A/N: So it's been a while, but you know how it goes. School and stuff. Good news is that exams are over and I'm on break now, so I'm free to be your word slave.
In other news; I'm liking this whole outline thing. It keeps me motivated to write, I think. I keep adding to the outline, so this will probably be a long fic ^^; That's your warning to get out now, assuming you aren't addicted to this story already XD Question: Does anyone have any big issues with me changing the rating of this fic to M? If you do, tell me. It'll still go up, but I'll put big warning signs up for you to be able to skip the M stuff. If you don't tell me you're opposed, I won't end up putting the warnings and you'll be ambushed with stuff you didn't want ^^; Speak now or forever hold your peas.
Ok, so a lot of this has focused on Sora and Riku and their friends, which, since they're listed as the main characters, is only fitting. But there will be more in the future from the others, too. Like Demyx and Zexion. What were they up to? You'll just have to wait :D
This chapter isn't exactly filler-it establishes some important things-but it's not immensely eventful, so I'll throw in something to entertain you and tease you so you keep coming back for more XD Enjoy.
Sora looked up at the clock on the wall. Just two minutes left of school. Soon he'd be free to run barefoot in the sands of the play island. Well, he would have been, if only he'd been paying attention to what he was doing and not the slow metal hands on the face of the clock.
The model volcano his science teacher had the students make as a 'fun way to welcome in the new school year' was apparently far more complex than he had initially thought. The explosion of his hunk of mini-mountain was loud enough to cause all his fellow students to turn their heads. The pink 'lava' he'd splattered on not only himself but also on everything within a six foot radius was enough to bring the teacher to an irritated scowling match with the back of his head. He didn't need to see her face. His I-screwed-up-again radar was enough for him to go by. The sound of her clacking heels as she approached him with a mop and an industrial size roll of paper towels was drowned in the chaos that followed the final bell.
"I expect it to be spotless," she said simply, thrusting the cleaning supplies into his chest before stalking back to her desk. Sora sighed and set to work after giving the door a longing look and sending a mental apology to Riku and Kairi.
Kairi fidgeted for the umpteenth time beside Riku as they waited by their usual lamppost. Riku rolled his eyes at her.
"He's always late. You know him as well as I do," the silveret reminded her.
"I know, I know, but he's usually a bit less late," Kairi sighed. She nervously brushed some of her hair out of her eyes and looked up and down the Sora-less streets yet again. Riku silently admitted she was right.
"It's the first day. He probably got lost," the male shrugged, casually scanning the streets just as attentively as the redhead.
"For an hour and a half?" Kairi asked skeptically. Riku checked his watch to be sure. He hadn't realized how late Sora was. He bit his tongue, now even more worried than Kairi. He remembered hearing stories about upperclassmen picking on the freshmen the previous year. He hadn't been targeted, but let's face it, Riku thought. Sora was jail bait. Why wouldn't seniors try to give him a hard time? What if he was locked in a janitor's closet somewhere? What if they shoved him into a gym locker? There were two or three just big enough for Sora to fit in.
"Maybe we should go look for him," Kairi pleaded. Riku considered that, but almost instantly thought better of it. If Sora was hurt, he definitely wouldn't want Kairi of all people to know. She would never let him out of her sight again. He'd tell Riku, since they were practically brothers, but Kairi was more of a mother than a violent, over protective big sister. She'd suffocate Sora rather than face whomever hurt the brunet. At least Riku had enough sense to stand up for his friend. Not that he thought Kairi was a coward, she just didn't handle these kinds of situations well.
"That's it, I'm going," Kairi insisted, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.
"Wait," Riku insisted, putting his hand on her shoulder and pulling the bag off as he stalled.
"What?" Kairi hissed, turning to look at him. Her eyes held worry and something else he couldn't place.
"No need," Riku sighed with relief, pointing to the brown spikes that had suddenly appeared in the distance. Kairi didn't pick up on the sigh as she visually relaxed and waved enthusiastically to their quickly approaching companion.
"Told you so," Riku teased as Sora drew nearer.
"Yeah, you did," Kairi's tone was airy as she watched their friend approach. "Thanks," she said softly right before she strode forward to pester Sora.
"S-sorry," the spiky-haired teen panted, bent over as he tried to catch his breath. He lifted his head to grin up at the redhead sheepishly. Riku walked over to them, hands in his pockets.
"Took you long enough," he said, thumping the younger boy in the back of the head with his arm as Sora started to stand up straight.
"Ow," Sora laughed, taking a step back and holding the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I kinda blew a volcano up, and the teacher made me stay and clean it up."
"It took you an hour and a half to clean up baking soda and vinegar?" Riku inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"There was a lot," Sora laughed, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. Kairi shook her head at their friend.
"You messed up your uniform shirt, too," she sighed, examining the pink stains all over the brunet's white shirt. He looked as if he'd bathed in strawberry milk. Sora laughed out another sheepish sorry.
"Well c'mon, let's go to the island," Riku said, scooping up Kairi's abandoned backpack from the base of the lamppost and shouldering it.
"Oh, Riku, you don't have to," Kairi kept insisting as the three walked towards the place on the beach where they docked their boats. Riku simply shrugged as he stepped onto the wooden pier and walked to his boat.
"They're really small, if you think about it," Sora noted, remembering his younger days. "The boats, I mean,"
"No kidding. We used to be able to both ride in my boat and have room for a book bag each and a sack of candy," Riku laughed, hopping into his boat and setting his and Kairi's bags on the bench across from him. There was no room left in the boat, aside from space to maybe store the oars. Sora untied Riku's boat before jumping into his own and settling his bag as well. Kairi untied the little wooden boat for him and stepped carefully into her own, less willing to jump in the required skirt she was wearing. She reached over and unanchored her own rowboat before taking up the oars and pulling up alongside the boys, who were waiting patiently for her.
"Race?" Sora offered, mischief in his eyes.
"You're on," Riku grinned.
"Sure. Loser has to lick a Paupu tree," Kairi teased.
"Three…two…one…GO!" Sora cheered, rowing as hard as he could. Riku kept up with him easily but seemed to make no effort to overtake the enthusiastic freshman. Kairi lagged behind them slightly, rowing hard to keep up. As they neared the island, Sora began to slow. His energy was running down a bit. This made him even with Kairi and put Riku in first. The oldest grinned back at his friends and began rowing harder, having reserved his strength for the final stretch to ensure his tongue would be tree-free. He docked long before the other two had reached the shallower water and tied his boat to a post. Lounging comfortably in the sun's rays on the little strip of wood, he smirked at the other two as they finally reached the land. They were out of breath but smiling happily anyway as they sat on either side of him and panted lightly.
"Kairi's gotta lick a tree," Sora said softly in a sing-song tone.
"I know, I know," the girl chuckled, rolling her eyes. Riku smirked at her.
"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You gotta lick a tree," he teased, laying down to stare at the clouds.
"Fine, I'm going, I'm going," Kairi insisted as she got up and began walking inland. Sora leapt up and trailed her, not about to miss this. Riku sighed and rolled over before rising to his feet and jogging easily after them, not at all phased by the extensive rowboat race. Kairi marched up to the nearest tree in a manner akin to a brave preschooler marching up to the playground bully. She glanced at both boys before sighing hopelessly and sticking out her tongue, delicately pressing it against the bark.
"Oh gross," she muttered, screwing up her face in disgust and pulling away quickly. Sora snickered and Riku chuckled at their friend's reaction.
"It was your own fault, you know," Riku pointed out as they headed back to the dock to grab their bags.
"I know," Kairi sighed as she took her bag from him.
"So, Sora, aside from blowing pink chunks all over a classroom, do anything interesting today?" Riku asked as he and Kairi stood waiting from Sora to pull his bag out of his boat. The strap had gotten stuck on one of the benches somehow. Riku was pretty sure only Sora could manage something like this. Or rather, only Sora's things could. Sora wasn't skilled enough to get caught under a bench.
"Well, my first period teacher apparently sleeps through the entire class, so that was weird. He threw his attendance list at us without even taking role." Sora finally managed to get the uncooperative bag under control and stood up straight to face his friends.
"He threw it at you?" Kairi repeated in disbelief, her eyes wide as though she'd considered teaching faculty incapable of being so inept.
"Yup. Tossed it halfway across the room," Sora emphasized as the three friends strolled leisurely over to their favorite tree.
"Wow. My first period teacher didn't even show up for class," Kairi informed them.
"Am I the only one who actually worked today?" Riku raised an eyebrow as he glanced sideways at his friends. Their tree was in sight now.
"If you call being a dumb ass working," Sora snickered. He had to quickly dodge Kairi's slap as she scowled at Riku for polluting Sora's innocent mind.
"How was I being a dumb ass?" Riku asked, watching Sora run around him in fear of their redhead's violence with a look of mild interest and amusement on his face.
"You guys got acid on yourselves," Sora laughed before dashing to the tree and clinging to it as though it were a shield against Kairi's onslaught of violent justice. The brunet winced in pain when the girl proved to be shield-proof.
"That was only Marluxia, and it was Reno's fault," Riku defended himself as he swung his bag off his shoulder and set it at the base of the tree.
"What, too good to do homework like the rest of us?" Sora asked as he vaulted over the tree to set his bag down beside Riku's. Kairi followed suit, choosing to walk around the trunk instead, though.
"Don't have any," Riku said, his tone suggesting this was an obvious conclusion. Which it was.
"Lucky!" Sora moaned as he began digging through his bag. "It figures the guy who didn't have a teacher-less class is the only one without homework," the younger mumbled.
"Actually, Sora," Kairi said hesitantly, looking slightly uncomfortable, "I don't have any homework, either." She blushed as if this was something to be embarrassed about. Riku noted that this was one of those moments when the innocence of his friends decided to be almost painfully obvious. No amount of foul language could disguise the fact that Sora was still a kid at heart. He was just a kid with an extensive vocabulary.
"Et tu, Kairi?" Sora said with a crushed expression on his face.
"Do you even know the origins of that line?" Riku asked, laughing lightly. Sora decided not to answer, which meant no, and Riku let it go, deciding today was not the day for lessons on Julius Caesar. Or Latin, for that matter.
"Don't worry, I'll still help you," Kairi assured the spikey-haired one quickly. Sora sighed but seemed a little less miffed.
0107 Oblivion Lane was relatively quiet, taking the size of the white building and the number of occupants into consideration. Larxene was away, searching for a part time job, apparently, while Roxas was miserable in his bed. Namine was watching television and doodling in her precious white book whilst lounging on the couch, and Axel and Marluxia were mysteriously absent, each doing something they decided not to disclose to their fellow residents. The remaining two Hallow Bastianites sat on a blue bedspread, conversing.
"So where are you going, again?" Demyx asked, looking up at the short boy seated beside his head. Zexion glanced down at the owner of the bed, who was lounging quite happily.
"Work, Demyx," the slate haired teen answered with more patience than most had for Demyx.
"Yeah, but where's 'Work, Demyx?'" the green eyed male grinned playfully, his smile, Zexion noted, brightening the entire room.
"Where I'm going," Zexion answered with a smirk, eyes roaming over the poorly taped up band posters in the messy bedroom. Demyx laughed and rolled his pretty eyes.
"I got a job at the bookstore in town," Zexion added to satisfy some of the wannabe musician's curiosity.
"Why?" Demyx asked, his procrastinating mind unable to fathom willingly taking on more work than was necessary.
"Because while the school was kind enough to provide us with room and board, it took a lot of money to get us here, and it's up to us to come up with the money needed to feed ourselves on our own. Larxene is getting a job as well, you're aware. Perhaps you should look into joining the work force." Zexion felt a smile coming on as he wondered how Demyx could have such an eternal grin.
"I could perform at events, I guess," Demyx shrugged, not too concerned.
"Which reminds me, the store manager told me they're considering holding open mic type events for poets and musicians to come in and perform. She's convinced it'll bring good publicity to the store. I'm sure you would receive invitations to perform at parties and the like if you participated."
"And then I'd get to see your adorable ass at work, wouldn't I?" Demyx chuckled. Zexion grinned.
"Not if I get fired for being late today," he answered, leaning down to kiss the blond before him.
"Alright, you can go. But to regain admittance, you'll have to pay with more than a kiss," Demyx teased.
"I'll keep that in mind," Zexion said as he left the bedroom.
"Aaaaaand…done!" Sora proclaimed, dotting his final 'i' with a look of pure satisfaction. Kairi smiled and offered to look over his work for any errors but he shook his head. "I already made you wait for way too long, and then you helped me with this. Look, the sun's going to set. Let's just relax together. All three of us," he looked over his shoulder with a smile at Riku, who nodded his approval. Sora hastened to put his things away as Kairi pulled herself up onto the trunk of their island tree. Sora scampered up beside her, sitting between his two friends with a bag of gummy worms in his hands.
"Want some?" he offered his friends as he opened the bag. Kairi politely declined while Riku took a handful without hesitation.
"You'll get fat if you eat too much candy, Sora," he teased, holding the fake worms over his head, preparing to drop them one by one into his open mouth.
"Then why are you eating so many?" Sora laughed
"I'm immune to weight gain. I'm too cool to be fat," Riku shrugged, eating happily.
"Yeah, ok," Sora rolled his eyes. Kairi giggled beside him.
"You two never stop squabbling, do you? Remember when we had to climb to be able to get up on this tree and watch the sunsets? You used to fight over who was going to help me up," she laughed some more at the memory. Sora and Riku looked at one another and chuckled as well.
"We sure had fun playing on this island," Sora said, eyes twinkling with the memories flowing through his head.
"Yeah. You think we'll ever change?" Riku asked softly. His question was met with silence as the others pondered and watched the sun slowly falling down under the waters.
"No way!" Sora finally concluded in the last rays of the day. "It's been years since we first came here together, and we still play and fight like before. Things'll always be the same for us. Even after we've grown up."
"…yeah," Riku nodded, grinning. "You're right, Sora. Things'll always be this way."