A/N: Hi again! I don't expect a whole lot of reviews from this story, considering it's a YuRiku and kinda like an indie flick of a fic. By that, I mean it has many, many quirks. It also only covers a mere summer vacation. In this chapter, things get somewhat serious...yet random dancing ensues as well. Enjoy. XD

Disclaimer: I no owney the Kingdom Hearts-y.

Chapter 4: Sights and Sounds and Serious Conversations

A few weeks passed during the summer vacation, and Yuffie and Riku found themselves becoming unbelievably fast friends. Every mealtime when the whole group collectively gathered, they each made a beeline for chairs near each other to just talk. Usually, since their conversations were peppered with jokes, they laughed so hard that the food they ate almost caught in their throats. In fact, Aerith had already performed the Heimlich maneuver twice on the enthusiastically optimistic ninja girl. Their relationship bordering between friendship and flirting, the two teenagers proved to be very compatible companions, no matter how unlikely. Sora and Kairi grinned knowingly every time they looked at those two, smiling appreciatively at the potential their friends had to become so much more. Meanwhile, Aerith kept alluding to the tea leaves' reading in Riku's cup on that first day, casually commenting on how accurate they may be.

The sky pilot Cid admitted half-jokingly to Yuffie that he was glad that "that boy is around, because I thought I'd never get you out of my hair." She giggled at that dry remark, for she knew that was just typical of that middle-aged curmudgeon. Out of the whole group, though, one person objected strongly to the prospect of young love between Riku and Yuffie. Leon Leonheart disliked seeing one of his own friends condescending to actually speak to such a despicable boy, especially someone formerly from the deepest, blackest darkness. Simply speaking, Leon distrusted someone like that, and he was also angry at what he thought to be Yuffie's naivety. So quiet yet forceful was his rage that he refused to even glance at either of them. Of course, much to his emotional hurt, Riku couldn't help but notice this. Rejection stung above all else, and he very much tired of people staring upon him in complete disgust.

Presently, he resolved to ignore Leon's own subtle disdain by living daily vacation life without thinking about it too much. When he woke up one morning, he decided that he would hang out with his close friends today. While eating French toast for breakfast, he glimpsed Yuffie sliding down the banister of the stairs to emerge in the kitchen. She wore an indigo kimono with an intricate white leaf pattern that caught him off-guard. Elegantly, the cloth of the robe descended down to the floor to form a slight train, and her sleeves looked almost as long. She appeared so beautiful in her morning attire that his eyes seemed to fasten on her at once.

"You look great," he politely complimented, hoping that he wasn't blushing at the moment.

"Thanks!" she beamed, twirling around gracefully. "I usually don't wear this, but no one else is up yet."

And yet she wasn't afraid to wear that kimono around him, he noted, not like he minded that. Besides, he wondered why she didn't wear it every morning for that matter.

As if reading Riku's thoughts, Yuffie abruptly brought up, "It's only because I hate people seeing me not wear my traditional ninja clothes. Anything that's girly is just embarrassing for me to wear."

"Really?" He raised an inquisitive brow out of shock at what she said. Anything she wore looked exquisite on her, and he started to wonder if she suffered from an inferiority complex or something like that. Perhaps she simply had a pride issue, since wearing anything remotely feminine forced her to shrink in confidence and feel more vulnerable. Once Riku thought of it this way, he realized that Yuffie might seem extremely complex than what her fearless personality suggested.

And once considering that, she attracted him more deeply than ever before. Staring at her across the table, as she took the last slice of scrumptious French toast, he slowly fell for her.

Currently, she sniffed the alluring odors of the kitchen and sighed, "Wow, it smells like toast in the whole kitchen! You're a better cook than I am."

"It's just toast," he pointed out, chuckling at what delight she took in something as miniscule as that. "So, anyway, about that kimono...Why are you wearing it around me then, if you're so set on people not see you in it?"

Yuffie actually blushed and managed to stutter out, "I—It's a l—long story."

"It's only six-thirty. Tell me," Riku implored as he finished off his glass of orange juice.

Sighing heavily again, she stood up to pour coffee beans into the urn of the coffee maker along with a splash of hot water to prepare her favorite breakfast beverage. She appeared rather nervous to him as well as apprehensive about her story. So, she decided to tell it in a nutshell.

"One time, when Squall saw me wear this at night, he told me I looked like a turkey trying to look like a peacock. He joked, of course, since he's my friend. But...it...kind of...hurt."

Oh, so she was insecure. Riku couldn't say for certain that he was surprised by this, but he did think Leon quite stupid for making that joke. The man thought himself a stud anyway, he darkly assumed. Hadn't he noticed the beaming presence she brought whenever she walked into a room?

"If I were you," Riku advised, looking Yuffie boldly in the eyes, "I'd ignore him. I like your style."

Somewhat embarrassed by his kind comment, she almost spilled the coffeepot as she took it out from the machine. No one must have told her she was beautiful this rashly before. Either that, or she simply was flattered beyond words. Sure, Riku was used to stunning girls into silence (it wasn't that difficult to do on the islands), but Yuffie being quiet seemed vaguely out of place. This shouldn't matter, though, if she approved of his remark.

She soon reverted back to her cheery, bright, and Yuffie self. "Thank you, sir! Your charming knight in shining armor self shines through again. And I must say it's almost blinding."

Riku shrugged like it was no big deal, but he just adored her contagious grin. "Anything I can do to help."

Pouring herself a warm mug of coffee, she drank it down and proceeded to skip up the stairs.

What the silver haired adolescent didn't see was that the ninja girl performed a happy dance in a circle while whispering loudly, "He likes my style!" excitedly. No guy had ever made her feel this awesome, this unconquerable before. Even though she proved she could eke it out on her own, some compliments from the member of the opposite sex didn't hurt her self-esteem. No, she only thrived on such positive energy; inevitably, she soaked it up like the sun in the afternoon. In the mean time, Riku swore that he heard a victorious whisper from the girl upstairs, and he laughed a little from her cuteness. She actually valued his opinion just as much as he treasured hers. They could work out in this budding, blossoming relationship that could be so much more.

Three hours later, he stepped out the door with his friends Sora and Kairi while he merrily whistled. Of course, since he moped during his respite at the islands, the couple couldn't help but notice this change of attitude on his part. All he needed all along was Yuffie to cast her entrancing spell on him. The chemistry between those two was so obvious that even Sora realized what unfolded before his eyes. For Riku's sake, though, he only did what a loyal best friend would do.

"So, Riku," Sora started speaking in a sly tone, one of his blue eyes threatening to wink, "when are you and Yuffie getting married?"

Barely believing what just came out of his best friend's mouth, Riku almost tripped over his own shoes. Why would he even suggest such a thing? Marriage...oh, Sora had better be kidding about that.

"Hopefully not any time soon," he replied, setting his jaw more tightly than usual. "We're not even dating."

Kairi punched Sora in the arm half-jokingly yet gave him a serious look. "Come on, Sora, don't pressure him! If he wants to be with Yuffie, he'll be with her on his own time."

Riku managed to glance over at the lovely couple who seemed to glow like Christmas lights when they were around each other. It was almost like with him and the Wutai native girl, but he believed they still had a way to go regarding that. Maybe he would never experience a love like the one that Sora and Kairi shared, which nearly discouraged him. However, he knew better than anyone that he needed to perk up for the sake of having a fun time with his friends out on the town. They could go shopping, wander about each and every crevice, and just enjoy merely looking at this beautiful place.

So, he opted to suggest, "What are we still doing here? Let's just hang out."

"Agreed, Riku, agreed," Sora replied as he nodded enthusiastically and patted his friend on the back. "I think we should go to that stall over there to try some hats."

"That one over there looks pretty interesting," Kairi grinned, pointing to a floppy stovepipe that looked almost cartoonish. "I always wanted to have a hat like that."

As they wandered over to the stall to laughingly try on hats, Yuffie managed to appear before the by performing her perfect backflips for the trio. Even though this tempted Riku to call her a shameless show-off, he couldn't help but be impressed by her skills. He couldn't believe he ever doubted her credibility as a ninja. Then again, cynicism had gotten the best of him back then.

She proceeded to stride toward the stall to select a ridiculous looking cowboy hat that had neon colors of lime green and electric blue. In an insane fashion, she pretended to square dance with an imaginary partner before turning to Riku, whom she offered her arm to. Once he gave his silent approval (since he couldn't say no to her at this stage), she drawled out a long "yee-haw!" and swung him in dizzying circles. Sora and Kairi, thoroughly amused that Riku truly accepted Yuffie's offer to dance like a maniac, could hardly suppress their laughter over the whole situation.

After their dancing concluded, the ninja told the stall owner, "I'll take this ht, thank you.

"I gotta say, Yuffie, you're making me do things I never thought up before," Riku remarked with honest amusement in his tone. These days, he couldn't wait to see what zany thing Yuffie did next.

She smiled calmly at him. "Thanks, Riku. Well, I gotta go and help Aerith with her store. See ya!"

The trio of friends then spent the day peering at shopping kiosks to ponder over what to buy. After looking them over, Riku ended up buying a pair of fingerless gloves, Sora bought a cute fake silver necklace for Kairi who bought a pair of clip-on butterfly earrings and nachos for her boyfriend. As they passed one more stall before continuing toward the Crystal Fissure, Riku spent some of his munny on a purple silk headband for Yuffie. He felt that since Sora bought something for the girl of their dreams, he should at least purchase something for the girl who expanded his outlook on life. Due to the depressing feelings of solitude he suffered through and the hardships he faced battling his demons, he thought that this was real life. The meaning of it to him had hitherto implied overcoming painful obstacles. But, Yuffie opened his eyes to what good things life had to offer, the simple things that could be easily missed. All the same, though, they were significant.

At the Crystal Fissure, where the sun glinted off so many crystals in such a cramped area, they ate food that had been in a picnic basket that Kairi carried. She wanted all of them to share a moment like this to have the sense of tranquility and peace that reigned through their islands. To converse about ordinary topics as well as to relax by telling jokes was the whole idea behind the picnic. Sure enough, the three of them enjoyed themselves with the food serving as a particular bonus. After the hard work they put in this past adventure, they all thought they deserved a break. Even Riku's opinion matched those of his friends when it came to this. Maybe he wasn't so wretched a person as he once deemed himself. As Sora made up a joke about the long gone Xemnas, he chuckled heartily in the knowledge that his friend made light of a dangerous villain like the Organization XIII leader.

Eventually, even with the fun of lazily hanging out on a hot summer day, there was still the incessant kissing that occurred between Sora and Kairi. OK, so he wasn't as bitter about losing out on the girl as he had been the night of that party. Riku and Kairi were better off as childhood friends who grew up together on the same islands, nothing more and less. Besides, as he considered before, his some people were just meant to be together as foretold by a higher power. He would stand by and watch his two friends together without feeling too awkward about it. Romance was clearly in the air for them, so who was he to judge? At this point, the only thing he could do presently was to eat the last of the fresh apples that grew in Radiant Garden's attractive orchards. Juice slid down his chin as he crisply bit into the red skin. This tasted better than a pair of lips any day.

However, a different story unfolded once the trio returned to the townhouse, where Leon asked to talk to Riku in private. He knew no good could come of this, since a confrontation would ensue between the two men who had a lot in common yet differed in personal opinions of each other. It was a shame, but Leon insisted on being distrustful and wary of people from the dark, even from somebody on the road to dawn like him. They stood out near the Dark Depths, since this was one of the few locations around Radiant Garden where there was even a remote chance of privacy. His steel blue eyes narrowed out of disdain toward his younger peer, Leon quietly thought over what to say. When he did speak, his voice came off as low, resentful. "I know of your friendship with Yuffie. If you know what's good for you, you won't try to go out of your way to be with her any more."

Suppressing his own anger by clenching his trembling fists, Riku calmly asked, "Why? Do you really think that I'm so bad that I would mistreat her?"

Her bright, pleasant looking face shone exquisitely in his mind, her dark eyes playfully taunting him. Just because a single friend of hers despised him didn't mean he would automatically stop associating with her. He knew her too well to go back now.

Though Leon sighed heavily, he patted his belt in which his Gunblade was cinched. "It's just that you once belonged to the darkness. If you hurt my friend with it, I'll make sure you don't come here again."

So the brunet man did consider him a despicable freak. But, using darkness against Yuffie—what a load that theory was. Being accused of utilizing evil again almost forced Riku to lose his temper.

Instead of displaying his pure rage in front of Leon (because that would probably show a potentially "abusive" side), he moodily breathed out the repressed emotion. Unable to hear one more word of false accusation, he decided to start walking away. Refusing to leave without saying some final words, though, he glanced over his shoulder to stare with scorching aqua eyes at that Leonheart.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't intend on hurting Yuffie. What's going to disappoint you even more is that I see the value in just being with her. At least I don't call her a turkey for personal laughs."
Even though he knew that Leon meant no ill at the time, Riku preferred to blame Yuffie's complex on someone. Why not that stoic brunet man? In any case, he left Leon/Squall/whatever the heck he wanted to call himself speechless. No one could stop Riku from being with her—no one and nothing.

A/N: OK, all together now for the last line--1, 2, 3, AWWWWWWWW! XD Forbidden love...or so it will feel like. A few facts about this chapter.

1) Leon being a vague meaniehead to Yuffie (in a way) was just an idea I had for showing that Riku is better (though I love Squiffie).

And

2) The whole Yuffie saying, "He likes my style!" is sort of a reference to Howl's Moving Castle, when Calcifer yells, "She likes my spark!" after Sophie tells him that.

Just wanted to keep you guys entertained with fun facts. OK, they're not really that fun, but I tried. Review pwease! It's almost V-Day. XD Though I usually hate the holiday, I did something for someone I like, and he appreciated it. XDD Yeah, just review, you guys don't need to hear about my sappy stories.