Mwahaha! Who would have thought. Ch.2 is out!

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Kingdom Hearts, I only own Aldrick.

"Speaking"

/Thinking\

Writing

Aldrick's eyes widened at the sight of the boy who opened the door. He was shorter than Aldrick, and obviously younger, with bright blue eyes. The older teen noted that they were brighter than even Cid's eyes. The boy also had brown hair, almost reminding the senior of cinnamon, which spiked up in every direction like he had stuck a wet finger in an electrical outlet.

"...Is he okay?" Sora asked Cid, turning towards the man with a slightly confused look.

The man just shrugged. "No idea. The ki...He's pretty odd from what I've seen, and I've only known him for about...five minutes."

The keyblader turned back towards the older teen, a small hand extended to both shake the other's hand as well as help him up. "I'm Sora. Nice to meet you."

Aldrick grasped Sora's hand, stood up, and brushed himself off. "Aldrick." came out, and all the teenager could do was look down at his feet, or rather, Sora's feet, which were clad in large, yellow shoes. /Do I ask how he walks in those humongous shoes? Or do I stay quiet?\

The teen had pondered that question for a while, oblivious to the conversation the other two had, until the door shut, and the brunette had left.

"Where'd he go?"

"That kid? He went to try and find his two friends."

"Oh..." Aldrick knew what would happen next. He went to the door to listen as he heard the cold, stern voice from when he first appeared in Traverse Town. "Squall..." escaped his lips.

"Huh?" Cid looked up from the glass case in the center of the room that he was now cleaning. "Did you say somethin'?"

"No. Not a thing." Soon, the sounds of metal hitting metal could be heard though the door, along with gunshots and what sounded like fireballs flying though the air.

"Sounds like Leon. I've told him not to fight near the shop. Looks like I get to bitch at him again." Cid continued to clean, not even wondering who or what Leon was apparently fighting.

Aldrick looked over at the blonde man, wondering how he could say 'bitch'. /He never said anything remotely like a swear word in the game...but, then again, I'm here...\

The sound of a collapsing body told the teen that the fight was over, and a voice came to his ears from outside. It sounded like a young female, who was full of energy. "Yuffie..." came out in a whisper.

"Huh? Sounds like the fight's over. Why not go say hey?" Cid was now trying to dust the wall cabinet, reaching to get the dust off the top.

Aldrick just stared at the door, a little trace of fear in his eyes. He quickly shook his head, saying, "I don't think I trust it..."

Cid gave out a hearty laugh. "After what happened to you, I wouldn't either."

Aldrick went over to the couch again, sitting down and heaving a small sigh. "What are the others like?" The teen basically already knew, but decided that making small talk couldn't hurt.

The man scratched at his stubble, thinking for a moment. "Well, Leon's not exactly what you would call 'people-friendly', and Yuffie is kinda annoyin'. Aerith is quiet, but is pretty nice. Although, you'll probably be seein' them soon enough."

Aldrick just nodded as he turned around, staring at the glass case in the back wall, looking as though he was staring into the distance. "I wish I could make jewelry like you. It's so beautiful...But, then again, I want to stop being confused, too."

The artisan scratched his stubble once again, as he softly chewed on his toothpick. "Well, I can't help ya with the confusion, but the jewerly's no problem."

The teen's eyes seemed to come back into focus, and he looked over at the man behind the counter with even more confusion in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

A smirk strayed onto the businessman's face. "Simple. I need an apprentice, and you're interested in making accessories. Do ya get it now?"

"...Apprentice? Well..." The teen grew silent, staring at the man, considering his options.

/I know this game from top to bottom, but I can't exactly fend for myself. I have no weapon, and no known fighting skills. I guess...\

"I guess it couldn't hurt..." Aldrick wasn't sure how this would turn out, but what was there to lose?

Cid clapped his hands together, his face beaming. "Great. I'll start teachin' you tomorrow. To celebrate, I'll make us steak tonight."

A small droplet of drool dripped from the corner of the senior's mouth, only to get wiped away before it traveled down his chin. Aldrick hadn't had steak in a long, long time.

"Once we close, I'll start makin' 'em. Till then, help me clean." Cid had reached under the counter, only to pull out a mop.

Normally, at his home, Aldrick would've laughed and tried to walk away, only to get forced into doing the cleaning regardless of his excuse. However, since he was obviously going to be living with Cid, he didn't want to be a bad guest. Without a single complaint, the teen grabbed the mop and started working on getting the floor clean.

After about thirty minutes of effort, the floor was sparkling, and Aldrick sat, curled up, on the couch, as Cid waited for a customer. Aldrick was on the brink of sleep, and didn't even hear the bell hanging off the door as two people entered the shop.

"Hey, is he okay? You didn't work him like a pack mule, did you?" The teen could hear her voice, but didn't want to open his eyes. He was so close to falling asleep.

"You know I've only done that to you once, and that was because you broke my case." Cid was a little frustrated, but seemed to have good control over his temper.

"Then why is he over on the couch, passed out?" There was a sharp gasp, and she continued to talk. "He isn't dead, is he!?"

Rushed footsteps could be heard coming towards Aldrick, and he got a little worried, only to be annoyed.

"Hey, you alive?" She had started to poke the teen, not caring how irritable he might become.

"...Yes! I'm alive! Now, will you please stop poking me so I can get some sleep?" Aldrick yelled, not even opening his eyes.

"Fine, it's your own fault for not meeting the Great Ninja Yuffie. C'mon, Aerith. It should be safe to go back by now. You know how fast Leon works." The tired teen heard the two girls open the door and leave, and finally opened his eyes when he heard a bell in the distance.

"Damn, that heartless. Maybe Leon will get it this time." Cid had apparently been trying to read a book, but it had been set down as the man looked at the teen. "And maybe you should get to bed. The steaks will be for tomorrow."

Aldrick sighed as he got up, wanting the steak, but wanting a bed even more. He walked over to the counter, where Cid was pushing a button placed beneath the it. The wall slid open, and Cid walked down some stairs that were behind it, motioning for his new apprentice to follow.

Aldrick followed, now somewhat awake as he stared at the marvel of Cid's room being under the accessory shop. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, it almost seemed like he reached the inside of a house, minus the windows.

The living room had a small couch, along with a small television across from it. There were also what appeared to be a pair of matching ashtrays with many cigarette butts in each, along with some empty beer cans. The kitchen was small, looked pretty clean, but still had an ashtray and empty beer cans. Those two rooms were obvious from the bottom of the stairs, and Aldrick walked into the living room, noticing that he couldn't really smell the cigarette smoke, and looked up, seeing air vents.

"I was supposed to quit smokin', but just couldn't give it up. Same with the drinkin', but...well, you see how well that worked." Cid gave a small chuckle, and scratched the back of his head. "Well, let's get you into bed. C'mon." He went into a door in the living room, and the tired teen followed.

The room held a bookshelf, a bed, and two doorways. One was open, and looked to be a bathroom. The other, Aldrick figured it was a closet. Upon closer inspection, the bookshelf held a few books, some on making jewelry, others on flight and aerodynamics, and even a few on gummi ships.

Cid went into the supposed closet, pulling out a small mattress, and setting it on the floor, near the bed. "You'll get the bed for now, and I'll take the floor." was said as he went back to pull out a blanket and pillow.

Aldrick stumbled into the bed. His journal, which he hadn't let go of since he got it back, was placed on the floor near the head of the bed. Then, without taking off his clothes, crawled under the blankets and went immediately to sleep, not caring what Cid was doing.

To be continued...

Byne: This chapter is a little shorter. I'm hoping you readers like it. Well, I just gotta wait for the reviews. Be ready for ch. 3!