'Of Booty and Honor'
-Phase One: Audition of Fate-
Chapter Four
Riku sighed for the millionth time since they had reached Japan. The boy sat on a rock on the beach, waiting for Rude and Reno to decode the destination on the map left to them by Tidus. Squall sat on the sand below the silver haired boy, arms crossed and a bored expression on his face.
"No, I think we should go here first and start there."
"That's not even in HOKKAIDO, Reno." The taller male said, glaring up at the redhead.
"Who said anything about Hokkaido?"
"Tidus did, dumbass!" Riku finally piped up, turning and scowling at other man. Reno only stuck his tongue out at the younger boy, "Well you honestly think I listen to the shrimp?"
"Lemme see the map." Riku got off the rock and stood in front of Rude. After noticing his light was gone, he glared up at the smaller male and handed it to him with a groan. Riku glanced at the map, "Hokkaido is way up here...so...well I don't think the Japs are smart enough to put a treasure near the shores, so...it must be somewhere near Furano...or maybe Asahikawa...?"
"Lemme see!" Reno said, standing from a rock of his own and glancing down at the map in Riku's hands.
"So," Riku began, pointing to one of the edges of Hokkaido, "I think we're here in Abashiri...So, that means the central cities are a really, really long way...That way." Riku then pointed west, "Just about two-hundred miles or so..." "Are you FUCKING kidding me!" Reno shouted, standing in front of the younger boy.
"Relax, Reno." Rude said. The redhead looked up at him, noticing his gaze somewhere to the left of the group. He looked where Rude was staring, watching as a giant steam roller roared passed the three as Squall stood up and stood next to the tallest. They stared in awe as the loud, blaring roar of the train sounded, making all four shield their ears from the massive sound.
Riku uncovered his ears, and glanced at the other three, yelling at the top of his lungs over the train, "Jump it!"
They darted toward the train. Reno was first to grab onto a ladder near the end, and offered out a hand to Rude and helped him aboard.
"Hurry up, Squall! We're going to miss it!" Riku shouted over his shoulder, keeping up with the train easily. Squall, on the other hand, was already beginning to pant as he raced. Riku briefly turned and grabbed the younger's hand as Rude easily grabbed Riku and pulled him aboard. Squall's hand slipped from Riku's grasp.
"Squall!"
He wasn't running nearly as fast as he should've now, Hell, pirates don't run for a living. "Riku!"
The silver haired boy's hand outstretched toward the younger's, fingers barely touching and inching further and closer away. "I-I can't go anymore!"
Reno suddenly jumped down from the top of the car, racing to keep up with Squall and the box car. He scooped up the younger boy and grabbed a hold of the ladder as Riku gave him room to climb.
Once Reno reached the top, he dumped Squall and lie on his back, gently panting. Squall collapsed on top of him, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" "Get off!" Reno pushed the younger boy off of him and curled up into a ball. "I'm lightheaded."
"It's alright, Reno. Ya did good. For once." Riku admitted, gently punching his shoulder.
Rude glanced toward the front of the train. "What say you guys to taking this cheap heap for ourselves?"
"Aye!" Squall and Riku both shouted in concert.
"Aye..." Reno agreed from his fetal position.
Rude started over the rooftops of the boxcars, followed by Riku, Squall, and Reno in the back in case someone were to fall behind. The conductor whistled happily as he maintained the train's speed. The four stood on the roof of the last box car, and peeked at him. He didn't noticed however, keeping his eyes in front of him.
Reno silently ducked into the car, crouching along the floor, coming up behind the man. He reached for his cutlass, and silently slit the throat of the conductor and tossed the light body over the side of the train. The other three shortly joined him.
"Yanno, Reno, we could've asked him how to use the train first before killing him." Rude implied, standing out of the way and crossing his arms.
"Ah, how hard can it be? It's just a stupid train. Which way, Riku?" Reno asked as he began pressing random button and turning knobs.
Riku turned to Squall, the little brunet boy in the corner, doing nothing. "Squall, compass?"
The older boy was nearly hit in the face with the damn thing.
Recalling correctly, Abishiri was east of Furano. He waited until the damn thing pointed North, and then toward West. "Next chance we get, I think we wanna take a left and start there until we get to Furano.
"Sounds good. Rude, you take the wheel." Reno implied as he stopped pressing random buttons and sat nearest Squall.
Rude grunted as he took the wheel and glared out over the tracks.
-AoF-
Reno was asleep, leaning against the wall with Squall right next to him, also in a deep sleep. Riku stayed awake to keep Rude company and help with directions. He sat on the ground of the car as Rude raced through another train station.
"That last sign said Kitamio. Are we getting close?"
"Naw. We may have another couple of hours to go before we get to Furano. Want me to take wheel for a bit?" Riku offered, still sitting on the floor and looking up at Chrome Dome. Rude grunted in his way of saying 'no', and didn't budge.
"Okay, you win."
-AoF-
Upon waking up in the dead of night, he found the train at a halt, and Rude looking out the window. He snapped his spine back in place after sleeping on the horrible hard floors, and sighed, "Are we there yet?"
"I thought I saw something..." Riku stood up with a groan, and heard Reno and Squall begin to stir.
"Something black jumped across the tracks. Too big to be an animal. Too fast to be another human."
"We must be getting close to the treasure then..." Riku whispered, feeling the air grow still inside the surrounding, towering trees and night sky. He instantly felt something latch onto his waist, and knew it was Squall. Poor kid hasn't been off that boat in a year. Rude groaned in annoyance, realizing that he too was being used as Reno's security blanket. The other three could hear Reno's teeth chattering as he clung onto the taller male for dear life until said man shut him up by wrapping a safe arm around him.
Just to shut him up.
The whisper of the trees moving behind them made all four slightly jump and turn to the sound.
Nothing.
"Should we start the train again...?" Squall asked at Riku's side.
"If we do that, then we wouldn't be able to hear if someone boards or comes up behind us..." Riku answered quietly, keeping an eye out with one arm remaining around Squall.
The air fell silent again.
The four quietly sighed in relief before a small head popped up from the window the four were facing, making them all jump.
"What the-" Riku began, the hand around the brunet tightening. He glanced at the door leading throughout the train, and darted for it without a second thought with Squall tumbling behind him. He opened doors in front of him, knowing that the clad-in-black, sneaky, devious beings were surely following him. They couldn't have known they were after the treasure, could they?
Reno and Rude had been out of sigh and sound for three box cars so far, and Squall was shouting to let him go and that he could keep up. Riku just held tighter to his best friend and continued until they reached a dead end box car.
Riku cursed, and turned behind him, feeling the air once again grow irately silent and still.
"Come on, Riku, you can let me go now." Squall whispered, finally getting his wrist back and took a few steps away from the older boy. Riku kept both emerald eyes wide open and glancing around the irately quiet box car. An owl sounded from outside, making both teens jump slightly.
The silver-haired boy sighed, glancing in Squall's direction, "I guess we...Squall?"
Nothing.
The younger boy had disappeared...
Riku called his name one more time before sighing, and cursing. He huffed, and stood with his arms crossed. "Bloody...Cut all their...off and feed em to the Kraken!" The silver haired boy shouted into the dark. The air became thick and still around him once again, and he stiffened, hearing silent, small footprints behind him. Skillfully, he waited until he could hear the dagger being pulled out in an attempt at an assassination. Riku mentally rolled his eyes.
At the precise moment, he shifted inches out of the way, grabbed the offending arm, and pulled it close enough to where he was able to reach his mask and yank it off. Riku followed through with a fluid motion, hearing an almost scared yelp from his captive. With the mask gone, the older boy was able to catch a glimpse of big, brilliant blue eyes. Riku stopped his attempt at snapping the young ninja's neck in half, and stared; to his surprise, the boy clad-in-black stared back, giving Riku the chance emphasize just how big those blue eyes could get.
The younger boy said something after Riku gently released him so he could stand. The older boy couldn't understand, "E-excuse me...?"
"Oh, you speak English..."
The boy said, slowly standing up straight and dusting himself off. "I'm fluent."
"G-good to know..." Riku whispered, making the ninja boy look up at him timidly. "Yanno, with your guard so low, I could just kill you right now, and not lose any sleep over it."
"You wouldn't do that." Riku added, taking a step closer to the boy. He noticed how the slightly open roof, probably where he snuck in, showed the flowing gentle white light from the moon, accentuating the younger boy's appearance. Toned body, wildly spiky hair, deep blue eyes, and now that Riku noticed it, his intoxicating hips. The darkness shielded them slightly, but Riku could see almost every curve of the boy's hips.
He then noticed Riku's staring.
Caught off guard, the edge of a dagger nearly dug into the older boy's throat, causing him to gulp slightly.
"Don't look at me like that."
"And why not...?"
"No one looks at me like that."
Riku smiled, cautiously placing a hand delicately on the brunet's face, "You've never seen this look because you never give it."
The brunet took a step back, taking the dagger away from the silver-haired boy's neck and putting it away. He glanced up at the taller boy, and flipped a few bangs from his face. "I'm not beautiful enough to give one a look such as that. I'll let you live, pirate, but advance even one foot from this spot into the forest, and I will not hesitate to kill you." With that and a pause, the boy turned to slide open the heavy box car door to escape into the night.
"You are beautiful."
Riku whispered, earning a small gasp, and even a glance back from the brunet boy.
"I can't let you go without getting a name..."
The shorter boy looked down at the floor, then glanced back up at Riku. The Retriever slowly approached the ninja boy, cupping his chin with one hand, and bringing their lips together. He gasped again softly, easing into the older boy's touches and kissed back.
Soft. Quick. Chaste.
Riku pulled away quickly, taking a step back and waiting for a response. The other boy stood still, finally opening his eyes and staring at Riku, blinking only a few times.
A soft, resounding synthetic birdcall filled the air. Being on a ship, of course Riku would know the call was fake. The brunet boy looked around for a quick exit, eyeing the roof opening, then Riku. He stepped closer, grabbed him with one arm on his shoulder and the other on his waist, and leaned forward, nearly nose to nose with the silver-haired boy.
He leaned in close enough to get to his ear, exhaling slightly with his hands loosening their grips.
"Sora."
Suddenly the shorter boy's hands regained grip, Sora climbing all over Riku and gracefully exiting the roof of the box car. Riku grunted as he fell onto the hay covering the floor of the car. He opened his eyes and looked up at the roof, and sighed.
"Sora..." He smiled gently, closing his eyes. A sudden muffled scream came from the outside of the box car, making Riku sit up straight. It sounded again, and Riku stood, and made his way to the sliding doors of the box car and opening them.
"HMMPH!"
"...Oh, there you are."
Squall glared at the taller boy from his angle on the ground near the box car, tied with rope and a cloth tied over his mouth. Riku laughed as he easily untied the knots of the rope and looked down at him, "Now what are you doing out here, silly?
"They were talkin' to me like I wasn't worthy enough to kill, so they tied me up and left me out here!" He said, standing and scrubbing his hands through his hair to get rid of the dirt.
"Heeeeeeeey!" Riku heard coming from behind them. They turned to see a familiar tuff of bright red hair and Chrome Dome next to him, Reno shaking an arm to signal to follow.
-AoF-
"So...They didn't kill you two either?"
"Nope. Drop kicked us on the ground and searched us though. Good thing Rude here hid the map in one of the loose floorboards in the nick a time." Reno said as he gently punched the older man's shoulder. Riku snorted, "Wow, Chrome Dome found a brain."
After a death glare from the tallest male, he continued.
"We have to be getting close by now. Maybe we can just walk the rest of the way to Furano. I'm sure the treasure is there. It's just a small village, shouldn't be that hard to miss, right?"
Squall, sitting to Riku's left, huffed, "Walking? In the dark? With NINJAS running around? Riku, are you trying to get us all killed?"
"Squall, why do you question the awesomeness of all that is Riku?" Riku mused, gently patting the boy in the head. "Besides...I need to track one of them down. He took the compass." The boy stood up from the floor, and dusted himself off, carefully moving his coat over to one side to reveal the vacant space the compass usually occupied on Riku's beltline.
The shorter boy grabbed Riku with one hand on his shoulder, the other occupying his waist. "Sora..." He whispered, grabbing the compass on his exit from the boxcar.
Sneaky bugger...
Riku sighed, looking up at the other three. "...Onward, hoe?"
"Aye!" Two men agreed, with one Squall sitting on the ground with a sigh. "Aye..."
-Deadline-
A/N: TOOK THREE WEEKS TO COMPLETE! FRICKEN AY DUDES...Urkingness. Oh well. I worked super hard on this chapter. Nice entrance, eh? lol XDDD
R+R?