the ride. "Hey!" Riku cried out as he was forcefully lurched forward.
"RIKUUUUU!" Sora called in panic, watching his best friend struggle to stay afloat and in one place as the fish dragged Riku slowly away from the boat.
"THAT'S IT. I'M COMIN' IN!" Tidus yelled from the boat. He promptly dove into the ocean with the precision of an experienced diver and swimmer, and expertly made his way to Riku. "TIDUS TO THE RESCUE!" he proudly exclaimed as he reached his struggling friend, "HOLD ON TO THAT FISH, RIKU! REEL HIM IN!" Tidus then proceeded to grab Riku around the waist, and with a great heave Tidus began to pull his friend in towards the boat. Riku slowly turned the reel on his pole against the resistance of his catch.
"HELP US GET THAT FISH, WAKKA!" Tidus called as he and Riku finally reached the base of the boat, latching onto the short ladder leading up to the deck.
"YA, MAN! CLIMB UP! I GOT THE LINE!" Wakka exclaimed as he leaned over the side of the boat and grabbed the line from Riku's pole, holding it firm with one hand and grabbing on to the pole with the other. This gave Riku the opportunity to climb up the ladder and back up to the safety of the boat.
"HEAVE! HO!" Wakka commanded as he and Tidus pulled on the line with both hands, playing tug-of-war with the fish. As he made gains and pulled the line in slowly, Riku scrambled to grab the pole again and reel the line in. "ALMOST THERE! I CAN SEE THE SCOUNDREL'S SHADOW!"
"I THINK IT'S A BIG ONE!" Tidus exclaimed as he, Wakka, and Riku put in their collective effort to pull the fish in over the railing.
"!" Riku yelled at the sky as the fish landed on the deck, raising his hands in the air. "YEEEEEEEEEEEEE-"
"Awwwwwwwwww what a cute lil' fish!" Sora interrupted his friend, popping his up above the boat ladder and shaking his wet hair. "Riku caught a baby!"
"What." Riku growled and looked down at the fish, inspecting it closely for the first time. Much to his dismay, the fish was indeed merely the length of his index finger. "What! But – But – "
"Ahahaha!" Wakka started chuckling, "What a mighty little one!"
"It is kinda cute!" Tidus agreed with Sora, poking the fish gently in the stomach.
"Maybe you should let him go, Riku? He probably misses his Mommy." Sora looked at Riku and pouted a little.
"Hmph," Riku steamed, feeling rage boiling in his blood. He promptly grabbed the fish, walked over to Sora, shoved the boy off the ladder and back into the ocean, and dropped the little fish onto Sora's head.
"Ah!" Sora called out as the fish plunked onto his head and bounced into the water, splashing around Sora's face. "RIKUUUUU! YOU'RE SOOO MEAN!"
"Hmph." Riku grabbed his fishing rod and walked silently back to his fishing spot with all the dignity he could muster.
At the end of the day, the four boys counted how many fish each had caught, to see who was the fishing challenge winner.
"12!" Tidus chimed happily, rubbing his growling stomach. "Can't wait to grill these babies!"
"16," Wakka finished counting out loud.
"57!" Sora exclaimed triumphantly, holding up two of his biggest catches.
When it came to Riku's turn, the unlucky boy muttered something unintelligible.
"Errr, what was that Riku?" Sora asked teasingly, "I couldn't hear you."
"Zero," Riku whispered, turning away.
"What was that again?" Sora repeated his question lightly.
"ZERO! Z-E-R-O. ARE YOU HAPPY?" Riku spluttered, slamming his fist down on the bench he was sitting on.
Sora stood and held up his fish higher. "Now that I, the mighty Sora, have been crowned champion. . . LET'S EAT!"
Riku silently smoldered to himself. Just you wait, Sora... just you wait. I'll get you next time.
So, Riku spent the next three months in fishing training. On their next fishing trip, however... Riku lost again... and Sora ended up thrown into the ocean once more.
Poor Riku. No one's perfect, right?
The End.