A/N: Hello again! I've hit the double digits in reviews….*drools*
Anyway, I had to split this chapter up in to two parts. I just kept on typing and typing and typing until I realized there was way too much going on to be crammed into one chapter. Don't worry though; I shall post the second part of the chapter tomorrow. ^^
I'm mainly trying to start on friendship building before the trip begins. There's no action yet, but I swear that it begins soon…
Disclaimer: I do not own the Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy characters, I swear!
Anyway, onto the chapter!
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
To say that dinner was unpleasant would've been an understatement.
Vanille and Sora, both of whom were very exuberant and expressive individuals, were probably the main problem at the table. Vanille was yelling about she had been "preparing him all week for his journey" and "definitely said something about this trip at some point in time", while Sora retorted with witty comebacks such as "a fish's memory is better than yours" and "I'm not a misfit, I'm just a late bloomer!" Both of them waving their arms for emphasis on their arguments, resulting in dishes flying off the table or into the other guests. Tidus and Wakka were trying to calm the angry pair down, but they were merely ignored or shoved to the side. While this occurred, Kairi was attempting to discreetly hide her uneaten goldfish fillet without vomiting at the sight. Poor fish, poor little fish…. "This could have been a friend of mine," she thought somberly, ducking to avoid a flying cup.
Hope and Riku were the only ones acting like civilized beings, although Hope looked as if he were about ready to snap. Riku was staring intently at the plate in front of him, his mind obviously in another world.
"…And you think I have a horrible memory!" Sora exclaimed exasperatedly, throwing his hands up in the air.
"I most certainly told you! I remember telling you a week ago, while we were at the human shopping centr-"
"We haven't been there in a month!"
"Oh, so now you're the memory expert."
"No, but mine is better than yours!"
"Why am I even arguing with you? I'm your mom!"
"My point exactly! Why do you even want to send me to that place, anyway?"
"A friend of mine said that I should! She has a daughter there."
"I don't need to go to some kingdom for misfits! I am perfectly fine here!"
"Jumping out of a tree to try to fly doesn't count as being perfectly fine!"
Suddenly, Vanille slammed her fists on the table. Sora mimicked this action, his unusual cerulean eyes glaring into her crystalline ones. The tension was almost suffocating, as they both took a deep breath, getting ready to scream each other down.
"So, what is Yen Sid's Kingdom of Misfits?"
All heads turned to the once-silent elf at the end of the table. He shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of six pairs of eyes. "I was just curious," he added awkwardly.
The tension vanished within an instant. Hope let out a huge sigh of relief, while Sora and Vanille managed to regain their wits in their confusion. Even Kairi was content, for she had successfully shoved her goldfish fillet into a nearby plant without anyone noticing.
"Well, you know who Yen Sid is, am I right?" Hope asked Riku.
"Yes, he's the only wizard there is. He is an elf, faery, and merman all at once. That makes him the unspoken figure of authority in the fey world, or so I have been informed," Riku responded.
"Yep!" Vanille said happily. "Anyway, he created a place where odd fey go."
"It's sort of like a safe haven," Kairi added.
"More like an asylum," Sora muttered.
"Sora…" Hope said warningly, not wanting to listen to another argument.
As Riku pondered this for a moment, Wakka seemed to realize what had been going through his head. "No man, you can't do that."
"I can, and I will," Riku shot back defiantly. Everyone but Sora flashed the platinum-haired teen a look of surprise, while the brunette's face was scrunched up in confusion instead.
"Do what?" he finally asked, a question that received a face palm from Tidus.
"He's going to the Misfit Kingdom with you guys."
Sora frowned in response. "Why on earth would you want to go there?"
"None of your business," Riku retorted.
Vanille, on the other hand, was seriously considering this. "I'm sure Yen Sid would be fine with that. I would have to call him to notify him that I would be sending another passenger."
"He could take my place!" Sora suggested hopefully.
"No," Vanille said firmly. "You're going, and that's that. The train leaves at ten in the morning the day after tomorrow."
Sora muttered something unintelligible under his breath, but didn't press the issue any further. Dinner continued in silence, much to Hope's liking.
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
The making of the sleeping arrangements was fairly simple. Tidus and Wakka occupied the brothers' bedroom, for it had two twin beds. The two friends also wished to catch up more, since the drama of the day had prevented them from talking much. This left Sora and Riku stuck in the guest room. Sora chose to sleep on the small bench attached to the window, while Riku acquired the bed. Kairi volunteered to sleep on the couch.
After these plans were made, everyone said their "good nights" and retired to their appointed destinations. Tidus had to aid Sora in walking to his room, but that was the only detour made by anyone in the group. As Tidus left from assisting his brother to the sofa, Riku walked in, clothed in a pair of Hope's old pajamas. He muttered a small 'thanks' to Tidus, and then crawled into bed. There was silence for a moment, silence that Sora chose to break.
"So, why are you and Wakka here?" he asked casually.
"Like Wakka said, we are just visiting," Riku replied shortly.
"Yeah, but why did you come too? I mean, don't you guys not like being near humans?" he pressed. "Wakka being an exception, of course."
"Why are you even inquiring?" Riku responded, sounding mildly annoyed.
"I dunno, I'm just curious." He paused for a moment, and then continued on to ask, "So, why do you want to go to that island?"
"Do you always talk?" Riku sighed.
"Yep." He grinned in the darkness. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question. You don't look like a misfit to me."
"I do not feel like talking about it."
"You really need to loosen up, dude."
"How on earth are you still talking? I thought that you broke your legs today."
"I defy common sense!" Sora said proudly.
"Just sleep already," Riku finally said, rolling over in his bed.
"Why? You might miss my chattering," Sora joked.
"I am sure that I will. Good night," Riku muttered. Silence occupied the room for a moment, and then was broken by a chorus of quiet snoring. Riku hated to admit it, but the brunette's idle chatter had been a nice break from the events of the last couple of days.
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
"Kairi, dear, time to get up!" a cheery female voice called from the hallway. The red-haired girl rubbed her bleary eyes sleepily, and then glanced at the happy pinkette in the hall.
"What's going on?" she asked sleepily.
"We have to go shopping for you!" she squealed, waving her arms up and down for emphasis.
"Shopping?" she asked, dumbfounded.
"Of course! Were you thinking about going on a trip with no possessions at all?" Vanille exclaimed.
"Well, it's not like I could really bring much of anything from the ocean with me," she pointed out, playing with the golden shell necklace around her neck.
"That's exactly why we must shop!" Vanille pointed out, running for the door.
"Well, I don't want you spending your money on me," Kairi replied quietly, not wishing to be a burden on her kind host.
"Oh, please, it'll be so fun! I can't do fun things like this with my boys," she said, practically begging Kairi. "Besides, the only outfit you have is the boring one you wore yesterday."
She turned to look at the outfit she had found herself wearing after she washed up on the shore, which was folded on the nightstand behind the sofa. It was very plain; in fact, it was only a simple pink dress made from towel material with short sleeves and a rope for a belt. She had to admit that she would be needing more than that during her stay.
"Okay," she agreed at last.
"What do you mean by 'you can't do fun things' with us?'"
Tidus emerged from the hallway with Sora, followed by Wakka and Riku.
"Oh, nothing," Vanille brushed him off.
He shrugged, and then headed for the door. "Wakka and I are taking Riku down to the blitzball court," he told her.
"Okie dokie, that's fine with me!" Vanille responded happily. After they left, Vanille turned to Sora. "Sora, I'm going to drop you off at the healer's office on our way to the shopping center!"
The boy shrugged. "That works for me."
With that, Vanille helped him to his feet and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Okay, ready?" she asked the two young teens.
"I guess," came an insecure reply from Kairi.
"Of course, I'm ready to get back to running around!" Sora said enthusiastically.
"Okay, then let's fly to it."
-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-
"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Sora asked Kairi as she gazed at the faery village in the daylight.
"It's beautiful! There are so many colors and strange architectural structures!" Kairi breathed. She could not tear her eyes from the small island of cottages and huts that rested atop the tree, glowing in colors such as iridescent greens, blues, reds, purples and some that she had no names for. The citizens of the town were no different. Everyone had their own signature flair, even the faeries belonging to the same species. One flower faery had beautiful flowers blooming from their backs as wings, while another's hair was shaped as a deep-red rose atop her head. The little children that glided feebly from one spot to another were a bit plainer, resembling small elves with weak, translucent wings like Sora.
"It's nothing special," he said. "I guess it's different from the sea though."
"Very," Kairi agreed. She continued to gaze at her surroundings in silent wonder until they reached a small wooden gate at the end of one of the trees.
"Sweethearts, do you mind waiting on that bench over there? I have to buy tickets," Vanille explained. Without waiting for a response, she plopped Sora down on a glimmering blue bench and headed over to the long line.
"Ouch!" Sora complained. "She could've given me a warning."
Kairi giggled at his annoyed expression.
"What, what's so funny?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing."