I'm sorry if I sound out of it but, a user by the name Bon Nuit Leone, made an account simply to review and alert this story...TOTALLY MADE MY DAY. So this Chapter goes out to him and the rest of my faithful readers. Now don't worry, I won't betch about the lack of anything anymore seeing as my boyfriend was right.......do this for fun and you'll see results, so here's Chapter 6 of Downpour!
Chapter VI: Ivory Twins I
It was Wednesday morning on the East side of Twilight Town. A chocolate haired boy kept stirring in his bed, while a certain girl kept knocking on his door and just wouldn't let up; he groaned in annoyance and put his head under the pillow.
"Sora!" Naminé said for the umpteenth time.
"Let me try" her brother said, picking the lock on the attic door and open it with a loud slam.
"Wah!" the boy on the bed cried, sitting up abruptly "Why'd you go and do that for!?"
"Good morning dear cousin" the girl giggled.
"Yeah…" Sora sighed, falling back on his bed.
"It's laundry day, so please, put your clothes in here and take them down into the laundry room, and don't worry, I already did mine, so only yours and Roxas' dirty underwear will be mixed in" she said, setting the laundry basket next to the door.
"Ok, I will…" he groaned, he hated being woken up like this.
He sat up again, his sleeveless black shirt hanging on one side, his hair looking ever more gravity defying than usual. He pulled the covers and put his feet on the floor "Ah, cold!" he expressed. He fixed his short red trunks and yawned, loudly, snapping a bone here and there as he stretched. The room was fairly big, especially since it's the attic; his bed was mounted on the left side, a fairly big and 'super comfy' bed as he put it. Various posters were hanged around the wooden walls, picture frames of snapshots here and there. A window on the back, with a small place to sit was there, a telescope neatly tucked nearby. To the right, another window, with a desk, a MickBook closed on it, and a camera and several equipment was next to it also. He put on his sandals, put his laundry in the basket and headed downstairs.
My name is Sora Kiyoshima; age 16…currently living in Twilight Town with my cousins, Roxas and Naminé due to me transferring to Twilight High this semester; I'm originally from the Destiny Islands, and I left for reasons better left for later.
He opened the door to the basement and turned the light on "Ah, too bright!" he said, blinking a lot.
He opened the washer and dunked the clothes in, good thing Naminé knew to put in only the colors beforehand, otherwise Roxas might end up with pink undies again. "Though his friend Axel and I found it hilarious…" he thought, smirking, as he poured in the detergent.
The house cat, a white feline, with browns spots on it's ears, right eye and tail named Ike, seemed to be meowing at something as Sora happily whistled while turning the knobs.
"What is it?" the boy asked, he knelt down and saw a black boot on the floor, as his gaze went up he saw a guy, asleep, dressed in black with a blindfold on his face and "…that is the weirdest hair color I've ever seen…" he breathed out, he then snapped back to reality "Hey…" he walked to the young man's side and knelt down, shaking him slowly "…are you ok? Wake up" he went on; the other shifted and looked at the other, still asleep, Sora couldn't help but blush, even with the blindfold he found the other handsome, and he seemed wet, probably from last night's storm.
"Hey Ike, go get Naminé" he told the cat, who's right ear twitched and it quickly scampered on upstairs.
~o~
"I can see the headlines now 'Random guy breaks into house, slaughters 3 teenage kids inside and makes away with the cash and the cat' perfect! Just perfect!" Roxas was ranting, he was mad that Sora had brought this stranger upstairs, instead of tossing him out.
"He looked like he needed help!" Sora said to his defense "He has a blindfold, maybe he's blind…"
"So blind he crawled in through the basement window?" the male blonde asked, his right eyebrow raised.
"Well…"
"Would you stop it?" Naminé said suddenly, sitting beside the now not so sleeping young man on the couch "He's awake…"
The silver haired youth didn't know where he was, but he could tell there were three people there, two of them had this immense light emanating from them, but one felt familiar, he knew there was another, but, the light was dull and small.
"Where am I?" he asked.
"You're in the Twilight Town East suburbs, you're in the Takejima/Kiyoshima residence, and I'm Naminé Takejima" the girl said.
"Are you all right? Can you see? Do you need anything?" Sora asked quickly, concerned.
"That's my cousin Sora Kiyoshima, he's staying here for the school year"
"Sora…" the young man thought, looking his way.
"I'm Roxas, and I'm annoyed, what will Mom say when she sees him here?" he fumed.
"Probably something like: Let's feed him, bathe him and give him a room; Just like she did to you when she found you in the trash dear brother" Naminé smirked with sarcasm, while Sora laughed.
"Seriously Roxas, you have to chill out, you'll get gray hair way too soon if you don't…." Sora then blinked "I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything by that…" he told the silver haired, not gray haired youth.
"Why?" he asked.
"Your hair is kinda…gray-ish…" he admitted.
"It is?" he said, completely serious, it's been a while since he's even seen a mirror; the other's looked at each other, bewildered "…Maybe I should go, I'm intruding…" he was about to get up, when he felt a small hand on his gloved one, it was the blonde girl.
"You look like you're hungry and tired, why not stay?" she asked.
"No, really, it's no problem…" Riku avoided looking around, especially toward that light, to Sora, or else he might reconsider.
"I say he goes, who knows why he came here?" Roxas spat out.
"That's it" Naminé huffed "Sora will get you accommodated, while me and Roxas get breakfast going, afterwards we'll decide what to do, deal?" she asked, no one seemed to mind "Good" she smiled, Roxas sighed exasperated while being dragged by his sister into the kitchen.
"Come on" Sora said, offering his hand, surprisingly enough the other took hold of it, tightly yet gently, making the boy of chocolate hair blush "What's your name?" he asked.
"My…name?"
"Yeah, do you remember?" Sora asked, looking up at the other.
"…It's…been a while since I even thought about it…um…" thinking was giving him a migraine, so many memories were scattered, but he wanted to answer him "Riku…" he smiled back at the other "My name is Riku" Sora smiled back and chuckled.
"Nice to meet you Riku, I'm Sora" Riku nodded and they walked upstairs, Sora leading him there.
~o~
"Well…I don't think we have any clothes that can fit you…" Sora sighed, they had left the living room and went upstairs to a room called 'Clutter Galore' where old clothes and stuff for charity was stored "I'm practically a stick next to you, not to mention slightly smaller, so, my clothes are no good…"
"I don't think you're all that skinny, you seem to have running legs after all…" Riku said abruptly.
"H-How'd you know?" Sora blushed madly, kneeling down and covering his legs.
"The way you walked, it's soft yet firm…" the last words made the blush in Sora's face worsen.
"Um…are you blind by any chance?" he asked.
"I…no, not really…" he stuttered.
"Then, what's with the blindfold?" Sora pressed on.
"Oh…right…" Riku knew he'd have to take it off, but, he was reluctant to do so, if his eyes were still those of the dark, he'd have no choice but to leave; Sora saw Riku's reluctance so he opted to keep talking.
"Also…" he said, taking Riku out of his thoughts, and blurting out the first thing that came to mind "…are you wearing something under that coat? If you are then all we'd have to worry about is getting you new clothes" the thought of Riku being naked under there though sent his boy-hormones into a tizzy.
"I am actually…the coat is thick so I'm pretty dry…" he got up and unzipped the coat, then let it fall with a wet thud on the floor; he wore a sleeveless shirt, no neck, and black pants, Sora stared, a lot "What?" Riku asked.
"N-Nothing…" the brunet stuttered; Riku picked up his coat and took off his gloves and handed them to Sora.
"You know…I really don't want to be a burden…I'll probably only be a nuisance" Riku suddenly said, sitting down near a stack of boxes "I should leave…"
"Why? It's no problem at all" the other chuckled.
"You don't even know me…." Riku said sadly.
"That's true, but if you were a serial killer we'd be done in by now, right?" he smiled; Riku felt the shift of light whenever Sora smiled, he wished he could see it, just once.
"Hey…um…do you have a mirror around?" he asked shyly.
"Yup" Sora nodded, he got up and opened the door, the now shy silver haired boy followed, and the hall held at least a few doors, with another set of stairs that went to the attic, the bathroom was in front of the 'Clutter Galore' room.
Riku stood in front of the mirror, he gulped nervously, and he felt Sora waiting next to him at the door. He slowly touched the black piece of cloth and undid it at the back, then slowly removed it, his eyes still closed.
"Come on, you can do it" the other reassured.
Riku slowly opened his eyes and was slapped by the sudden colors, he lost his balance but Sora quickly held him in place, feeling the muscle under the thin shirt.
"Y-You all right?" Sora stuttered once more.
"Yeah…I just got a little dizzy…it's been too long since I actually used my own eyes…" Riku held on to Sora, then slowly opened them again, he looked at himself in the mirror, in awe on how much he's changed: Tall and toned, muscle was visible, his hair was very long, it almost went to his buttocks, his eyes though, he was breathless, a green color he'd never seen before, it shone very brightly.
"Wow…" Sora breathed out, taking the words out of Riku's mouth.
"W-What?" Riku now blushed this time, looking away.
"Your eyes…they're…um…hehe…" Sora chuckled, embarrassed, he still had his arm around Riku while he had his arm over his own shoulders; he felt drawn to those eyes.
Riku on the other hand was able to see Sora for the first time, spiky brown hair, tan skin, his arms slightly tone, his legs as well, he was as tall as his chest too "Where my heart is…" and what he truly liked about the boy was his blue eyes, those deep blue eyes that seemed to shine and he noticed those eyes getting closer.
"Sora…" Riku breathed out "Why is he getting so close? And…why does my body feel all warm?" he thought.
"Guys!" Naminé yelled from downstairs, making them jump out of their cozy situation "Food is ready"
"R-Right…f-food…um…" Sora stuttered "L-Let's go…" he walked to the hall first; Riku took his steps slowly, getting accustomed to the light.
"Hey…" Riku said, embarrassed at his situation, he never felt so weak and powerless, but, the other boy made an effort to make him feel welcome, why waste it?
"Yeah?" Sora looked back "Oh…" he smirked, letting Riku use his shoulder as a kind of cane, though Riku opted to take his hand for support; Sora froze and looked onward while Riku said: "Ready?" the other nodded and they walked slowly downstairs.
~o~
Sora walked into the kitchen, which had a table in the middle, cabinets around the back and the refrigerator to the right, the stove to the left of the cabinets. On the table though he saw eggs, bacon, juice, toast and waffles all on the counter.
"Whoah!" Sora expressed with a wide grin "You guys went all out!"
"Well…I'm starving…" Roxas said, taking out another set of waffles from the toaster.
"And we have a guest…" Naminé added, pouring the last glass of juice "Sit" she said, and all four of them did.
Riku felt lost, all he saw was a yellow goopy thing, a sort of red crispy thing, waffles he recognized though, but still, he didn't even know where to start.
"What?" Roxas began, his mouth fool "Never saw a 'decent' breakfast before?"
"Roxas! That's rude! You know Axel being gone doesn't give you the right to be rude to people on a daily basis!" the girl scolded.
"Mind your own business…" he said, munching on a waffle drenched in syrup.
"Anyway…" Sora cut in "Do you recognize anything?" he asked.
"Not really…except for the waffles…but…um…" Riku admitted, feeling dumb.
"Just give it a try" the boy next to him urged him on, and he did, he took a piece of each food in front of him and immediately his taste buds screamed back to life; a life of stale bread and water wasn't a good diet, if it weren't for the constant pumping of chemicals and nutrients given by Hojo we wouldn't look like he did.
"This is really good" he said with a mouth full, Sora and Naminé laughed from the child-like antic of such an older looking boy, while Roxas was thinking to himself.
~o~
After breakfast, Riku offered to at least clean the dishes and Sora offered to help him, with a soapy outcome afterwards.
"I told you not to challenge me…" Riku said with a smirk.
"…Mean…" Sora stated while a sponge sat on his head, dripping with soap; he dropped it back into the sink and grabbed the dry towel for his head.
"You know…" Riku said, leaning on the counter.
"What?" Sora asked, slightly annoyed.
"…You still haven't given me a real reason why you're letting me stay…this is too good to be true, y'know?" Sora blinked.
"What is?" he asked.
"Being taken in like this, though your cousin proved that not everybody is welcoming…you feeding me and being friendly; I'm a total stranger and you treat me like family…" though in his heart, Riku felt joy, he was happy he found some people he could hopefully call friends, especially Sora.
"Well…where I come from we always offer our hospitality to people visiting, it's customary back at the Islands"
"Islands?" the boy of green eyes asked.
"I'm from Destiny Islands originally"
"Desti-…ny…" Riku groaned, his right eye began to sting, a memory had suddenly come and gone, he briefly saw a beach with white sand, palm trees, it felt so familiar; Sora looked at him with concern, he slowly put his hand near Riku's eye making him flinch.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"Y-Yeah…thanks…" Riku smiled, he put one of his hands over Sora's, it felt warm to him, and it was kind of small too "…really…" Sora nodded shyly, though, Riku's hand felt a little cold to him, and he felt a need to warm it up though. They looked at each other's eyes warmly, Riku felt a familiarity towards Sora, and the other tried to find answer to the enigma that was Riku.
"I'm home!" a woman's voice said from the front door, making the two boys flinch and walk away from each other, blushing "Hello Sora, you're up early" smiled a woman of blonde hair, tied in a bun on the back, two pieces of hair were left on the front and she had the same blue eyes as the three children.
"Hi Auntie Quistis!" Sora smiled goofily.
"And who's this?" she asked, putting down a large stack of papers on the table.
"This is Riku…we…um…" Sora tried to think of something to make up, but, one: she knows when he's lying and two: "We found him passed out in the basement…" Roxas beat him to it.
"Roxas!" Sora whined.
"Did we now?" she asked, taking out a bottle of water from the refrigerator "Well, Riku, what were you doing in my basement?" she asked, coy but serious.
"….It was raining last night and I needed a place to stay, I don't really live anywhere nearby and your basement window was the only thing open so…" that was partially true, never-mind the light show he saw from the attic.
"I see…" she smirked, as she always did when she was thinking "…Are you armed?"
"Um…" he kinda flinched at that, he had a sword that he could summon at any time and a Guardian shadow at his command; what do you say to a question like that? Quistis giggled.
"No need to be so scared, I don't bite, look, I won't question you any further, you seem like an intelligent young man, and you apparently have my daughter and my nephew on your side…"
"Are you seriously considering letting him stay?" Roxas asked, dead-paned, his mother nodded "Why?!"
"Let's see: You're all still alive, he looks tired, he says he has nowhere to go and he cleaned the dishes, something you, my dear son, I have to fight to get you to do so" she smiled.
"I just love yours and Naminé's logic…and how do you know she's 'on his side'?"
"Easy, she's not here telling me to kick him out" she put her glasses on the table as well, and her sighed "Roxas, being hospitable isn't a bad thing, true, it's very odd the way he popped in out of nowhere, and that he looks slightly suspicious, but, if your sister, which I trust with practically the whole house, says it's all right, then I don't mind" "Besides, I'm tired as hell, I don't feel like fighting" the woman thought.
"Fine…" he shrugged, grabbing his wallet from the table near the door "I'm going out…" he said, closing the door in a huff.
"He's still pretty mad about Axel leaving without saying a word, right?" she asked.
"Yup" Sora nodded.
"So, Riku is it?" he nodded "Do you go to school?" the woman asked.
"Not really no…" he admitted.
"Aunt Quistis is a middle-school teacher; she's the best though I hope she never comes to high school…"
"Why?" Riku quirked an eyebrow at this.
"There are rumors of me being exceptional in my grading and test handling…" she smirked.
"She's also a discipline-a-holic" Naminé added as she came downstairs, her sketchpad in hand "I know it's a little weird, but you can grill him all you want later, when you've slept, all right?" the girl told her mother, who nodded, sitting down and going through the exams she had.
Riku smiled, he hadn't felt normal for the past three years, soon to be four, and yet, here he was, though as strange as the circumstances are, with a family of four, had just eaten a decently prepared meal, and had made a friend, all in one day. But he felt nervousness all the while: Hojo is probably still looking, his darkness is still there, how would they react if they found out the terrible demon he truly is?
"Riku…" the young blonde girl said "…could you come with me for a minute?" she asked.
"Uh…sure…" he glanced at Sora, who simply nodded and left the kitchen with the girl, towards the living room.
~o~
"What is it?" the boy asked.
"I'd like you to take a look at something…" she said, opening her sketchpad, flipping through a few pictures "…Here…" she handed it to him.
Riku's eye went wide in shock, how did she know? It was a head shot of the true Specimen 0, a man of terrible dark power that he now had, and there he was, in a sketchpad of a girl he has never met.
"I drew it last night…images come to me while I sleep…this appeared to me probably around the time you came into the house…he's…well…the 'everything' to your horror isn't he?"
"Not 'everything'…just the start…" he sighed "How? And moreover why would you show this to me?"
"I have an ability…when people dream, their true feelings and thoughts, their subconscious is revealed, and I have the power to pick up on that, all the emotions and memory people go through while sleeping, I see them, and I am compelled to draw some thing, whatever it is and…well…you had a dream last night, correct?"
"More like a nightmare…" Riku looked away, he felt saddened, and now that she knew about him, he would probably have to leave "I guess I'll…"
"Oh no! You don't have to go…" she giggled, slightly amused that her intent was taken the wrong way "I just wanted to tell you that you at least have someone who knows about you, I do not know the severity, but I know plenty, about your power and such…and if anything I'd like to tell you that, the light you're carrying, don't let it go, it's a precious thing to have even if…"
"You don't have that much?" he told her, her eyes went wide too, but then calmed in understanding, he could 'see' the light in people.
"Yes, that's right…it might have to do with the reason I draw, but, I am not truly sure…we're unique and odd people you and I, but, I'm happy, hopefully you can be that way one day again soon…" she smiled.
"Thanks, Naminé…" Riku sighed, relieved, but he still felt uneasy; things like this don't last forever, and Sora is so innocent…he'd probably be disgusted by him.
"Well, from what Sora tells me…" Quistis cut in, coming into the room, said boy next to him "…You don't have many clothes, do you Riku?"
"No ma'am…"
"Well, I'm sending Sora out for some errands, if you'd like you can go with him and pick out some things, you can also stay as long as you like, but, I have a few rules…" Riku nodded in understanding, feeling joy mixed with the uneasy feeling "…You must help out around the house; curfew is at 9pm, no drugs, no alcohol, no wild parties…" Sora chuckled at that "…and most important, I don't bite, so if you need anything, ask, all right?"
"Right…" he nodded; the woman smiled and returned to the papers she has to grade.
"Well, I'll go change and we'll leave, all right?" Sora said.
"Sure" he answered as Sora ran upstairs.
"Shopping…errands…a motherly rant…" Riku smiled, he has no memory of his own family, being orphaned since he was 5 years old, but the feeling was familiar, and he loved it, only, if the feeling of dread would leave, everything would be perfect.
A/N: The hero of the Keyblade likes reviews, don't you? I sure do =]