Hey. Sory I couldn't update sooner I couldn't log in last night due to "heavier than expected traffic" or something... grr

My thanks to Brightshadow 5, who supplied me with more than enough ideas and suggestions for upcoming chapters :D. Don't worry, they'll be used next chapter!

Disclaimer: It would be nice, but sadly no.

6. New Teammate, Old Friend.

"Kairi. Kairi! Wake up!" A voice called, jerking Kairi out of the deep sleep she had been in. She gradually returned to conciousness, her lips pulling downward into a grumpy scowl.

"Go 'way..." she grumbled, turning her back to whoever was trying to wake her. Whoever it was poked her - hard - in the back.

"Ow!" She mumbled, slapping the hand away.

"Kaaaaaaairi... waaaaaaake up... rise and shine..." she voice said softly. She recognized to be Sora and grinned blearily.

"Sora, go back to sleep. It's only..." she trailed off, looking at her watch, "Holy crap! It's already 11?! Why didn't you wake me sooner?!" Kairi jumped up, the little earphones tugged downward by the CD player that had just fallen to the floor.

"Ow... Stupid... CD... OW!" She screeched, stumbling around the room, covered by a thick blue blanket. She could hear Sora snickering at her through her sluggish, thick haze of concentration.

"Shut... it..." she grumbled, tripping once more on the blanket. She clumsily made her way to the bathroom where she brushed her teeth, brushed her hair, and got changed.

Kairi came out, feeling much better. Today she wore a plain maroon polo shirt and a long, slightly ruffled black skirt. Riku was laying on his bed, playing his GameBoy quietly. He was obviously very absorbed in it. His bright blue eyes never left the little screen and he had his "concentration face" on, as Kairi liked to call it. Darran was reading a little book with a black leather cover. It didn't seem to have a title and said nothing on the spine or the back. His chocolate-brown eyes never left his book and he looked thoughtful.

Kairi walked into the next room and was met by Lifelle, who was writing in a plain, white notebook. Kairi sat next to her, smiling brightly.

"Good morning!" She greeted her fellow keyblader cheerily.

"Morning!" Lifelle beamed, finishing a sentence and closing the notebook. She folded her hands over he knees.

"How did you sleep?" She asked politely.

"Great! And you?" Kairi returned, glad to have some female companionship.

"Excellent, thanks. So, what's this Coliseum place like? Sora said he told you all about it," Lifelle inquired, pushing a stray strand of midnight-black hair out of her face.

"Tell me about it he did," Kairi answered, sighing, "Let's just say he doesn't forget any details."

Lifelle giggled knowingly. Boys would be boys.

"Well, he said that that's where his friends Hercules, Meg, and Phil are. Hercules is apparantly a god with unbelieveably strength. Meg is his girlfriend; Sora said that she's not shy about telling you what she thinks. Phil is Hercules' trainer and good friend. He's also, if I remember Sora's many... many... stories, half a goat," Kairi finished, the smile on her face almost apologetic.

"Half... a goat?" Lifelle asked, raising an eyebrow. Kairi shrugged. The two girls giggled quietly.

"Oy! We're here!" Sora called from the pilot's seat. Kairi ran up to the front and saw the mammoth arena, where thousands of spectators watched two figures join again and again, neither seeming to do any damage. The gummi ship landed with a muted thud and a monotonous whirring signaled the door to the sky craft opening.

Kairi stepped out the the gummi ship and instantly but her hand on her forehead, sheilding her eyes. She cursed the sun over and over again as she was followed by Sora, Riku, Lifelle, and Darran. She whistled.

"Wow... you weren't exaggerating when you said this place was huge, Sora," Kairi laughed shakily. He beamed and shook his head.

"Well, if it ain't the squirt!" Called a gruff, nasaly voice. Kairi readjusted her eyes to the blinding sunlight to see who could only be Phil strutting towards the five.

"And he's brought friends!" The muscular bodybuilder behind him chipped it.

"Phil! Herc!" Sora called, shiking hands with the latter.

"Oh, sure, forget about the lady," a slender woman in a draping pink dress offered disapprovingly, shaking her head.

"Oh, I was just saving the best for last," Sora replied apologetically.

"So, who are you friends?" Meg asked, gesturing to the four keybladers she had never seen before.

"Well, this is Riku, our new friends Lifelle and Darran," Sora shot a less-than-friendly look to him as he uttered his name, "and this is Kairi," he finished, his tone softer for some reason. Kairi smiled sweetly at Phil, Hercules, and Meg.

"Listen, kid, you got great timin'," Phil started, not wasting any time, "because the Games are back up and the tournament is just starting."

"Great!" Sora replied enthusiastically. The group started walking at a quicker-than-usual pace towards the lobby.

"There's a catch, though," Hercules warned. "We're doing the games in threes, so you guys will have to draw straws to see who's with who. The odd two out will have to have a new teammate."

"Okay, sounds fair," Riku interrupted, once they were in the small lobby.

"Here you go," Meg said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out five straws. She made them all the same length at her fingertips and offered Darran the first hand. He plucked a straw from her fingers and didn't seem to react at all when it turned out to be one of the three normal length straws. Sora picked next and punched a fist in the air out of glee in seeing his straw was short and stubby, thereby putting Sora on team without Darran. Riku picked next and drew a regular length straw. He called his Way to Dawn and sliced the air with it a few times. Lifelle was the second-to-last to pick, and a small smile arose on her face when she saw the straw she chose to be long and slender. Meg dropped the final, half-length straw into Kairi's hand.

"Alright, we're on the same team!" Sora said, giving her a high five. When she pulled away, her hand tingled warmly and she knew it had nothing to do with the forocity of Sora's hand slapping against hers.

"So, who will be our teammate?" Kairi asked politely, looking around as if imagining the mystery person to appear in a poof of smoke.

"He should be here any minute," Phil said, checking a long list of participants that trailed along the cold, stone floor.

"Well, what's his name?" Sora asked, peeking over the old goat's shoulders to glance at the list.

"His name is..." Phil mumbled, his eyes moving to and fro across the colossal parchment, "is-"

The sound of footsteps heralded the newcomer. Kairi, Riku, and Sora stared in shock at the man, who was grinning ear to ear.

"His name is Axel. Got it memorized?"

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xD Axel needed to come back sooner or later, and my obsessive fangirlness simply wouldn't let this story be Axel-less any longer. Hope you liked this chapter. Sorry for the lack of fluffiness I'l add more next chapter, trust me. But you guys should know that there will be no admitting until much later in the story. Let's let poor little Sora experience some jealousy first :D

This story reeeeeally needs reviews, so REVIEW.

Please?

...Pleeeeeease??

xD

LV-chan