"So your mom actually let you out of the house for school." Riku fell into step alongside Sora, their mad race up the block forgotten. "For a while there I didn't think she was going to. How did you get her to change her mind about homeschooling?"

Sora twined his fingers behind his head, and shrugged. "I didn't. She just decided one day that school was a better idea." He dropped his hands back to his sides. His new shirt, a white button down with DIHS emblazoned on the breast pocket, was too tight and restrictive for that. He shrugged again, this time trying to shift it on his shoulders, but the shirt stuck. It was starched, and Sora was beginning to dread having to wear a stiff, bright shirt every day. How could you climb trees or spar with your friends in something like that?

"I hate this shirt," he declared a few minutes later, breaking the comfortable silence. Even after two years apart, he and Riku had still had the same easy camaraderie as before they had left, and Sora reveled in it. It had only strengthened in the five months since their return.

"Don't tuck it in, then, idiot," Riku said. Sora glanced over at his friend, eyebrows scrunched. "Seriously. Nobody wears it tucked in." Riku lifted up the bottom of his matching white shirt, as if to reinforce it.

"You're not everybody, Riku," Sora retorted. "Just cause you don't want to doesn't mean everybody else is going to."

Riku brought one hand up and whapped the back of Sora's head. "I asked Kairi. Which I'm guessing didn't even occur to you, did it?"

Sora muttered to himself, but gave in and pulled the shirt out of his waistband. It didn't alleviate the annoyance of not being able to stretch his shoulders fully, but at least it gave him a bit more of a range of motion. "Did you get your schedule yet?"

Riku shook his head. "If you remember, though knowing you, you probably don't, it's your fault neither of us have them."

"My fault, how is it my fault? You're the one who decided it would be fun to sneak out! It's not my fault we got caught!"

Riku merely grinned, and Sora huffed and crossed his arms. They spent the rest of the short walk to school kicking each other and shoving, but it was all in good spirits. They calmed themselves when they came in sight of the school steps, where Sora spotted Kairi and Selphie chatting.

"Race to the stairs?" Sora inquired. Riku looked down at him, and Sora knew him well enough to launch himself forward at the same time that Riku tried to trip him. Sora bolted up the front walk, and Riku chased after him, complaining the entire time. Sora skidded to a stop next to Kairi, his characteristic grin plastered on his face. "Hey, Kairi!"

Kairi giggled and rolled her eyes, and waved at Riku, who had slowed to a sedate walk. "Morning Riku, morning Sora!"

"HI!" Selphie threw her arms around Sora, pinning his arms to his side, and then just as quickly let go and did the same to Riku. He'd taken that as advance warning and lifted his arms up to return the hug. "How are you? Do you have your schedules? Can I see them?"

Kairi laughed, and she set a foot on the front steps. "I'll show you where to pick up your schedules."

Selphie latched onto Sora's arm, and proceeded to start chatting about- something or other. Sora was a little bit too distracted by looking around, taking in sights and people he hadn't seen in two and a half years to really pay attention to her rambling, but Riku stepped in neatly and did a decent job of keeping her entertained.

A few minutes later, after retrieving their schedules and finding their first period classrooms to drop off their stuff, Kairi led them around the school and began an impromptu tour. She pointed out classrooms, faculty areas, places to avoid if you were skipping class (Sora wasn't too sure why Kairi of all people would know that, but she merely giggled and refused to answer his question), and the best place to get food in the cafeteria.

"Any questions?" she asked, bouncing. She, Riku, and Sora stood in the middle of the courtyard in front of the Sports building, and while Sora now recognized his class's president and the best copse of palm trees for climbing, he was still no closer to being able to navigate the large school campus on his own. "Uh…"

"It would be better to not bother, Kairi, it's going in one ear and out the other," Riku said. Sora narrowed his eyes at the silver haired boy, but was prevented from retaliating by the arrival of a trio of senior boys.

"Would you look at this. It's the crybaby and his mommy," the one in the middle said. Sora recognized him immediately- his name was Toru, and he was probably the single most annoying person Sora had ever had the misfortune of dealing with, up to and including Pete. Pete was an honest bully; Toru got away with his assholery on the grounds that it was generally Sora who actually threw the first punch.

Sora rolled his eyes, and turned away from the black-haired boy. "Gee, and here I thought we'd all grown up. Still using kid insults?"

Kairi's gasp was more than enough warning, and Sora jumped to the side, his keyblade instinctively materializing in his hand, as he swung to meet his attacker head-on.

Sora's blade stopped inches from Toru's face, but it wasn't him who'd stopped it. Roxas stood next to Kairi, one of his keyblades blocking Sora's from beating the bully senseless.

"You might want to work on your kneejerk reactions a bit," Roxas commented coldly. Toru stared in horror at both the keyblades and the sudden appearance of a blonde boy from thin air, but to his credit he stiffened up and stuck out his chin. Sora lowered his keyblade, then let it disappear. He nodded grudgingly, already aware that his reactions, honed for attack from Heartless, weren't generally appropriate or useful in his homeworld. Roxas let his own blade disappear, then smiled brightly at Kairi and let himself fall back into Sora.

"What the fuck was that?" Toru questioned.

Sora narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Next time, he won't be so helpful. Leave us alone, please."

To Sora's relief, Roxas waited for the boys to hurry back into the crowds before appearing, albeit not in a solid form and barely there enough to see. "What makes you think I'm not going to prevent you from accidentally hurting somebody?"

"Clearly you've never dealt with bullies," Sora said.

"Clearly you've never met Seifer," Roxas retorted. "Or would you call him a picnic in the park?"

"Seifer's the loud one, right?" Sora asked.

Kairi shoved herself between the two of them. "Hey, since Sora and I have the same first period, do you and Naminè want to hang out for a bit?"

Naminè responded by materializing, and she and Roxas wandered a little bit off, both helpfully clad in the Destiny Island High School uniform. With the exception of Toru, who was staring at them again, nobody would think twice about two new students.

It almost felt like he was back adventuring with Donald and Goofy, in places where nobody thought twice about his keyblade, or him lighting bonfires with his magic, or, say, Roxas popping up when he and Kairi were close. It was difficult for him. He was home, definitely, and he would never say otherwise, but it was hard being in a world where he couldn't do as he'd grown used to in his two years abroad.

At least Riku understood that. He'd gotten in trouble a few times, but he was far better at suppressing his learned instincts than Sora.

"This is going to be a difficult year," Sora said with a sigh. Riku, in a mildly uncharacteristic show of compassion, patted him on the head. "Thanks, Riku."

"Anytime."

-

Sora dropped his head to the cafeteria table with a solid thunk and a muffled groan. Around him, students were chatting (or squealing unnaturally loudly) and making a complete din.

"That good?" Riku asked, his own expression tight and annoyed. "Is it just me, or has all the noise been bothering you too?"

Sora grumbled in response. Riku leaned forward and rested his chin in one hand, neck stiff. "I keep thinking something is going to attack with all the girls screaming."

"I bet your mom would let you go home-" Kairi began, but she let it drop as both Sora and Riku glared at her. "Fine, let yourselves suffer." She prodded at her salad, but she was the only one eating. Sora let his head fall back to the table, and Riku just stared around the cafeteria, taking in faces neither of them had seen in two and a half years. "Have you seen Tidus or Selphie?"

"Tidus is in the Sports building."

"He speaks!" Riku said. Sora raised his head to glare at Riku, but the expression lasted only moments before Sora let it go. "That bad, huh?"

"We should have spent more time in public places," Sora said, his voice strained. "I almost pulled the keyblade on a few more people for startling me."

"We can go hang out at the mall this weekend," Kairi offered. She held out a carrot from her salad to Sora and the boy stuck it in his mouth. "Chew, Sora."

Sora bit down with a satisfying crunch, and Riku clapped quietly. Sora stuck his tongue out at the boy, and they commenced a small mock-battle with several more of Kairi's carrots.

-

A/N: I know this chapter is nothing spectacular, but I wanted to get it up before I forget about it. Remember- I can only get better if you guys tell me what's wrong.

Happy reading-
Nyeerg