A/N: All right, this entire chapter will be dedicated to... SORIKU! This side pairing has barely showed up, same with the Cleon and Zemyx... SORRY! But, I'll get to it, so have faith. By the way, this takes place during chapter 6, so yeah, that's why Axel and Roxas aren't there.

Disclaimer:

Sora: Heeeeyyyy~!

Me: *backs away * What?

Sora: I just wanted to say hi... *pouts *

Me: Awww, I'm sorry Sora, but you were really scary in that one disclaimer, that's why you're a gang leader.

Sora: It's kinda strange, I'm interested to see how that turns out.

Me: Wait, you're not going to help me?

Sora: ...maybe... maybe not

Riku: ARE YOU BEING MEAN TO SORA?!

Me: What? No!

Riku: You know, this is a nice story. It would be a shame if. Something. Happened. To. It.

Me: OKAY, I GET IT! I'll ADMIT, I DON'T OWN KH! *runs off crying *

Sora: …

SE: *high-fives Riku * Nice!

Chapter 7

SoRiku

"Sora... get up." Riku whispered, kicking the leg of Sora's chair. Xigbar gave him a weird look from his seat in the third row.

"Mmmh..." Sora moaned, not waking.

"Sora!" Riku whispered a little louder, trying to make him awaken.

"Boys!" Mr. Anderson barked at Riku causing him to snap his head up. "Sora... PAY ATTENTION!" he threw a paperback book from his desk which hit right on the top of Sora's head.

"Mmh- wha?" Sora picked his head up from his desk and looked at Mr. Anderson quizzically.

"Listen." Mr. Anderson growled, narrowing his eyes. Sora blushed and nodded mostly to himself, as Mr. Anderson turned away. Riku sighed and rubbed Sora's back knowingly. Mr Anderson continued, "Now for homework, make sure you finish that essay..."

~AFTER CLASS~

"Riku, can't we just skip class? School's boring..." Sora whined as Riku guided him down the densely packed hall.

"Maybe so, but you'll thank me one day for not allowing you to go off whenever you wanted to." Riku replied coolly.

Sora groaned, yet he continued to trod down the hall. "You know, I haven't seen Axel or Roxas here today..." Sora said after a while, "Perhaps, they are together...?"

"It's not our place to be involved." Riku replied pulling Sora into the aquatic sciences classroom.

"Aw, Riku, you're no fun." Sora giggled and sat down in the nearest seat, Riku beside him.

"Hey guys!" Demyx said, waltzing into the room.

"You're late. I was about to leave." one of the students said.

Demyx scratched the back of his head and laughed, "I guess I'm a really bad role model aren't I?"

Sora grinned, already anticipating the class.

~AT LUNCH~

"Riku, I think it would be cool to be friends with Roxas and Axel, they were all alone the other day." Sora said suddenly interjected in the middle of Riku's speech about proper health.

"I don't think they would welcome us." Riku replied, feeling slightly annoyed at being interrupted.

"But... I always invited Roxas to eat with us... he always declined. I want to try to be friends with him, why is he so resistant to that?" Sora pouted a little, causing Riku's former irritation to vanish.

"Babe, didn't you know?" Riku asked gently.

"No, Riku, what is it?"

"...Namine's group bullies him you know." Riku replied. Even though they were technically all the same group, Riku Sora, and Kairi were more of their own group. That is, until Kairi became best friends with Namine, then it was just Sora and Roxas.

"They... bully him?"

"Very cruelly, I'd say." Sora's eyes began to fill with crystal tears, threatening to spill over. "Babe," Riku began, "I thought you knew, everyone else in the school does practically."

"I didn't... oh god, all those times I asked him to eat lunch with us... he must have seen them as a threat! Oh no!" Sora held his head in his hands. Riku sighed and rubbed comforting circles in his back, calming him.

"It's okay... don't worry." Riku whispered, at a loss of what to do.

"I've got it!" Sora exclaimed suddenly, swinging his head up.

"Um, what is it babe?"

"I'll explain it to them, and maybe then, we can be friends!" Sora looked so excited by the idea, Riku couldn't bear to discourage him.

"We'll see." Riku finally replied. Sora smiled blindingly and started a totally different conversation.

"Are you coming over today?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Riku replied, sipping his bottled water.

"Why wouldn't you?"

"...My dad might get upset." Riku said quietly.

"Sephiroth will be fine, just come over!"

"Okay..." Riku nibbled on a chocolate cookie, trying to think of the best way to bring it up to his father.

~AFTER SCHOOL~

Riku walked cautiously up the driveway as if he expected his father to jump out at him at any given moment. "Riku! Come on!" Sora said with a giggle as he raced to his front door.

"I'm coming."

"Hello boys~!" a tall man with chocolate hair a shade darker than Sora's greeted.

"Hey dad~!" Sora replied with a grin, and then hurriedly rushed up the stairs.

"Hello Mr. Lander." Riku said politely.

The man belly laughed and said, "You can call me Phil if it's you Riku."

"I'll keep that in mind sir." Riku said before following Sora at a slower pace.

"Do you want to play Super Monkey Ball?" Sora asked, putting the game in his gamecube and jumping up and down excitedly once Riku entered. He obviously wasn't waiting for an answer.

Moments later Sora and Riku sat side by side playing the game excitedly. Sora's body flew from one side to the other, tracking his movements on the screen.

"I can't see Sora!" Riku shouted trying to look around him.

"Sorry!" he said, but he didn't move.

Riku growled when a message saying he lost came across the screen.

"Heh, better luck next time, Riku!" Sora exclaimed, doing a victory dance. Before Riku could ask for a rematch, Sora's mother called from downstairs announcing that dinner was ready.

"You're lucky to get dinner like this every day..." Riku whispered as the pair went down the staircase.

"Huh?"

Riku smiled, "Nothing."

~AND DINNER WAS SERVED~

"So, Riku..." Sora's mother, a slightly plump, kind woman, started, "how is your... relationship with Sora?" she looked slightly uncomfortable, as if she had been told to ask.

"Mom!" Sora gasped in horror. Even though his parents had been fairly accepting, they were still awkward around the subject.

Riku smirked, "Sora is everything to me, and I need him more than a fish needs water." he pulled Sora towards him gently, smirking even deeper when Sora's breath hitched.

Sora's father and mother seemed to accept that answer and so the dinner conversation topics drifted onto safer grounds.

"I'll take up the plates... maybe you boys should go to the park or something..." Sora's mother said as dinner concluded.

"Okay mom!" Sora replied running eagerly out through the front door, grabbing a basket ball from the closet on his way.

Riku followed more slowly, and before he could leave, Sora's mother gripped his arm and looked at him pleadingly. "Protect him."

The words seemed to have a million meanings and Riku smiled. He nodded and continued on his way without any more delay.

~AT THE PARK~

As Sora and Riku arrive, they notice a group of kids from another school standing on the other side of the court. Sora dribbled the basket ball, staring at them before poising to shoot the ball.

Suddenly, a boy called over to them. His mouth was set into a frown, and eyes were covered by shades. "Who are you?" he asked Sora threateningly,and Riku stepped forward a little.

"Sora Lander, you?"

"I'm not gonna answer that. What do you think you're doing?"

"Um... playing basketball?"

The boy let out a sharp bark of laughter and he called his friends over, Riku stepped closer still. "This kid is Sora Lander." he said.

"Really?" one of the boys questioned.

"He looks like a grade-schooler!" another remarked.

Riku slowly wrapped his arms around Sora's tiny frame with a growl.

This riled the boys up further still, "Oh, so you were here to get some action with your boyfriend, fag?"

Sora jolted at the words. The boys snickered, "That's disgusting, in a public place?" Sora's eyes narrowed.

"Which one of you is the bottom? I bet it's Sora." the last boy laughed. That did it.

Sora jumped out of Riku's arm and rushed forward snarling. The boy he came near laughed and attempted to block him with his forearm. Sora grabbed his arm, twisted around, landed a swift kick to the guy behind him, and punched the first guy in the stomach, all in one swift movement.

At that moment, Riku knew, the lion was out. Two other boys rushed Sora at the same time, one getting a well delivered blow to the head, and the other getting his arm nearly broken by Sora's elbow.

Three boys remained on the court, Sora, Riku, and the first boy that had come up to him. The boy seemed unafraid, simply smirking devilishly at Sora.

"Come and get me."

Sora happily obliged, rushing forward ready to deliver the final hit, but then it went wrong. Two of the boys who were lying on the ground behind Sora quickly jumped up and caught his arms, pulling him back. Riku ran forward, as the other boy stepped toward Sora.

There was a sudden flurry of limbs when Riku collided with the mystery boy. He delivered kicks and jabs over and over, but they didn't seem to faze him. He easily blocked and dodged, all the while laughing as if it were some game.

Suddenly, a quick, hard blow to the stomach caused Riku to fall to the ground, panting. He weakly began to lift himself up, breathing quickly and harshly to get air into his lungs. The boy smirked at him and Riku realized that he hadn't actually seen the boy until now. Long silver hair and eyes covered by black shades, he looked like Riku himself. All of the sudden the boy said, "Let him go." in a calm voice that was like thick honey.

The boys released Sora quickly, and followed mystery boy out of the park without question. The boys who had been lying on the ground a little ways away limped off as well.

Sora and Riku lay there on the black top for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes. "Do you want to go home?" Sora asked.

"Yeah."

~AND THEN...~

Sora reverted back to his normal cheerful self as if nothing had happened, and Riku was glad. He didn't want to remember the burning feeling of loss. The first one in a very long time.

As they approached Sora's house, Sora looked up at him with a devilish grin. Something was about to go down. And Riku knew it.

"Come on Riku, stay the night... pleeeease~." Sora begged.

"I dunno..."

"Come on, you have all your books and stuff..." Sora looked at Riku hopefully.

"Books... Crap!" Riku ran for his backpack.

"What?"

"We didn't do the essay for Mr. Anderson!" Riku searched through his books to pull it out.

"Oh... that. I didn't do it." Sora looked down sheepishly.

"Sora..." Riku groaned.

All of the sudden, Sora landed a peck on Riku's cheek. "Can't it wait until later?"

"..." Riku gave him a look before sighing, "Fine." he leaned in painfully slowly and placed his lips gently to Sora's. Sora sighed into the kiss and tangled his hands in Riku's smooth hair.

Riku looped his arms around Sora's waist and brought him closer. Sora my little lion. He thought quietly to himself. And the wind brushed against the window pane.

A/N: Soooo... what do you think? I know it was kinda weird, especially the fight scene, I'm so out of practice with that! The kiss at the end was my favorite part. I loved writing it, but I don't write kiss scenes often, so PLEASE give me feedback on that! Also, I used to play Super Monkey Ball with my dad, and all of the sudden, that's what I wrote. I think it was on his gamecube, but I'm not totally sure, so if Super Monkey Ball wasn't even played on the gamecube, please virtually smack me for not knowing my games and game systems. Anyway, hope you liked it, STAY TUNED, the next chapter is about Akuroku again! ^-^