Without a Sound

Disclaimer: fanFICTION

So I got 12 reviews in a couple of days… that's pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Here's another chapter.

Chapter 33

First period went by quickly and after checking in with Mr. Saïx, I went back up to Leon's classroom for calculus.

I moved to sit at his desk and I pulled out my notebook. I was ready to learn something new today.

I was about to grab my pencil when Leon took my hand.

'Sora… I'm sorry but I won't be able to concentrate until you tell me what happened this morning to make you cry so much.' Leon looked at me. He was deadly serious.

I know I shouldn't have been surprised by his concern, but I was anyway. Sometimes Leon's soft side caught me off guard.

'It's really nothing… I just got yelled at by the basketball team captain.' I signed, hoping that maybe he would drop the subject.

'Why did he yell at you?' he asked.

I let out a huff. 'It's really nothing… I just want to learn some calculus, please…' I signed desperately.

'Please Sora, humor me for five minutes.' Leon said without signing.

I sighed. 'He thought that I was underestimating basketball… he thought I was giving up when I couldn't get something after the first two tries. But I wasn't! I was at a loss for a second… I needed time to think! I had gotten so comfortable with my system that I needed some time to erase it. He said that my form was too rigid… I can understand that… I just needed more time to think and he thought that I was giving up. He pushed me down… I didn't even know he was mad to begin with! Then out of the blue he starts yelling at me… telling me that I wasn't putting any effort into basketball and that I should quit the team and go play tic-tac-toe. I do NOT quit! And I won't settle for tic-tac-toe either! I'm better than that! I was so mad… but another side of me felt guilty for making him think that way… which only made me angrier. I ended up crying for a while… I hate it when people yell at me… I mean, it's not like I can hear it… but faces are threatening enough.' I signed in a rant.

'Well at least they were tears of anger. I was afraid I was going to have to kick someone's ass.' Leon said.

I smiled. 'Yeah… I'll just have to prove him wrong.' I signed.

Leon kissed my forehead. 'Exactly.'

After a nice lesson on the 'Chain Rule,' my watch vibrated and class was over.

I ate my lunch and spent the rest of my lunchtime in the weight room training.

This was the beginning of my rigorous training regime.

The next day, I asked Coach Yuffie about dieting.

And for the next two weeks, I was on that diet. I took morning jogs with Pluto, created different variations of my form during morning practice, I ran on the treadmill during lunch, practiced dribbling and defense with Rude and Zell during basketball practice, then worked on offense with Roxas after school at the park a few blocks from our house.

When am I doing my homework? I do it after all the practicing. Sometimes it takes me all night.

When do I sleep? … in study hall… and unfortunately, in Leon's Algebra class before calculus.

I'm pretty sure Leon was angry with me. I'm not supposed to sleep in class… but I get so tired sometimes.

He knows I'm trying really hard… but he can't let me sleep in his class. There were three more days to the inter-ranking tournament and I wanted to be ready. I wanted to show everyone that I was a hard worker and that I would never underestimate basketball.

When my watch signified that it was lunchtime. I moved to my locker and pulled out my lunch. I walked to the gym, sat at the bleachers, and ate.

My lunch consisted of three bananas, a boiled egg, bread, two bottles of milk, and a granola bar. It really wasn't that bad or anything. And I've gained ten pounds of muscle mass recently. I'm very proud of that.

'Training again Sora? Come on! You haven't had lunch with the team in a week! You look great and we miss you!' Zell signed.

I shook my head. 'After the inter-ranking tournament, right now, I need to train as much as I can if I want to be a regular.' I signed back.

'Dude… you're gonna crash. Resting is a really important part of training too.' Zell signed.

'I know. But if I don't train, I will feel restless.' I replied. 'I promise I will eat with you again next week. I miss you guys too.' I signed with a pout.

'I really admire your determination but be careful okay?' Zell signed before leaving.

I smiled. I was lucky to have friends like Zell and the rest of the team. I finished my lunch and jogged on the treadmill.

-Without a Sound-

When I got home from practice, I ate dinner and decided to do my homework before getting to more practice.

When I finally finished my homework it was around nine thirty. I moved to Roxas' room and he shook his head the minute I entered the room.

'Roxas!' I signed. 'Please! I need someone to be the opposing team. I promise, I'll only go for an hour.' I pleaded with my hands.

'Sora… you're training too hard! You must be tired! I don't want to encourage this kind of work ethic because it's detrimental to your health!' Roxas seemed to yell.

'Please Roxas. I'll go without you if I have to but it would be great if you came.' I signed.

Roxas seemed to grumble before getting up and putting on his shoes. I smiled and gave him a hug.

'Thanks.' I signed.

Roxas smiled but he seemed slightly troubled. I frowned a little.

'Are mom and dad still awake?' Roxas signed.

I shook my head. 'You know they always hit the sack around nine.' I signed with a snort.

Roxas nodded and we headed out towards the park. It wasn't too dark outside due to the streetlights. No one but Roxas and I were at the park when we arrived. But that's usually how it was.

I pulled my basketball from my bag and passed it to him. He passed it back to me and I tried to shoot the ball from where it was. Roxas moved towards me in order to stop me from shooting.

With a push upwards the ball moved towards the goal. It hit the rim but bounced off. I huffed and ran off to retrieve it. Roxas took the ball from me and started to dribble. I managed to take the ball from him and I ran over for a layup. Roxas jumped up to stop me, which was successful and I fell to the ground.

'Sorry. That was a foul.' Roxas signed and I nodded.

I got up and dusted myself off. I took the ball and went to the free throw line. I shot the ball twice; both went in the hoop with ease.

Roxas smiled. 'Great.'

I nodded and he handed me the ball. I smiled and moved to the half court line. I dribbled a little to the left and set myself up to shoot. My movements were smooth and I tried my hardest not to seem predictable.

Roxas moved to stop me but I shot the ball. This time, I made it in. I smiled and jumped around happily.

'That was awesome Sora! I see your practicing paid off.' Roxas signed.

'I know I still have a long way to go.' I replied and switched places with Roxas.

I bent my knees and got ready to hustle, but suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my head. With a wince, I shook it off and started to run after Roxas. I tried to take the ball from him but he quickly moved it away. With a smirk I faked left and when he moved the ball instinctively to the right, I grabbed it and started to dribble it back to the three-point line.

I turned towards the goal and a sudden dizziness took over me. I fell to the ground and the last thing I saw was Roxas' frightened face fade into darkness…

-Without a Sound-

Roxas

"Sora!" I yelled in panic. One minute we're playing basketball and then the next minute Sora is on the ground, passed out.

I took a breath to calm down. I checked to see if Sora had any injuries, if he was bleeding at all.

Luckily he wasn't… and it was safe to say he probably passed out from exhaustion. I frowned when I realized I didn't take my phone. I checked Sora's pockets and found his phone. I didn't want to drag Sora home because I might injure him in the process.

I scrolled through Sora's list of contacts. I could call Mom and Dad but they would probably freak out and send Sora to the hospital. I know Sora wouldn't be happy about that so I skipped over their numbers.

Then it hit me. Mr. Leonhart lives around here… and he might still be awake.

I looked for his number, which was under Leon *heart.* I would have giggled at the sight if I wasn't so worried about Sora.

I called the number and waited for someone to pick up.

"Who is this and why do you have Sora's phone?" Mr. Leonhart's voice sounded through the phone.

"Mr. Leonhart? This is Roxas, Sora's brother." I said my voice a little shaky with panic.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Leonhart seemed to hear the worry in my voice.

"Sora and I were playing basketball… then suddenly Sora is on the ground and he wont wake up." I tried my hardest not to freak out at my own sentence.

"Where are you?" Mr. Leonhart asked.

"We're in the park on the corner of Baker Street." I said.

"I'll be there in a minute." Mr. Leonhart said.

"D-do you think h-he needs to go to the doctor?" I asked and grabbed Sora's hand.

I jumped when there was a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Mr. Leonhart. I hung up the phone.

"Calm down." He said and put a hand to Sora's head. Then he checked his pulse and made sure he was breathing normally. Mr. Leonhart seemed to sigh in relief.

"He passed out from exhaustion. He just needs to sleep. Come with me." He said.

I nodded and I watched him lift Sora into his arms. I quickly gathered our stuff and followed after Mr. Leonhart.

I didn't realize his house was literally a half a block from the park. We entered his house and he placed Sora on the sofa.

"Thank you, Mr. Leonhart." I said with a sigh of relief.

"Call me Leon." He said.

I nodded. "I knew Sora was working too hard… I had a terrible feeling about this… and to think if I didn't go with him… if I had decided to s-stay home…" I shook my head to try to shake the fear from the thought.

"Well, you went with him didn't you?" Leon said.

I nodded.

"Well then the other scenario is irrelevant and isn't worth dwelling upon." Leon said.

I nodded again. "You're right."

"I'm just happy this happened sooner than later. If he had passed out just before the inter-ranking tournament, he would have been devastated." Leon said.

"I don't know how he does it all… He keeps his grades up, trains all the time, and eats nothing but bananas, eggs, and bread everyday! It's ridiculous! Sora gained ten pounds of muscle mass for this fucking tournament…" I ran a hand though my hair… I knew I was venting on Leon but I couldn't help it… all of my worries and concerns came right out.

"I understand where you're coming from… but Sora has to learn healthy training on his own. Even if it means dangerous consequences." Leon said. "This way… something like this will be prevented in the future."

"But what if-"

"You know Sora." Leon said. "He wouldn't do it again. He has at least that much common sense."

I nodded again.

"You two are so much alike it's almost confusing. Both of you worry like crazy and both of you act the same way in a panic." Leon said with a small smile.

I smiled. "Well, we are twins…" I said and looked at Sora's sleeping form.

"I would imagine that Sora would sound like you too." Leon said and brushed the hair from Sora's face.

"He did… I mean, he never really spoke words but it was the same timbre as mine." I said.

Leon looked to me.

"I suppose I should take you home. It would probably scare the daylights out of your parents to find that neither of their kids are in the house tomorrow morning." Leon said.

I nodded. "Sora should probably stay home tomorrow… but I'll explain everything to my parents tomorrow morning. We'll probably pick him up tomorrow too." I said.

Leon moved to the coffee table and scribbled something on a piece of paper. "Here's my number… if you ever have a crisis, don't be afraid to call me." Leon said.

"Thank you so much." I said. I was really happy Sora had someone like Leon to take care of him. I felt reassured that Sora had found the right person.

"Let's go." Leon said and I followed him to his motorcycle.

Then, I was on my way home.

A/N: It's a little short but REVIEW!