Finally, I'm able to come up with a next chapter. Thanks to coconut90, And She Would Fall Xx, Sky91, TheHentaiHero, high off strawberry pock…, HorseRain, PhinMaginONLY, mochiusagi, carefreecat (beta-ing as well), Kendra1221, and Your Alien, for reviewing. Also, thanks to SuperFriendlySoraFan203, thewriterwannabe, and Valentined for the ideas, I'm gonna use all of them, this chapter I already used one, the next two chapies I'll use another two ideas. Thanks!

By the way, I'm making some RikuSora illustration to this fanfic. You can check it out here: http / bonbonpich. deviantart. com/ just delete the space. If it doesn't work, you can also go via my author page, there's a link there.

Just a reminder, one "X" still marks where the memories are.

Chapter 3 You Can Talk?

Riku tried to search for a most comfortable spot in his makeshift bed, but he couldn't find one. He shifted his gaze to Sora's bed, and to the owner who was occupying it, oceanic eyes burning with expectation. The brunet noticed the other boy with that look; he narrowed his eyes in response.

"Don't even think about it. If I find you sleeping on my bed again, you're out of this house."

Frowning dejectedly, Riku watched as Sora reached for his clock to set the alarm. "Tomorrow I've gotta wake up before Roxas does, or else he'd come to wake me up and find you here," he explained and literally froze when a hand clasped his own, where he was struggling with the device that the alarm had been inactivated for a long time. He searched Riku's eyes and wondered what the heck it was this time.

Riku pulled on a smile and directed a finger to himself. He gave a dismissal wave at the device in Sora's hands and repeated the earlier gesture.

"Uh…did you mean you're gonna wake me up in the morning?" he guessed and was granted right because Riku bobbed his head down. Sora would have doubted if he could allow Riku to take such matter into hands, but the taller boy looked confident enough. "Okay, seems like I can't make this thing work anyway. Do you think you'd be able to wake me up before seven? Roxas always wakes me up after seven."

Riku gave a firm nod.

Before Sora went to sleep, he was well aware of the likelihood that he would freak out again when he woke up and saw Riku. After giving it a thought, he told himself that it had already been two days; whatever was in store for him in the next day couldn't catch him off guard anymore. With that, he plopped himself down on the bed, and dozed off.

3rd Day

'Sora.'

'Hnn…'

'Sora.'

Crossing the boundary from the world of sleep to the waking world, Sora's conscious was awakened before his body did. His mind registered something warm inflicted right across his cheek, and it was wet too.

His recollection told him that it must have been Riku. His mental laughed, 'I knew it! He won't listen! If I wake up and see him on my bed again, I'm gonna-"

"Sora."

'What? Is Roxas here?'

Sora opened his eyes at the voice he couldn't recognize as Roxas's. He took in the sight of the other boy that was hovering above him in proximity, yet he told himself he would not yell, the situation wasn't something new. Sora promised himself not to yell. But when he learned what that warm sensation was, and at the same time, a word emitted from Riku's smiling lips.

"Sora."

At that moment, the only thing that dawned on Sora was that Riku had literally licked his face awake. Another thing was that Riku was saying something, but had been forgotten at the moment, because a cat boy was licking his face…again.

He would not yell.

….

"GAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

A smirk pulled on Riku's lips as he watched Sora turned red all over, hands clasping his right cheek where Riku had ran his tongue over. On a closer inspection, Riku could make out that the smaller boy was shaking too, whether out of anger or embarrassment, or both, how Riku enjoyed that kind of reaction from Sora.

Anyways, he wanted to tell his good news, so Riku shifted closer to where Sora was flattening himself against the bed's headboard. He placed his hands on the brunet's shoulder and opened his mouth to form a sounded word "Sora."

Sora's blue eyes went wide. "Riku…you…can talk?

Before Riku could answer, the door burst open, revealing a sleepy and moody Roxas. The blond drawled in a drowsy voice, "Sora, if it is some rat running in on you again and you have to yell that loud, I'll-"

Roxas stopped mid-sentence, which spelled a bad omen for Sora. The sleepiness left him immediately and he gaped at the sight of his younger brother on the end of the bed, ostensibly trapped by an older boy's taller form that inclined too close to be necessary towards his brother. Sora's hands were in a defensive stance; on the other hand, the unknown boy's hands seemed to work on the opposite intention.

The glances exchange of the boys lasted for a few seconds, followed by another uproar yell, louder than Sora's prior one.

"What the hell are you doing with my brother!" Roxas shouted as he stomped in and yanked one of Riku's arms forcefully off of Sora's shoulder. But he failed; Riku latched himself onto Sora, the action just provoked Roxas's anger further. He grasped Riku's shirt collar with one hand, another one drew back into a tight fist.

Seeing what was coming; Riku tilted his head enough to avoid the blow, yet still be attached to Sora.

When the first blow didn't land successfully on the target, Roxas was readied for another one.

"Stop, Roxas!" Sora cut in as he, as well, tried to pry Riku off of himself. When Riku refused, Sora just realized then and there of just how much Riku resembled those little animals that'd grown attached to him and instinctively refused to let go when needed. But Riku being human in such situation, in front of Roxas, could be a little hectic to deal with.

Pausing at his brother's call, Roxas glanced over Sora and shifted to study Riku who regarded Roxas with the most confused look he'd ever seen.

"Don't give me that clueless look! You were about to rape my brother!" Roxas could tell the green-eyed boy was taken aback by the statement, but his fuming clouded his better judgment. Roxas would have came so close to punish his culprit had Sora not accomplished kicking Riku off of him and out of range of his brother's anger first.

While said culprit was out of the way for good, Sora hastened to throw in an explanation. "Riku's my friend; he was only trying to wake me up!"

"Oh, really?" Roxas had only been half-convinced. He eyed Riku who scrambled himself up with distrust. "Why didn't I see him last night?"

"Uh…" While Sora busily swarmed through his thoughts for an excuse, arms came snaking around his neck from behind, accompanied by a soft weight on his shoulder.

Sora took in Roxas's short progress of his expressions, shifting, from one of confusion to something akin to annoyance, making the brunet start to fidget under Riku's hold. Why was Riku doing this now…In front of his brother!

While Sora fought to detach the other boy, he noticed Riku gave a smirk to Roxas over his shoulder. It made Sora's stomach drop while he ventured a glance to his brother. The blond's earlier annoyance transformed into something akin to fury.

"A friend, huh?" it was a calm tone coming from Roxas, but thick with something that was about to explode.

For all Sora knew, Roxas thought Riku was going to…eh…rape him, now, Riku was making things worst. Sora tried to force the older boy's face away from his shoulder and only received a series of protesting whines in response. Sora huffed and tried a different tactic, "Let go or you're out of here!"

In an instant, Riku let go. Still it seemed like it wasn't enough to chase Roxas's subtle madness away. The blond narrowed his eyes at Sora while uttering one simple, commanding word, "Explain."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Very funny," mocked Roxas, "You expect me to believe that?"

"But he is! Well, he was that cat you saw Friday! Look!" Sora pointed to Riku. "You remember how he looked like when he was a cat, right? Rku looks exactly like that!"

On that ground, Roxas studied Riku once more and had to admit the resemblance. Moreover, when he thought about it, it didn't look like Sora had been lying, Sora sucked at lying. Still, the story had to be a far-fetched fairly tale, but he granted Sora (who was eagerly waiting for some response) with a hesitant nod.

"See?" Sora said with a grin and settled back down from where he'd been almost leaning over his brother. Then he eyed Riku who was sitting in a well-behaved manner at his side.

"Well, he doesn't talk much, does he?" Roxas commented, narrowing his eyes at the silver haired boy.

"Yeah, he doesn't-" before Sora could nod, he'd just recalled what had happened earlier that morning and jerked his head to Riku. "You talked!"

Turning to Sora, Riku smiled brightly. And as if to prove his point, he let the word roll out of his tongue. "Sora."

Sora was rendered speechless while Roxas seemed disinterested.

"But…but you never talked the two days before! Aren't you a cat? Man, who are you really?"

Only when the last question was asked did Roxas seem to gain interest, but Riku only went dead quiet as he regarded the twins with his studying gaze.

"Riku, say something," Sora requested, his eyes sparkled expectantly.

"Sora," worded Riku.

"He meant…talk, you dolt." Roxas crossed his arms over his chest.

"School."

The twin exchanged glances.

"Late," added Riku as he pointed towards the clock.

"Oh…right, we're so-" Roxas trailed off dismissingly as he followed the direction of what Riku had implied. "-LATE!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"He talked," Sora trailed off as his eyes wondered to the space in the classroom where he and Roxas waited for the homeroom to start.

Roxas's eyes slid half-closed as he glared at his brother, "Sora, you're acting like a parent whose son started talking for the first time."

Turning to his brother, Sora shifted his chin out of his supporting hands. "Isn't that amazing? He talks."

Shaking his head and burying it in his hands, Roxas eyebrows creased. Sora always had a knack for behaving like kid at times. "You weren't listening."

Drawing his eyes closed, Sora beamed so bright that Roxas swore he could go blind.

"Heh, and that was almost kind of you to let him stay in the house while we're away."

Wallowed up in personal thought at the moment, Roxas regarded Sora with an observant gaze, "Well, that's because-" But Roxas never finished what he was about to say.

"What?" Sora asked.

Upon Sora's clueless eyes, Roxas decided to brush off the issue. It just so happened that the instructor chose the moment to appear in the classroom door. Roxas answered, "Nothing."

The school day had been an impatient one for Sora. When it was over, he planned to dash right away home with Roxas. So he was surprised when his friend, Selphie, bounced across him in the hallway with elevated excitement.

"Sora! You didn't tell me that Riku is back!" the brunette chirped.

Sora exchanged one glance with Roxas and hurriedly asked, "He's here?" Then another matter dawned on him. "You know Riku?"

"Of course, I know Riku. What are you talking about, Sora?" Selphie laughed it off casually, but only because she missed the shocked look that passed through Sora's eyes. "He came looking for you." The girl grinned as she motioned Sora to follow her direction before he could ask anything.

Down the hallway, Selphie managed to drag Tidus and Wakka along, making Sora anticipate if too many people with him would affect Riku's mood.

When they reached the small park near the school gate, Riku was there. He waved at all of them. His action made Sora quirk an eyebrow, thinking, 'Weird. Riku seems to be open for these three. Then why would he try to brush off my neighbors the day before?'

"It's really Riku! Man, how long has it been?" Tidus exclaimed as he tapped Riku's shoulder amiably, looking at Riku up and down.

"Four or five years or something," Wakka counted, "We were surprised when Selphie told us you were back!"

Upon all these, Sora's mouth dropped open. They knew each other, and given that they said four or five years, Sora must have been there with them already. Deciding that thinking alone couldn't answer his question, he asked the other three, "You guys, knew each other?"

"Of course, we know Riku!" Selphie said and commented, "You've been acting funny, Sora!"

"But…I've just known him for a few days. So how can you-" Sora now had a crooked smile on his face.

Selphie advanced closer to him and stared up at him. "You really don't remember Riku?"

Frowning, Sora shifted his gaze from Selphie to Riku who was looking back at him with a sad expression, and Sora swore the guilt could kill him. But he couldn't recall anything about this boy in front of him. His eyes traveled to his brother, silently asking for any clues.

Thankfully, Roxas provided him with some. After some thinking, it seemed like the older twin had remembered something too.

"Sora, do you remember before Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka showed up? There was one boy that you used to always play with," Roxas said as he ran a hand through his hair. "I've just remember this morning when we left the house, I didn't bring it up because you had asked me not to. But you should think of all the possibilities."

"The person I asked you stop bringing up?" Wallowing up in quiet thought for a while, Sora slowly trailed off, "You mean, my…" He shifted his eyes to Riku. "-best friend?" Then he witnessed as Riku's expression turned vivid. But still, Sora had to think again. "But that guy…he couldn't be Riku."

"You still don't remember him?" Roxas asked again.

"Of course, I remember him! I always do! Although I don't remember his face or his name anymore, but I do remember him," Sora vocalized. "But he can't be Riku. He was different!"

Sora called to mind about his first best friend. That cocky boy who always smirked with subtle arrogance; teasing Sora as if it was his favorite pastime. Yet he was always there. Whenever Sora ran into trouble or needed someone, that boy was always there with him. Until the day, he left Destiny Island. Sora missed him dearly but wished to not bring it up, somehow along the way, he had forgotten him.

"Different?" Roxas rolled his eyes. Sora told him a little about how Riku was meek, which Roxas mused that only blind people could have thought that Riku was anything close to meek.

"Yeah! That boy, my best friend was a cocky, arrogant moron who always…teased me! But Riku isn't like that." Sora finished. Then he felt something poke at his chest, it was Riku's finger. He looked up and said squarely.

"Forgot," Riku muttered, and then he pointed to himself.

The message was communicated in a way that even slow Sora got it…immediately.

While, Sora didn't know how to answer, Selphie brought up another obvious issue.

"Why is Riku talking word by word?"

Her question made Sora realize just how many other questions that one raised.

If Riku was that boy, then where had the cat come from?

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Riku, are you still mad at me?" Sora asked from his bed, eyeing down to where Riku was occupying the makeshift bed.

After they parted from their friends, Roxas had gone off to see his friend, Axel, leaving only Sora and Riku to walk home in total silence. Riku, ignoring him, was starting to get on his nerves.

"Riku, are you that boy that I used to play with?" When Sora anticipated that Riku would ignore him again, the silver-haired boy turned to regard him with the expression that Sora couldn't read. But Sora had a clear idea that he wouldn't get an easy answer. It wasn't long until Riku's expression closed off, then he flopped himself down to sleep.

Sora believed with that kind of reaction, Riku wouldn't be coming close to him again in the morning. The thought should have been a relief to Sora, but it was not.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

X

"Say, if Sora really forgot about you, what would you do?" Kairi resumed her conversation when she met her friend on another day.

Riku regarded her with observing eyes. He wished he didn't have to think about it, but he also couldn't help thinking about it. He closed his eyes and answered, "I'll make him remember."

"How?" Kairi smiled, getting all the more interested. She had known Riku for quite a number of years and never saw him care so much about if someone forgot about him. Her smile grew wider when her friend frowned, and looked lost.

"Well, there must be something that…should make him remember me," Riku sounded unsure and he didn't say anything after that.

"From what you've told me, it seems like you teased him a lot," Kairi hinted with a grin.

Glancing sideways at her, Riku narrowed his eyes at how mischievous Kairi could be. But he had to admit that many times she had come up with great ideas. He tilted his head to her and shot a smirk. "Kairi, is that the way you suggest me to do with Sora? Sometimes, you can be wicked. Who would believe that that coming from a princess?"

Issuing some giggles, the Hollow Bastian princess responded, "Having to behave like a princess all the time is terribly boooring. I have to have some fun, and I know I can find that with you around. By the way, teasing isn't that wicked, it's not really a biggie, right? Did Sora ever cry because you teased him?"

"Sora barely cried, ever." Riku said and paused, recalling numbers of time that Sora cried. The only time that his friend cried a lot was when Riku left Destiny Island. He wondered if Sora had cried that much, would the boy ever forget about him. "Well, he never cried because of me…eh…teasing him." A chuckle escaped his lips at the recollections. "But he could scorch red and die from high blood pressure sometimes from too much embarrassment."

"See? Who's wicked now?" Kairi shot back.

Then a series of laughter emitted from both of them.

When the sound died down, Riku finalized, "Teasing, that is."

X

It's still nothing much, let's see where I'll be going in the next chapter.