Chapter 3: Gym

Sora had no class he'd rather look forward to than Gym. It was the only class he had with both Riku and Kairi. It was the only class they shared together since elementary school. And Sora always loved this class. In fact, in this class is where both he and Riku began their competition to get attention from Kairi. Fortunately, Riku has moved on and just shows off to simply show off. Sora and Riku are almost always put on opposite teams, as they are both the most athletic in the school.

Today was no different. Today was a game of dodge ball. Sora's favorite sport, Riku's worst nightmare, and Wakka's forte. Whoever had Wakka on their team was guaranteed to win a majority of the games, so there was a general pleading for him to be on one of the teams, and countless bribing so that team can leave the gym without a black eye or bloody nose.

And as luck of the draw would have it, Riku got Wakka on his team, and Sora was left defenseless with an overly weak team. They consisted of numerous, out of shape kids who couldn't walk a straight line. That's correct, uncoordinated, nonathletic, shallow... girls. That was his team, the stereotypical preps that even Sora sometimes had trouble standing. The only reliable member on his team was Kairi (on the inside he was leaping for joy, however painful everyone else made it.) Nevertheless, the mission/goal of the game remained the same. Eliminate the other team by knocking them into next week via a dodge ball. However, something about this made the hairs on his neck stand. Something about this seemed off to Sora. He'd read enough fan fiction to know that this was a Flag. What the Flag was, however, remained a mystery to him.

As the teams lined the walls, and the gym teacher laid the balls at mid court, Sora did one last check of his team. He could honestly say that half of his team was texting, and thirty percent looked like they didn't care. So that left twenty percent of the team that actually wanted to play. Which was just him, and Kairi... great odds. The world was out to get him this time. First, he showed up early for school, then the test in Xemnas, and now, the wrong team for dodge ball. He now knew that life couldn't quite be so bad.

Damn him if he was wrong.

Everything hit the fan the moment that gym teacher blew the whistle. The girls remained in the back, and huddled together, screaming their heads off. In a sense, this was teamwork. After all, a ball can only hit one person at a time. The only other person who went over to try and grab a ball from the center line with Sora, was Kairi, and boy did they regret that attempt. Six of the other team members went for them, Wakka included. So, in short, Sora and Kairi used the big huddle in the back as bait to try and get some balls over on their side.

"Hey Kairi," Sora began, dodging one of Riku's attempts at hitting him fail. "Do you get the feeling that this game was rigged?" Sora caught a ball, and someone on the other team cursed loudly as he stormed out of the playing field. So that was... one person to the other teams four. This game wasn't quite looking on in their favor.

"Yeah, just a little bit." Kairi responded, a heavy hint of sarcasm in her voice as she hit someone on the other team out. "Yes! I got one!" She turned to Sora, and they exchanged high fives. So now it was two of Riku's team out, and four of Sora's team out. If this kept up, they had a chance at winning!

…

And no more than five minutes later, it was just him and Kairi against Wakka, Riku, and two others. Winning never looked more impossible. Especially since Wakka wasn't out yet, and that Sora was out of decoy's to use (that's all those girls were good for in dodge ball, anyway.) To make matters worse, Wakka was winding up for his finishing strike. Conveniently labeled 'The Concussion' because no one to date has yet to actually get away from that throw with anything less than an unconscious state. It was even rumored that 'The Concussion' could even break the sound barrier. Whether that rumor was true or not, Sora and Kairi were about to find out.

Now more alert than ever to avoid the amnesia affect of The Concussion throw, Sora stared at Wakka as he winded up to what appeared to be a throw for Sora. Bracing himself, Sora lifted his hands, and got on the balls of his feet. He probably couldn't dodge The Concussion, but by whatever is holy, he sure as hell could avoid the more dangerous results. Then, Wakka made a drastic target change, and aimed for Kairi. He knew Kairi wasn't quick enough to even get half a dodge before she received The Concussion. Sora knew this too, and using pure reflex, (no thinking on his part,) Sora ran over to try and get in front of Kairi to take The Concussion for her.

However, Sora wouldn't make it in time to get in front of the throw, so he had a last minute change of plans. He got the idea he'd try and catch The Concussion. This required not so precise planning and perfect hand eye coordination, all of which he had... except for perfect hand eye coordination. Yes, he played soccer, but that was foot-eye coordination, entirely different, and entirely off subject. Just as Wakka released The Concussion towards Kairi, Sora leaped, hands stretching as far as his muscles would allow.

That's when the miracle happened.

Sora actually caught The Concussion. Caught it. In the air. That was shock enough, and when he landed and was able to keep a hold of it, he blinked once or twice just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Once his brain was able to confirm that he had, in fact, caught the uncatchable throw, he stood up and started cheering. "Yes! I caught The Concussion!" He cheered pumping his fist, and doing an 'in your face' jog across the field as Wakka hung his head in defeat. Then, Sora started dancing to an unheard beat, "I caught the uncatchable! You see that Riku! I just eliminated your best player!" Sora shouted getting a bit carried away and walked to the line, forgetting that he had a ball, and that the match was still on. "Top that!" Sora turned around, and almost began skipping if it weren't for an object hitting him in the back of the head.

"Top that, Sora!" Riku shouted, doing his own little dance.

Well, Sora was out now, but, he didn't know it. Sora dropped the ball and stumbled forward a bit, before collapsing on the floor, his vision fading to black. He heard the coach blow his whistle and shout for Kairi to help him to the nurses office. Now that Sora was on the ground and about to pass out, he had a short time to reflect on everything that happened. The game, the catch, and the knock out. Only one phrase came to Sora's mind when he thought about those events:

What an anti-climatic end to an overly dramatic game of dodge ball.