A/N: Sorry for being a day late! D:

The second part to the last chapter. Reviews, both positive and negative, are appreciated! (Unless they're flames, because those get ignored. :P)

I changed the rating to T, because I'm paranoid like that.

DISCLAIMER: I only own the plot! *holds hands above head*

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

"Hey, man!"

"Yo!"

"Hey, what's up? Long time no see!"

"I know, right?" Thump.

Riku watched the strange exchange of greetings between Tidus, Wakka, and their human friends at the entrances of the strange 'blitzball' court. It resembled more of an amphitheater than a court, puzzling the sheltered elf even more. Tens of thousands of empty chairs surrounded the bowl-shaped center, which was filled to the brim with water. The dome above was sealed shut, but thick lines running through it suggested that it could be opened, perhaps for big games.

"Riku, man, these are my blitzball bros," Wakka told his elven friend.

"Hey there, I'm Sazh," said one of Wakka's friends. He was a fairly tall, dark skinned man with a snug green shirt, exposing his muscular build, and exercise shorts.

"I'm Shuyin," the blonde to his left said simply. He too was fairly tall and muscular, like his companion. However, there was something slightly different about the two older teens in front of him that Riku just couldn't put his finger on.

"Riku," he replied abruptly, staring intently at them. Why did something seem off about them?

"Sorry about him. Them elves up North all act like they have sticks shoved up their butts," Wakka laughed. "Riku here is one of the more laid-back ones."

Sazh, Shuyin, and Tidus all joined in the laughter.

"Don't worry; we'll have him fixed after a round or two of blitzball," Tidus said with a grin.

"Sounds like a plan, bro! We can show him how the humans roll around here," Sazh said lightly. "We only get an hour before the big league comes to practice, but that's plenty o' time."

Humans.

Riku should have realized it. The heat their bodies radiated had been masked by the tropical island weather, but now he felt it as if it had suddenly appeared. Their bodies had more dimension than his own, and he noticed their curious round ears as opposed to the fey's pointed ones. The most noticeable difference, however, was the strange patterns implanted in their irises. The fey typically had images within theirs, while humans had strange lines and multicolored speckles. It made them appear more mysterious, which unnerved him.

Tidus and Wakka must have noticed Riku's sudden tension, because they laughed nervously and elbowed him.

"Don't worry, Riku. I'm sure you won't fail at your first round, man," Wakka said, and then leaned in to whisper into his ear. "They're good guys. You can play nice, ya?"

Riku sighed heavily, but he didn't want to turn Wakka down. He had gotten him out of the…no, he couldn't think about that. Not now, at least.

"I will attempt it. However, someone is going to need to assist me in learning how to play this 'blitzball,'" he told the other guys.

"Oh, don't worry. We'll teach you." A strange grin formed on Shuyin's face as he said this.

Uh-oh.

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

"Wow, going off the reservation seems to be pretty popular today," Sora said. They had been waiting for a while now, and Vanille was still in line to get passes to leave.

"Reservation?" Kairi questioned.

"Yeah, this whole island is a sector that we fey live on," Sora explained. "The other nearby islands are mainly where the humans live."

"Humans, huh?" Kairi said casually, looking down at her lap.

"Yeah, they're pretty cool, actually. We kinda rub off on each other, though." He grinned. "Without us, they wouldn't have clubs or dance parties."

"Oh yeah, Wakka was telling me about that," Kairi recalled. "Don't faeries, um, get a little crazy at those parties and…"

"Uh-huh. What can I say? We like to party, I guess. Then, when the stork knocks on their door, they ship the child off to a nursery faery," he explained. "If you catch my drift."

"Oh, so Vanille is a nursery fey?"

"Supposedly," he replied skeptically.

"That means that you and Tidus are adopted?"

"Yeah," Sora said as he put his hands behind his head.

"Do you ever want to meet your real parents?" Kairi asked.

Sora looked a bit surprised at this. "Why?"

She turned away immediately. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"Nah, you aren't prying," he assured her. "Anyway, I don't really want to. They were probably just two drunk teenagers, like most of them are."

There was a moment of silence, and then Sora finally asked the question that Kairi had been dreading.

"Hey, I never asked you why you wanted to go to that weird misfit place anyway," Sora said, realization hitting him. "So, why did you want to go there?"

Kairi shifted uncomfortably on the bench.

"It's a long story," she muttered, causing Sora to raise an eyebrow.

"Whenever people say that, it turns out to be a much shorter story than they thought," Sora pointed out half-jokingly. Kairi turned to face the small fey, her indigo eyes meeting his cloud-filled, cerulean ones. He wouldn't judge her, right?

"Well-" she began to say, until a familiar pink-haired fey arrived with three green cards.

"Finally, that took forever!" she huffed angrily. "C'mon, let's go! The healer will be ticked that you're so late!" She grabbed Sora by the arm and yanked him over her shoulder, leaving Kairi to rush behind her. Together, they rushed through the gate and disappeared from the top of the tree.

The next thing they knew, they had arrived at a new island. It was also very sandy and tropical, but the area was nothing like the faeries' flamboyant town. Simple, neutral-colored island cottages lined the dark streets drawn across the lands. Each lot had at least one vibrant palm tree, adding color to the property. Despite its simplicity, it had a strange beauty to it.

"Ah, here we are!" Vanille said happily. "Down the road is the shopping center! The healer's office should be coming up soon."

"Yes, finally!" Sora exclaimed cheerfully. She led them down the quaint little human-dwelling until they reached a large, one-story structure made of red bricks. Lush green grass and palm trees surrounded the structure, and in the very front lay a small flower garden on either side of the white, wooden door. Vanille clasped her hands together, releasing a large cloud of faery dust. Within seconds, the group had grown human-sized.

"That should make things easier!" she said brightly, opening the door and leading Sora and Kairi into a small lobby. It was empty for the most part, save for a couple humans and a tree nymph.

"Hello, Miss Vanille," a soft voice said, as a young woman appeared before them. She had dark brunette hair pulled back in a long braid, leaving only a few curls framing her face. Her emerald eyes had golden lights floating around her pupils, and on her back were two translucent wings with forest-green swirls lining the edges. She scribbled something on the clipboard she was holding, and then looked back to Vanille.

"Oh, hello Aerith!" Vanille exclaimed happily, hugging the healer. "I'm sorry for making an appointment on such short notice, but Sora's going on a trip tomorrow."

"Oh, don't worry," Aerith said, a kind smile forming on her rosy lips. "I'm happy to help anyone."

"Great, thanks! If you don't mind, I'm going to drop him off here," Vanille told her.

"That's fine, but may I ask why?" Aerith questioned.

"Well, I have this young mermaid here that's going on the trip as well. I need to take her shopping for stuff to bring!" She gestured to Kairi. "Her name's Kairi."

Aerith looked over the girl. "Hello, I'm Aerith," she said kindly.

"Hello," Kairi responded.

"Well, since that's all good, I will be leaving now!" Vanille said, dropping Sora into one of the lobby's chairs.

"Goodbye then; I should be done with him in about an hour or so."

"Toodles!"

With that, Vanille and Kairi took off to the mall.

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

"What is going on?" Riku demanded once again as goggles were strapped to his face.

"We're going to teach you how to play," Shuyin merely responded with a weird gleam in his eye. Riku didn't want to trust him; it went against all his instincts to trust humans! However, Tidus and Wakka had joined forces with them, and he had no choice but to go along with it for now.

"Two-on-two, yah?" Wakka asked, pulling his own goggles on.

"Yeah, Shuyin and Riku against you and Sazh. I'm the ref," Tidus responded.

"Great, are we ready then?" Sazh asked.

"Heck yeah!" Tidus exclaimed with enthusiasm.

"Wait, you did not articulate the rules to me or-" Riku tried to say, but he was cut off by Tidus.

"BLITZOFF!"

Sploosh.

Riku had been thrown into the large pool of water by Shuyin. Then, from somewhere at the bottom of the pool, a blue object came hurling at him. Thanks to his quick reflexes, however, he managed to dart out of the way. It spiraled straight into Wakka's arms, who then threw it into a large triangle where Shuyin stood. He easily caught it, and then hurled it back at Riku. The object landed smack-dab in the middle of his arms. "Okay, Riku. Into the triangle, into the triangle," he told himself mentally, as he hurled it back into the triangle where Shuyin stood. He desperately tried to catch it, but it was just too fast.

Cheers and laughter ensued from them. What? What had he done?

The ball came flying back at him.

Thwack.

It embedded itself in his stomach. Riku gasped, his lungs filling with water.

Thwack.

A familiar orange-haired elf pummeled him and grabbed the ball. Riku tried desperately to get it back, but Wakka had already thrown it back into the triangle. What was happening? He was lost, and he lost most of his air supply when the ball smacked him. His eyesight was getting blurry, but in the midst of the blur, the blue sphere came into view.

It was coming at him.

He didn't have time to move.

Thwack.

"BREAK!"

Someone helped drag him up to the top of the sphere. He panted heavily for a few seconds, and then turned angrily to Wakka.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"We were teaching you, man. You really need to loosen up," Wakka retorted.

"That was not teaching," he muttered.

"One doesn't simply learn blitzball. One must play it," Shuyin said simply, rustling his sandy-blond hair to release the water.

"Break's over!" Tidus called.

"Wait, there's more?" Riku asked incredulously.

"One and a half more periods," Sazh said, slapping Riku on the back. "Here's a tip: throw the ball into the goal I'm in. Throwing it into Shuyin's just gives us points." He winked. Riku stared at him for a moment, and then nodded.

"Blitzoff!"

Riku was once again shoved into the giant vat of water. "Great," he thought irritably. Well, it looked as if he was stuck playing, he may as well try to make an effort. The blue ball was thrown into his hands. As soon as he caught it, Sazh's words echoed in his head. His eyes darted around wildly. He needed to find Sazh… Then, he spotted him in another triangle on the opposite end. He darted over there, his feet kicking wildly. Finally, he was close enough. He raised his hand with the ball behind his head, and then chucked it into the triangle.

Sazh's hands flailed wildly in an attempt to grab the ball, but it was too fast. It went straight into the goal, earning Shuyin and Riku a point.

Another ball launched out of the bottom of the pool. Riku grabbed it, but was immediately tackled by Wakka.

Smack. He punched Riku in the gut to get him off.

Thwack. Riku retaliated with a blow to the face.

Thump. A kick to the chest.

Thunk. Wakka finally managed to shove Riku into the wall of the pool. While he was stunned, Wakka darted towards Shuyin and hurled it into the goal.

"TIME!"

"Not too bad, man. You're getting better," Wakka told him encouragingly after they reached the top of the court.

"Yeah, you have a wicked throw," Sazh commented.

"Thank you," Riku said to them, and then added, "That was not too bad, actually. I could play this more."

"Good, because we have one more period to go in this game. Not to mention the other games we'll be playing in the hour they're letting us play," Shuyin said.

"That is fine with me," he replied.

"Riku?" Wakka said.

"Yes?"

"You really need to start using contractions, man."

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

Sora fidgeted impatiently on the leather healer's table in one of the rooms as Aerith jotted some notes down on her clipboard.

"Okay, are you ready?" she asked Sora, who nodded his head. "This may hurt a bit."

As soon as she said this, wisps of gold and yellow magic spilled from her fingers and into his legs. He flinched, but held his tongue as Aerith did her job. After what felt like forever, she ended the spell. "There, they should feel better."

Sora extended one leg in front of him experimentally, and then bent it back. "Can I walk now?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure, but be careful. Walk down using the stool."

Instead, Sora decided to jump of the table.

"I'm fine," he said, and began walking around the room. "Good as new!"

Aerith sighed. "You were always an impulsive one," she said, shaking her head.

"I'm not that impulsive!" he shot back at her.

A moment of silence passed, before Sora spoke up. "Hey, since Mom isn't here yet, could I see how tall I am?" he asked hopefully. Aerith smiled gently and nodded.

"Here, take off your shoes and stand with your back to the wall against the ruler," she told him. He obeyed, leaving his shoes by the table. Aerith lowered the black aligner at the top of the ruler down to meet his spiky brunette hair, not even bothering to fight the wild spikes.

"Have I gotten any taller?" he asked hopefully.

"No, I'm sorry. You're still the same as a couple years ago," Aerith replied sadly. He looked a little dejected, but shook it off anyway.

"Oh well, it was worth a shot," he said. A buzzer rang, indicating that the door at the front of the building had opened.

"It's been about an hour. That's probably your mother," Aerith said. "I just need her to sign some paper work, and you're free to go."

"Thanks, Miss Aerith!" he said, grinning.

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

Vanille, Sora, and Kairi arrived at the house with several large bags of clothing.

"Wow, how much did you buy?" Sora gaped at the load they were carrying.

"Just some basic stuff a girl might need," Vanille said casually, throwing a few bags at Sora. Kairi's face was similar in color to her hair. "I had nothing to do with this!" she mouthed to Sora, who was picking up the bags he hadn't caught.

"Arrow postal?" he read slowly on the front of the bag. "What kind of store name is that?"

"It's Aéropostale!" Vanille said indignantly. "It's a human store. We found that their clothes fit Kairi the best. I was surprised at how cute they were! I always thought that humans only wore bland clothes-" Before she could continue droning on about her shopping experience, Sora cut her off.

"Okay, okay, I get it! Shouldn't we be getting home now?" he pleaded.

"Oh, well look at the time! I guess we should go," Vanille exclaimed, causing Sora to slap his forehead in frustration. On that note, they headed back to the gate and to the island reservation.

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

Meanwhile, Hope was hiding in a corner, talking in a hushed voice into a small phone. He was off guard duty for the moment, but it still created a very suspicious-looking scene.

"This is Hope, I presume?" a deep voice echoed from the other line.

"Yes, Master Yen Sid," Hope responded reverently. On the other end of the call, an old man stroked his long, gray beard wisely. He was adjusting his Bluetooth headset under his pointed, royal-blue wizard's hat while his intense white eyes stared into a translucent orb before him.

"You are calling to confirm your plans, I presume."

"Actually, there is a slight alteration in the plan. Another wished to join Sora and Kairi by the name of Riku," Hope said in a hushed voice.

Yen Sid raised an eyebrow with intrigue. "Riku, you say?"

"Yes, Master."

The old warlock raised his hands above the orb in front of him. "Well, let's have a look at this 'Riku,'" he said, and then began chanting in a foreign tongue. Within an instant, the crystal ball revealed the silver-haired elf in the small faery house, dripping wet and allowing a small smile to cross his face. Sora was beside him, laughing good-naturedly with him about their blitzball experiences with Wakka and his friends. Even Kairi was giggling slightly, standing beside the two boys and giving them some tips when it came to venturing into the water. At first, Yen Sid's eyes widened in shock, but then he grinned widely at the sight of the misfits.

"Ah, yes! These are the three I have been waiting for," he said mysteriously.

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS

A/N: It's hard to write a blitzball scene. DX Oh well, the plot is slowly but surely creeping into view!

So, what do you think so far? Please leave a review.