Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I do own, however, a copy of the KH2 manga from which I took inspiration for the Struggle rules as described in this chapter. Baby steps, I guess...

Warnings: This fiction contains and is not limited to boy/boy moments, the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, very despicable people, emo-Riku, lustful teenagers, underage drinking, a mix of the last two points, questionable situations, morally ambiguous choices and a few, occasional and really shy attempts at humor.

Chapter 5: Burning Sparks

Struggle is the most stupidest sport.

That was the first thing Roxas thought that afternoon, when the game started and he found himself stuck on the stands of the school's stadium with Axel, Kairi, Larxene and Hayner. There weren't a lot of people, twenty at most including their group, most probably because it was just an exhibition match. Still, he didn't fail to notice a familiar lonely silver mane just a few rows under them.

"Look who's there." Kairi's high-pitched voice chirped, while she pointed at the same direction he was looking at. "Want to bet that he's here to stare at his new boyfriend?"

She didn't even need to name them: everyone in their group had noticed that Sora was starting to spend a rapidly increasing amount of time with Riku. Why Kairi did care so much about that was beyond Roxas' comprehension, but he reasoned that the fact that Sora seemed to prefer Kairi's ex-boyfriend's company instead of hers mighty have played a role in that.

Hayner laughed at her joke. Perfectly predictable: Seifer hated Riku, ergo Hayner hated Riku.

"Jealous much?" Larxene asked, with one of her usual sharp-yet-snappy remarks. "I wonder of which of them, though..."

"Ah!" Kairi answered indignantly, turning his look away. "What's to be jealous of some gay boy?"

Larxene smirked: she lived for those things. "Someone has a guilty conscience? I was talking to Hayner."

Roxas couldn't help but grin. His attention, though, quickly shifted back to the boy a few rows under them.

"What's wrong, Rox? You look kinda gloomy." Axel asked him.

Roxas didn't move his eyes from Riku. "Nothing, Ax. Just thinking."

"Happens to me too. A little bit of television and it's over, usually."

Roxas felt the need to punch him slightly on the shoulder, before going back to stare at the upperclassman. And Axel didn't fail to notice it. "Things could have gone differently with Riku, you know?"

He didn't answer.

Struggle is not bad at all.

That was the first thing Riku thought that afternoon. Well... the second thing actually, the first one was that Sora looked really nice in the tight Struggle uniform. Not that he really understood what was going on at the beginning: not knowing Struggle rules didn't help on that side, but he managed to get an idea after the first couple of rounds.

It looked like games were composed of one-on-one matches. The players had to wear a suit and a headgear with a set of twelve small orbs attached to it. The rest was quite simple: each player was equipped with a bat and had to make fall to the ground all of the opponent's spheres. There was probably a time limit too, because he noticed that a few rounds had ended with the referee whistling, despite both players still having orbs on them.

He realized that Seifer was taking the field for the next match. For a moment, he had forgotten that the blond boy was part of the team too, nevertheless he watched with interest; after all, as remote as it could be, there was always the possibility to see Seifer defeated, humiliated and, with a little bit of luck, even injured. He knew that wishing such things to people was bad, but the only thing his inner self could think was how sad it was that hits below the belt were forbidden...

Unfortunately for his expectations, Seifer was a beast: the second the referee had announced the beginning of the round, his poor adversary had found himself on the receiving side of a violent hit to the head. Helmets had to be quite resistant for that kind of moves to be allowed, but considering the way the boy staggered after that first hit, he must have quite felt it. The match ended in less than thirty seconds, with Seifer not having lost a single orb and his opponent barely standing on his legs.

For a second, he thought about how good being on the team could have been: everything for the chance of hitting Seifer with a bat.

He looked at the score, displayed on the huge scoreboard on the opposite side of the field: despite that last victory, Twilight High was losing six to four. Not that he really cared, he was there just to look at Sora. Ehr... at Sora's match. No, he was there because he had forced him, that was it.

The next player was someone else he knew: his long blue hair was perfectly visible under the helmet. Saïx, the Blue Oni, once his swimming teammate, was getting ready. Riku wondered when he had left the swimming team to reach the Struggle one. Of all the people in Seifer's group, Saïx, Axel and Larxene were those he tolerated most, mainly because he didn't remember having directly been targeted by them.

Saïx's fighting style was quite different from Seifer's, definitely more technical. And despite his hits not looking as uselessly violent as his adversary's, he was managing to make fall at least an orb from the other guy with every single swing.

"Saïx is not bad at all, isn't it?"

A familiar voice made Riku startle. He recognized it immediately, even if he hadn't heard it in months. "What do you want?" he asked, not looking back and not really caring for the answer.

Axel took the place next to him, much to his displeasure. He was sporting his usual grin, which irritated Riku even more. "We've not talked for so long, you could be a little nicer..."

"It's not really my choice if we haven't talked for so long, you know?" Riku answered drily. He instinctively covered his nose. "I can't help but remember that you and Saïx were still in the swimming team when Setzer broke my nose."

"Well, you dislocated his jaw with a punch, I didn't think you needed any help." Despite being the absolute truth, the way Axel had said it gave Riku the distinct feeling that he was just making up excuses.

"That's the same reason you stopped answering your phone when I was calling you?"

Axel's smile dropped and, for the first time since the beginning of the conversation, he looked away uncomfortably. "Well, you were at the center of the rumor mill, you know how these stuffs go..." A brief embarrassed silence ensued. "I know it isn't fair, but talking with you meant being targeted as well... It was... difficult."

"'It was difficult?'"

"Yeah, I mean..."

"'It was difficult?'" Riku was starting to increase the volume of his voice. He knew that he was probably earning the attention of all of the (few) people around him, but at that moment he didn't care about it. "While you were having your fun little life with your friends, I've been left alone and targeted in every possible way. So, don't you dare come here a year later and tell me how it was difficult for you!" He looked away, feeling that if he had kept on facing his ex-friend any longer, he could have given in and making him eat his teeth.

"I'm not trying to justify myself." Axel tried again, clearly struggling to keep calm. "I made some mistakes and I'm sorry for that. Still, you didn't help."

At the hearing of those words, Riku glared at him. He didn't completely turn his head, just a profile glare, but even if he didn't say a word, Axel caught the 'Come on, just give me an excuse to punch you, please' meaning all the same.

"I mean, I tried to call you a few weeks later, but you dismissed all of my attempts."

"You gave up trying a long time ago. Luckily. What makes you think that something would change now?"

Axel scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Well, nothing, really. It's just... it's the first time that I see you somewhere else than the cafeteria, I thought it was... a sign, you know. And so, I came talking: if you feel like doing something, don't wait. Act! One of life's little rules." Another small pause. "I mean, maybe... we could discuss about what happened."

"But we're doing it, can't you see?"

Another silence, longer this time.

"Listen." Axel resumed after taking a deep breath. "I know it was wrong of me to disappear like that, I messed up. I'm not asking for forgiveness, ok? Even if it doesn't mean a lot now, I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry and that I've got nothing against you, alright?"

But Riku's attention was back on the playing field. A scrawny brunet was entering, adjusting his uniform. Blue orbs were adorning him, making him looks like a little walking Christmas tree. He was there to watch that match, there was no way he would've let Axel distract him.

"Well, that's great, thanks a lot. I'm sure I can count on you now. At least until the next time someone will decide to pick on me because I'm... yeah, whatever."

When Axel realized that the discussion was over, he said goodbye and went back to his friends.

"Oh, and another thing." Riku added without turning his head, eyes still glued to Sora. "Tell Roxas that sending you to talk was just stupid."

The final round was finally starting.

As he had expected, most of the players were quite hunky, and Sora's opponent was no exception, which made Riku wonder once again how the small brunet could play that game and, apparently, also being quite good at it.

The second the referee whistled the beginning of the match, though, Riku found the answer to his questions: the big boy had launched himself against Sora, swinging furiously his bat trying to hit him.

And Sora...

Sora was a sight to see, a literal speed demon. He dodged his opponent's first, second, third swing without showing the slightest difficulty in doing so: he could anticipate the movements of the other player and react accordingly. And then, after keeping on effortlessly dodging for a whole minute, he finally made his move. In the blink of an eye, he shifted to the right and delivered a very delicate yet precise hit at his opponent, making him lose half of his orbs.

Riku couldn't help but notice how Sora was precisely using the exact number of moves needed, no more, no less. His entire body was perfectly synchronized and the way he moved had something magnetic to it.

A couple of minutes later, the match was over: Sora was standing triumphantly, all of his orbs untouched on his body. It didn't look like someone who had just emerged victoriously from a Struggle match: he seemed fresh and rested, probably ready to chain another two or three matches consecutively if necessary.

The crowd around him exploded. Riku looked at the scoring board: seven to six: Twilight High had won the exhibition match and Sora had scored the decisive point. He couldn't restrain himself from smiling and, for a moment, he thought of waiting for Sora to offer him his congratulations.

Then his eyes fell on the small group of students a few rows over him and he quickly remembered himself that he was happy as he was. He didn't need anyone, especially a little, insignificant brunet who had somehow managed to gain the sympathy of half of the school.

And, any case, who would never really care about him.

End Notes: Aaaand another pseudo-filler chapter without a lot of interactions between Sora and Riku, I know. Struggle will play an important role later in the story, though, just wait and see ;). Next chapter you won't be disappointed, promised :).

Preview: History has a strange way of repeating itself. When Riku find himself in the same situation as one year before, will he finally choose to try and share a little bit of his past with Sora?

Next Chapter: Time and Again