ahhh! i'm sorry this took longer than expected! technically i finished it last night, but i have a system where i have to let it sit for a day so i know i don't wanna change anything -.-;

speech Districts were yesterday, so i should have more time on my hands now :)

...ok, it's getting to the point when i keep forgetting how many chapters are in this already -.-;... seriously, i save the chapter as ch.15 and come to find that oh... it's ch. 16 XO it's so weird...

but, on with the chapter :D

"SUCCESS!" the blonde shrieked joyfully, jumping up and down with exuberance.

"Rikku—just what did you do in there?" Yuna called, coughing as she stepped into the apartment with Paine behind her. A mix between smoke and steam drifted through the apartment, the harsh odor intruding their noses. The floor and furniture was fine for the most part until they reached the room Rikku was occupying.

Spills from unknown substances were splattered across the tiled floor and the walls. Stains painted furniture that would never be the same again. Various tools lay spread out on the tabletop—including a blender, hammer, spoon, set of pliers, socks, and an oven mitt among other objects.

And there, right in the center of it all, was Rikku—beaming at her roommates in a pink apron with heart patches around the edges. A few smudges of different materials dotted her skin and clothing.

"Rikku, did something die in here?" Paine asked, noting the disturbingly odd smell that lingered throughout the room.

Still grinning, Rikku shook her head. "Nope! I made somethin' to help us! See?" Bounding over the heap of vague messiness, she dragged the other two girls into the kitchen where the smoke/steam wasn't quite so bad. Proudly, she held out a sort of cage-like object about the size of someone's head. Wires were loosely woven together like a mesh in a spherical shape. A handle was strapped onto the top with what appeared to be the remnants of one of Paine's belts.

Paine sighed. It looked like it had been one of her favorite belts, too. But it was no use trying to get that through the blonde's head. She'd already tried plenty of times before. Rikku had said she wouldn't, yet whenever the bright girl got some invention idea stuck in her head, she wouldn't be able to do anything else until it was completed. Of course, while in such a mood, she completely spaced out all the rules in the universe until it was finished.

The tall woman had a feeling that even gravity wouldn't be able to stop her when she was like that.

"I call it mythril!" Rikku stated.

Yuna raised an eyebrow. "Mythril? Isn't that, like, a total rip-off from Lord of the Rings?"

"Well . . . maybe . . ." Rikku admitted, scratching her scalp. "But it's not as if I've read those books in the first place though!"

"You saw the movies," Paine reminded her.

"Oh, right . . . Legolas was so hot!" she squealed, getting starry-eyed.

Coughing into her hand, Yuna regained Rikku's attention and asked, "So it protects you? Like some sort of armor?"

"Ah! Not exactly! While the mythril from the Lord of the Rings protects things, mine imprisons things. Magic and regular common sense or tools can't break it! Nifty, huh?"

Yuna grinned. "Rikku, this is amazing! I think you might've just solved our problem, right, Paine?"

Nodding, Paine replied, "Yeah, actually, we were just discussing it before we walked inside to find this . . . mess."

Giggling nervously, Rikku commented, "I didn't think it'd be this big when I started . . ."

"Well, Rikku, you clean the kitchen. Paine, take care of the living room. I'll get the rest. Oh, and Rikku? Did any of the mess get into our bedrooms?"

"Yeah, I think I went into Paine's, and I had to use some magic to create the thing, Yunie! So the mess in there might be a little harder!" she called. Turning to Paine, she apologized. "Sorry that I went into your room, Paine."

Paine just sighed. So the blonde had used one of her belts after all.

-

Exiting Kingdom Hearts, Axel stepped into Castle Oblivion. Many other returning vampires also occupied the room. There was a general area in the building where the vampires would come when they'd finished feeding. They were forced to go through roll call before they could go back to do whatever they wanted to do. Playing pool or cards and sleeping were the most common choices.

"AXEL!" the officer yelled.

"HERE!" said vampire yelled back.

"RIGHT, THE QUEEN WISHES TO SEE YOU. HEAD TO THE THRONE ROOM IMMEDIATELY!"

The throne room? What the hell for? Axel wondered, but he nodded and began walking towards there. The hallway was deserted as he went along on his somewhat confused way. As he approached the door, a vampire stepped out to greet and escort him.

"Axel, right?" he asked. Said vampire nodded his head and was led inside the dark room.

"Axel," Kairi acknowledged.

"Yes, my Queen," Axel responded flatly—hating the formality.

"What is this?" she questioned, tossing a photo Frisbee-style towards him. Catching it, Axel realized it was a picture of him and Roxas after they'd set off fireworks that one night.

Kairi smirked at his dumbfounded expression. "Well, what was it?"

Collecting himself, Axel replied, "A really good piece of artwork. I haven't seen doctoring skills like this in a while. Seriously, not many people can take a picture of me somewhere, some kid from somewhere else, and put them together in the same picture like this with the background all smooth and everything!"

The queen growled, "Axel, that's a photograph—not a piece of artwork messed with on a computer! You have been hanging around humans without feeding from them! Admit it—you and that human are friends or something equally sickening of the sort!"

"I wouldn't necessarily call it 'sickening' since it's more like—"

"I don't care what it's more or less like! You've been passing time with humans without permission or feeding from them. It's likely that this human knows you're a vampire, too according to my sources, so you are to be confined to your room until further notice!"

Axel gaped. "But—but that's—"

"Final! Will somebody please take him away now? I'm getting a headache," the queen groaned. As requested, a figure grasped Axel's arm roughly and began dragging him from the room while another ran to grab some aspirin.

Damn it . . . And just when things were going well . . . Axel thought bitterly.

-

"Shelving more books, Cloud?" a deep voice asked rhetorically behind him.

"Yes," Cloud grunted, struggling to reach the top shelf where the book belonged—even if he was standing on a stool. The bookshelves were lined up in rows all around them and a small window let outsiders peek in from the other side of the wall to gaze on the scene indoors.

Cloud continued, "That stupid professor brought back all those stupid books on Neanderthals for some stupid reason and now I have to put the stupid books back in their stupid place! . . . Stupid science jerks studying Darwinism . . ."

Sephiroth laughed. "I didn't realize that books and science professors were so . . . stupid—as you oh-so-eloquently put it, Cloud."

"Yeah, well . . ." the blond trailed off, standing on his tiptoes to slide a book back into its place.

But then, the books already on the shelf fought, screaming, "No! We don't want that book! Take it away! Take it away! Even if my text argues with human combustion, I swear that if that book so much as touches me, my pages will burst into flames!"

Yes, that's what the books said. Cloud heard them.

But fire extinguishers existed. And he could always say that he saw a mouse manage to light a match on the mouse trap in order to get the cheese without getting hurt.

. . . Not that the library had mice or used mouse traps, but they'd understand. They were good people.

Mostly . . .

Sighing, the blond stood on the stool. His plans had been thwarted, and he only saw one escape route (excluding the mice, mouse traps, and match, of course).

Turning to Sephiroth, he asked in a defeated manner, "Will you put this book up for me? I can't quite reach."

Smirking, Sephiroth tucked a lock of silver hair behind his ear before taking the book from our distraught, blond, and momentary protagonist into his hand. Without stepping on the stool, he reached over from behind Cloud and easily slid the book into its place.

Liars, Cloud thought to the books. You did not burst into flames.

He was shocked when he heard one of them yell in return, We require gasoline first!

Luckily, Sephiroth was speaking again, so Cloud didn't have time to gape at the books like an idiot. Which was a good thing because he almost began considering running to the nearest gas station to acquire the gasoline necessary to burn those forsaken books and send them to the deepest pits of Hell where they'd have to share their shelves with hundreds of other books on Darwinism. Ah, sweet revenge . . .

Ahem. Anyway, moving along . . .

"My shift ends soon, so I was wondering if you wanted me to pick you up after your shift to go to a movie or something," his coworker suggested.

"Thanks, but there's not a movie in town I really care to see," Cloud declined, shelving a book whose destination he actually could reach.

"Well, then what would you like to do? I've got nothing to do tonight, so I'll be really bored if I just go home."

"Sorry, Sephiroth, but I've already got stuff to do tonight. Maybe some other time," said Cloud, stepping off the stool and picking it up as he walked behind the counter to find yet more books to shelve.

"But Cloud, it's such a sad occupation to be spending a summer night all alone at home, wouldn't you say?"

"Read a book," the blond replied even though he was, at the moment, hating everyone that read a book from the library and bothered to return it during his shift. And Sephiroth wasn't helping.

"That's what I did last night."

"Then suck it up—you're a big boy," Cloud teased, leaving the counter with several more books in hand to shelve. Fortunately (or unfortunately, whichever way one looked at it), Cloud missed the look on Sephiroth's face as he said those words.

Leon, however, didn't.

Call it creepy, but he was just waiting for Cloud's shift to end when he saw that man in there. That sort of put a damper on things for the brunet. And being a vampire, he could hear every word that passed between through them as well as the looks—those being all from Sephiroth. He was thankful that Cloud was still thinking of him by refusing to hang out with Sephiroth since they had plans that night, but Sephiroth's persistence was bothering him. Cloud had told Sephiroth that he was taken, right?

. . . Right?

Come to think of it, Leon wasn't so sure he had. The way they were acting in there, he couldn't be too sure.

Either way, Sephiroth needed to have his ass shoved back in its place. And, lucky him, Leon was willing to do it free of charge.

Meanwhile, Sephiroth hadn't quit pestering the blond for some time together.

"C'mon, Cloud, what do you have to do later, anyway? It can't be as important as relieving a friend of perpetual boredom."

Sighing, Cloud responded, "After my shift I'm going to hang out with my boyfriend and then watch my brother."

Sephiroth frowned. "Since when have you had a boyfriend?"

"Several months. Sorry if I never mentioned it before."

"He must not be very important if you haven't talked about him much."

He's got some nerve . . . Leon thought angrily.

"That's not it!" Cloud insisted. "He's right up there with my brother on my list of who's most important to me."

"And me?"

"You're right below them. Sorry," Cloud said, shrugging his shoulders.

Rolling his eyes, Sephiroth complained, "Thanks Cloud, that really makes me feel loved."

"Find a girlfriend or something then. And your shift is over if you wanna go," he commented.

Sephiroth sighed. "Alright, I suppose I'll go, but if you change your mind later, just let me know, ok?"

"Sure," Cloud agreed—knowing it wasn't likely to happen.

With that, the man with extremely long, silver hair walked out of the library. The night was calm then. Street lights shone their pale gold light upon the cement sidewalks and the dark green grass that stuck itself between the cracks and next to the edges. Sephiroth's shoes against the sidewalk made the only noise besides an occasional cricket chirp or breeze rustling the trees. If one listened close enough, faint hubbub from the bar down several blocks could be heard.

Well, until Leon decided action had to be taken and that he had to stand up for his love who was too oblivious to notice anything out of the ordinary.

There was a reason they were called 'dumb blonds'.

"What the hell!" Sephiroth shouted as his back was pressed harshly against the wall of a nearby alley which he had been just about to walk by until something stormed out of the shadows and attacked him by way of gripping his shirt collar ferociously hard—lifting him a good foot above the ground.

"That's what I'd like to know," Leon snarled, letting go of the other man's collar and allowing him to stand on his own. The human, however, was still cornered and pinned by those glaring navy eyes.

"What do you mean—and what the hell do you want anyway? I don't even know you!" Sephiroth yelled, pointing a shaky finger accusingly.

Taking a breath to attempt to calm himself, Leon answered, "I'm Cloud's boyfriend—that's all you really need to know."

"And you have business with me because . . . ? Your boyfriend is still safely inside the library last I checked," spat Sephiroth.

"I know, and I'm glad he is because you and me need to have a little talk."

"About what?"

"Cloud."

"What about him? He's my friend and your boyfriend—I think I get it," Sephiroth stated coldly.

Eyes flashing, Leon replied, "Well, I don't think you do. I think that you are trying to get Cloud for yourself, and I don't appreciate that."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "Jealous much? I don't think Cloud would appreciate you accusing me like this."

"Maybe I am a little jealous, but I've seen the way you look at him! Those aren't the eyes of friendship—they're of lust!"

"Cloud's good-looking—that much I'll admit! But I have no idea what you're talking about otherwise!"

Leon growled, "Liar!" Lunging at the human, Leon grasped his arms and held them to the rough ground. Anger fuelling his thoughts, he could only think as Sephiroth yelled Get rid of him get rid of him he's got to go I won't let him stand between me and Cloud I love Cloud too much to let him be near him don't regret just do and it'll all be over and we'll be happy if only this man would shut up and die.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Snapping his eyes open, Leon stared in shock as he realized just how close his fangs were to Sephiroth's neck (and, with satisfaction, how the man was trembling beneath him in terror). His eyes were wide as he looked up to find Cloud standing at the mouth of the alley.

"LEON, ANSWER ME, DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" the blond screamed furiously, taking swift steps toward them.

Shame suddenly overwhelmed Leon. He hadn't really meant to kill Sephiroth—just scare him out of his advances on Cloud. But then things got too far and he couldn't stop and . . .

Shit.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to actually hurt you," apologized the vampire. Before he could offer to help the silver-haired man up, Cloud had already managed to stretch out a hand and pull him upright.

"Leon . . . What. The. Hell," Cloud said sternly, emphasizing each word.

However, before Leon could speak, Sephiroth broke in, saying, "Your boyfriend attacked me while I was on my way to my car parked down the street.

"Shut up!" Leon cried. Turning to his boyfriend, he said, "Look, Cloud, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get this jealous or angry or anything like that! But the way he looks at you has really been pissing me off and I just—"

"You don't trust me?" Cloud interrupted. "After all we've been through, I would've thought that you, of all people, would've trusted me enough to let me choose my own friends!"

"As a friend I'm sure he's fine, but he doesn't just want to be your friend, Cloud! He wants more and I can see it—Roxas could, too!" the brunet protested.

"Leave Roxas out of this! He's just a kid—what does he know!"

"He sure knows how to take a hint at least!"

Time stood at a standstill for a moment while both men glared at each other with equal strength. The tension was so thick that even a knife couldn't cut through it. Nope, this would've required a chainsaw.

Said chainsaw ended up being when Sephiroth coughed noticeably, saying, "Well, I'll leave you two to your lovers' spat. It's obvious that you, Cloud, need relationship counseling and that he, well, he could use any counseling he can get. I'll see you tomorrow at work."

Leon twitched at his comment, relieved when that silver head of hair had finally disappeared. But Cloud was still there, and they still hadn't solved the problem.

"You know, if you had actually bothered to get to know him, you would've found out he's not that bad of a guy," Cloud informed, blue eyes still as intense as ever.

"And you'd seen one day through my eyes, you would've seen his true intentions," Leon countered.

Silence reigned again for a few minutes before Leon just sighed, saying in a defeated fashion, "You know what? Never mind. You obviously think he's worth it even if all he'll do is use you. So go on—be with him if that's what you really want. You probably won't be seeing me again."

Cloud stared dumbfounded, having lost his voice for a split-second, but then it came back and he shouted, "Leon, what are you talking about?! I still love you—I'll always love you! I just want friends besides just you and Roxas!"

Leon looked at him sadly. "Are you saying I'm not enough?"

"No! I'm saying . . . I'm saying that I—I'm human, you know, and, well . . . we-we're greedy . . . always wanting more . . . When it comes to love—you give me all I could ever want—don't get me wrong about that! It's just that . . . you're a vampire, and I'd like some friends in the human world, too, you know?"

Unsure of what to say, Leon just said, "Whatever . . . Look, curfew will be ending in a bit—I should go back. I'll see you tomorrow."

With those words echoing in Cloud's mind, Leon formed a dark portal out of the shadows and leapt into the swirling mass of darkness before it came to a dizzying halt and disappeared.

-

Sora felt really warm when he woke up. After that weird crying thing, he'd drifted back off. His eyes were still shut and all he could feel was warmth tingling throughout his body. Contentedly, he slowly cracked his eyes open to see . . .

The vampire's eyes widened considerably. Because there—right thereon his bed was—

"Riku . . . ?" he asked softly.

Silver hair splayed on the pillow—cushioning his head. Above the covers, his body was in a haphazard position with one arm next to his side, the other crossing over his chest, a leg tossed carelessly off the side of the bed, and the remaining leg bent at the knee where it jabbed at Sora's shin. In fact, he was fairly close to the edge, too considering that it was a single-sized bed.

Eyelids lay closed peacefully as Sora traced his jaw with a finger.

"You're really here," he murmured to himself. "But why—why are you here?"

It wasn't long before he noticed a note taped to the skin of Riku's palm. Gently peeling it off, Sora read:

Sora,

Dr. Lulu wanted you to get some fresh blood, so I took the liberty of bringing you a live human to help you feel better. I will apologize if it is proven that the blood in the reserves is, indeed, toxic. However, until then, here is a human to help you feel better now. I'll send the guards to take the body away in a bit. If you're still sleeping by the time they come in, they're to awake you, let you drink, and then take the body from you.

Hope the blood's sweet!

Sincerely,

The Proud Queen Kairi of Organization XIII

Sora snorted. Sincerely? Psh. As if.

What he really wanted to know was if it was entirely coincidental that Riku happened to be the human they nabbed for him. Knowing Kairi's personality, it was more likely that she would've known. However, how would she know? That was the part that just didn't make sense no matter how Sora looked at it.

But he'd already made the decision not to drink from Riku—it wasn't like he wanted torture to scream in his throat again, anyway. Nothing could be done about it now though, so Sora just clumsily covered Riku with the blanket and situated them so that they were both on the bed. Basically, Riku was on the bed while Sora was half on the bed and half on Riku.

It all worked out.

Although tempted to kiss the lips, Sora placed an affectionate kiss on his brow. Curling his fingers in the teen's hair, Sora again fell into slumber.

...i realize it seems like Sora sleeps a lot, and he does. but he's sick, and when you're sick you don't wanna do anything, you know?

i'd like to have the next chapter up in 2 weeks again (i think that might become my schedule sort of thing now...). if i can, i'll get it out early to make up for this one taking so long

reviewers get... a Leon plushie! cuz i think he needs some love right now...