Sora, sheet tangled and all, ended up falling onto the floor when he woke up with a start. His mind was hazy, but he was oriented enough to know where he was and how he ended up in his current situation. The room was dark, smelled stale and old, and very dusty judging by how clearly he could see the small particles through the little lighting provided by the small window. There was no one else in the room, so he decided to get up and wander around. Crates covered the walls, but he wasn't curious enough to look through them. He saw a light coming from the front of the room, so he thought he might as well make his way back to the top deck.

However, he regretted it the moment his eyes were exposed to the first few rays of the sun, making Sora use the backs of his hands to wipe away the few tears that pooled over his eyes, as well as to placate the stinging. With his eyesight currently occupied, he blindly stumbled about until he felt himself collide with a firm, and very sturdy structure. Keeping his eyes shut, he reached his hands out and flailed them around; looking to get a feel just so he could figure out exactly what it was that blocked his pathway. He was hoping for it to be just a pole, but that small thought flew out the window when he felt someone grab his wrists. His eyes flew open to see the silver haired pirate glaring daggers at him.

"What do you think you're doing runt?" Sora jumped back and toppled over a rope, making Riku chuckle at his clumsiness. "You're so pathetic."

"I am not pathetic! The only pathetic one here is you!" The brunette slapped his hands over his mouth knowing he just might have said a bit too much.

"The kid's got guts, I'll give him that." Sora looked behind him to find a blue-haired short man, shorter than his self, watching the scene with an amused expression.

"Really? I thought he threw those up yesterday," retorted Riku, chuckling along with his fellow pirates. They were all ganging up on Sora, and he didn't particularly like that too much. He threw daggers at the silver haired pirate.

"Go on and tell me then, why am I so pathetic?" Again, the pirates chuckled.

Sora's temper started to rise, and to save face, pulled himself back up on his feet. He dusted himself off and smiled. Riku was taken aback at the action. The boy just smiled at him after they had made fun of him, huh?

"Because you have to pick on a clumsy dork like me to make yourself feel better about yourself. I hope it helps. I mean, if I were as stupid as you, I'd probably take my anger out on innocent people too." It was a good thing that the small brunet had a lithe physique, otherwise he would have been doomed from the moment that Riku pounced on the boy.

It was a game of cat and mouse for who knows how long. The rest of the crew was in hysterics, not able to hold in their laughter as they watched Riku relentlessly chase the brunet around the ship. Unfortunately for Riku who was more about brute strength, the small brunet was much quicker than he.

"I swear when I get my hands on you," Riku threatened.

"All brawn and no brain," Sora taunted with a chuckle, "you mean IF you get your hands on me, right?"

Riku looked up at the sky. "Give me the strength not to kill him."

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The dialogue Riku says is from the movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. In case anyone was wondering.

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"I just need to talk to the captain of your crew, please just point me into his direction, if you'd be so kind." The short blonde was trying to push his way through the saloon while all the pirates were drinking and wrestling. His fellow town folk filled the other half of the place, intent on drinking their sorrow away. A lot of the men and women lost damn near everything.

Roxas tried his hardest to push and shove through the mobs of people, but his attempts turned out futile when he saw he wasn't getting any closer to the bar. When he thought all hope was lost, he ran into the bald man that he saw earlier that evening.

"You!" The man stared down at Roxas, and let out a grunt while waiting for the blonde to continue. "Are you the captain?"

"Nah kid, he's over there at the bar." He pointed to the shorter red headed man, head hung low as if he was avoiding someone. Roxas pushed his way as hard as he could through the drunken crowds, and when he got to the bar, he slumped down onto a stool right next to the red head.

The captain let out a chuckle when he saw the blonde kid get a pint.

"Are you even old enough to drink kid?"

"You can have it if you answer a few questions." The red head looked like he was contemplating something, but took the pint and held out his left hand to shake Roxas's.

"I'm Reno, Captain of the Highwind Two!" Reno held up two fingers.

"You…named your ship Highwind Two?" Roxas asked.

"Well, it's our second ship. Axel liked Highwind. I don't know, ask him." The blonde could tell the pirate was already severely intoxicated, and that wasn't going to do him any good.

Roxas got up and was ready to leave until he saw the other redhead, who he assumed to be Axel, plop down on the seat next to him. He couldn't help but stare at the tattoos beneath the man's eyes, as well as those stunning green eyes that for some odd reason made the blonde feel so transparent.

"See something that catches your interest blondie?"

"Your tattoos," the red head cocked his head to the side, "are they triangles or tear drops?" Roxas knew there was a difference between the two.

"They're triangles." He chuckled. The blonde nodded in response.

Axel sipped on his pint while Roxas was lost in thought. He sat on the stool, with his left arm propped up on the bar and his hand fisted against his cheek, holding his face in place. His eyes were staring at the silver plaque that resided on the shelf behind the bar, but he wasn't really concentrating on it.

Before he walked over to the bar, the redhead had seen Roxas talking to Reno, or at least trying to talk to him, so he guessed it was right for him to butt in on the conversation. Reno's business was his business, and even though it seemed highly unequal, he usually preferred keeping the shorter red head out of his own personal affairs. The kid looked like he was in deep thought, and while he really didn't want to interrupt the kid's musings, Axel wanted to know what the blonde wanted with his older brother.

"I'm Axel."

Roxas shook his head and looked over at the man who had his left hand reaching out, awaiting a handshake much like the captain himself had done before. The blonde took the red haired man's hand in his own, and shook it slowly.

"Roxas," he replied.

"So, what was it you were talking to my brother about?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

Roxas sighed. He knew if he didn't ask someone that he'd never get onto that ship, and who better to ask than the brother of the captain? He seemed nice enough anyway.

"My brother was taken by the pirates that pillaged the city. I just needed a way to the next town to see if anyone has heard anything about these pirates, or if they've seen my brother."

A thought struck the red haired pirate's mind at the familiarity of it all. Pirates that pillaged entire cities and made it a habit to kidnap helpless innocents… oh yeah, Axel knew exactly who it was.

He looked back at the boy and saw how lost and scared he was. The kid must have really loved his brother. Not just anyone would risk their lives on an expedition searching for the people they cared about, except those who were foolishly crazy.

"You know, I think we just might be able to help you out kid." The red head smirked at Roxas. He had never seen a light shine brighter in anyone's eyes until he saw the excitement and relief in the blonde's in front of him. For a fleeting moment, he felt like a committing a good deed for the kid, even though the sentiment wouldn't last very long.

Still, the kid's desperation and seeming disregard for his own life puzzled him a bit. Either the blonde was a very devoted brother, or he was just plain crazy.

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Riku was bent over, one hand on the railing of the ship and the other clutching his chest as he deeply gasped for air. The brunet on the other hand was dancing around on the deck, spinning around with his arms stretched out at his sides, and looking up at the clouds while giggling like an idiot.

"You know, for an old pirate geezer, you put up a good fight," said the brunet playfully.

The pirate didn't even challenge him as he took a seat and laid back to stare up at the sky. All of the other pirates just laughed hysterically throughout their whole chase. They tried their best to cheer on their fellow pirate, but later began cheering for Sora when they saw that rooting for Riku was a lost cause.

Sora walked over, next to where Riku was laying and took a seat next to him. Riku glared up at Sora, but his glare softened and soon they both just burst into laughter.

"Yeah, and you put up a good chase."

"Well thank you!" Sora grinned at the compliment.

"At least you're not throwing up this time. I thought flying made you sick." The brunet's smile faltered and he began pouting. Riku just rolled his eyes.

"It's not that. I'm sort of…" he trailed off.

"Sort of?"

"Afraid of heights."

Riku was about to respond, but cut himself off at the last minute when he heard a loud grumble. The brunet stared at his stomach and immediately shushed it, letting out a sheepish laugh to dispel some of the awkward silence, while in turn, Riku gripped his bicep, lifted them both up off the floor, and dragged him towards the stairs.

"Where are we going?"asked the youngster.

"To feed that angry monster that's growling in your tummy."

"Riku! You made a joke!" the brunet clapped with excitement-and much effort seeing as one of his arms was in the man's grip- making the pirate roll his eyes for the second time that day.