Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Akirame Norwen ❯ Heat Wave ( Chapter 27 )

(a/n: hehe, this is a cute chapter. By the way.... ORLANDO BLOOM RULES! LEGOLAS FOREVER!!! HAHAHH!!! Ahem... suggested songs: (just for those who wanna know what Akira feels) "Stuck" by Stacie Orrico! Otherwise, listen to "Trademark" by Relient K, and a good song for most *if not all* battle scenes in this story: "Go" by Andy Hunter. (it's the song used to promote the Matrix movie/video game..it's techno, but its got a great beat.)

Chapter 27: Heat Waves

Erik woke up to find the sun in his eyes. Squinting, he sat up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. When had it gotten so *hot*? His shirt stuck to his back, feeling grimy. A shower was *definitely* the first thing he wanted. It would help to rinse away his troubles from last night. Looking out the window, he realized the reason for the unreasonable heat: they were flying over a massive jungle, and just miles away was the desert. He moaned at the thought that the rest of the trip would be spent in this condition. His stiff knees popped as he stood up and walked towards the bathroom. Flipping the switch, he sighed and flicked it several times when the light didn't come on. Testing his luck, he stuck his head into the shower and twisted the hot water knob. Thankfully, water began to pour out of the faucet... but it was freezing cold. "This is great. No lights, no heat."

"Is the power still out?" Red asked from behind him, stretching and yawning.

"Yeah... so I guess I'll have to take a cold shower in the dark."

"Just leave the door open, I'll be checking in on breakfast anyhow."

Erik sighed and turned to the icy water running in the shower.

Ten minutes later, a blue-skinned and shivering Erik came bursting out of the shower, cursing and rubbing his arms in an attempt to get his blood unfrozen. "H-h-h-hyne its c-c-cold!" he stuttered past chattering teeth, taking little time in throwing on his baked clothes.

Outside the bathroom door, he could hear Sora loudly complaining. "NO! This is awful! Call 9-1-1!!"

Erik stepped out of the shower to see Sora holding his head in his hands, kneeling in front of his backpack. "What's wrong?"

Sora lifted up a plastic bag full of brown liquid. "My chocolate! It's melted, all of it! How am I supposed to live without chocolate?!"

Erik shook his head and headed towards the door. "Don't worry about it Sora, we're almost to the Kashkabald. I'm going to get breakfast. In this heat, all I should have to do is shake an egg, crack it open and I'll have scrambled eggs."

Akira gave a loud yawn and opened her eyes, startled when the first thing she saw was Riku's face. Slowly the events of last night came back to her. He had come to her rescue, saving her from a mentally unstable crew member. Maybe he deserved better than the treatment she gave him. It was so evident he really did care... suddenly Riku's eyes opened, and instantly met with hers. Akira's eyes widened and she hastily sat up, then felt dizzy as the heat rushed over her. "Oh man...this is miserable." She grumbled, making a bee-line for the shower.

"This is like summer at home." Riku's voice said behind her.

Akira's fate turned out no better than Erik's. Less than five minutes later, (a personal record for the usually slow bather) she came bursting out of the bathroom, freezing cold water dripping from her hair and onto her clothes. Riku couldn't help but laugh at the huddled girl. "Poor old 'Keera, I guess they don't have the power fixed yet."

"Sh-sh-shut up R-riku." Akira hissed at him, shuddering while using a towel to dry her hair, wondering why in the world he had skipped the idea of a shower and was already dressed, and in a black T-shirt, no less.

Shaking his head, Riku walked up to her and embraced her from behind, the heat from his toasted body warming her up. "Ack! Riku, you're gonna get me all nasty and smelly!" She barked, stepping away from him.

Riku gave her a small smile. "Ha, but behold, for I have thought ahead." He then reached into his pocket and produced a bottle of antiperspirant. "I sprayed it on my entire body while you were in the shower."

Akira gave him a puzzled and almost disgusted look... the idea was... ingenious, yes, but somewhat disturbing. Riku gave the grin of an actor and posed. "When I'm stuck on an airship flying over the desert without air-conditioning, I use Bob's spray-on deodorant. It works hard to keep me as dry as the Kashkabald, and leaves me smelling clean." He then thrust out his arm, proudly displaying the name on the bottle. "Bob's deodorant. Made to keep bishounen dry."

Akira laughed and rolled her eyes. "You, a bishounen." She teased him, tapping him on the nose with her hairbrush before using it to de-tangle her hair.

"Aww... that was harsh." Riku whined, dropping his arms to his sides.

Akira smirked and worked on a particularly tough tangle. "Now, a true bishounen would be someone like.... Orlando Bloom." She said, dramatically clutching her brush to her chest and pretending to swoon.

"Ugh, Orlando Swoon? I could whip that guy without even trying. All he's ever done is pretend to be a prissy fairy."

"He was an elf." Akira corrected him, pointing her brush at him.

For a moment, Riku stared at her... she looked so beautiful like that, her eyes shimmering with suppressed laughter. He was tempted to grab her and pull her into a kiss...but she was armed. That brush looked like it could do some damage if used properly. ".....right. Whatever. Well, I could still whip his pretty-boy butt."

"I doubt it. Did you know that maybe a year before he got the part to play Legolas, he fell out of a third-story window? The doctors said he would never walk again, but he was out of the hospital on crutches only 13 days later."

"Psssh." Riku dismissed, earning a hard nudge from Akira's hairbrush.

"Don't diss the elf!" She warned him, waving the brush at him like a sword.

A knock at the door gave Riku a reason to ignore her. Rikku happily greeted him. Apparently she didn't remember what happened last night. "Hey guys. We're going to land in Mideel here in a few."

"Hey, Rikku....Orlando Bloom is a bishounen, isn't he?"

Rikku gave a huge dreamy smile and clapped her hands together. "Hyne, yes!"

Riku gave a loud groan and rolled his eyes. "What about me? Aren't I bishounen material?" he asked, flexing his arm to show off his build.

Both girls looked him over. ".....nah." They both said, laughing at the look on his face.

Jerdania and Irvine walked by, stopping when they heard Riku's question. "Riku," Irvine said, making the girls turn to look at him. "In order to be a beloved and idolized bishounen, you've got to have a look, like this." And with a smile, he traced the rim of his hat with his finger before nodding, making Rikku and Akira scream girlishly, and Jerdania punch his arm.

Riku quickly pushed Irvine away. "I don't need a look! I have... a nice personality. I'm a really nice guy."

Everyone rolled their eyes and started to leave, making Riku question what it was he said as he followed after them.

They arrived in the kitchen to find Erik and Sora already eating, as well as most of the crew, which seemed to be having a meeting of some sort. "They never found him." Erik told them when Akira asked. "They figure he must've found a way to get off, because they searched thoroughly, and no one was killed."

"....is that a good thing or a bad thing? I mean..." Jerdania quickly lowered her voice. "He's after one of us, right?"

Riku sat back and sighed. "Well... it has to have something to do with my scar, and everything else that's been going on lately. It just makes sense."

After eating and re-packing, the group was more than ready to get off of the flying toaster. With a great shout of relief, they ran off of the airship as soon as it landed on the outskirts of the jungle. "Well, take care you kids." Cid Highwind told them as they walked down the ramp. "If you ever need any help, use this to contact me." He told them, throwing them what resembled a cell phone. And with a final wave and round of good-byes, the airship departed.

"Come on guys, let's hit Mideel." Riku said, shouldering his bag and setting down the marked path leading into the dense foliage.

The path proved to be more difficult than first thought. There were giant roots from the trees sticking up out of the ground, various types of biting bugs, and the creepy feeling that they were being watched. Riku's eyes constantly darted back and forth, searching the jungle from unfriendly monsters. Suddenly a shiver ran up his spine, making him stop in his tracks... a green flash in the corner of his eye made him sharply turn his head. Another flash, but now from the other side of the road. The other members of the group suddenly stepped up behind him, huddling together and searching the area. With a great leap, the enemy made itself known: a leopard, and behind it, watching from a giant toadstool, were three green frogs.

Riku immediately drew his weapon, which brightly burst into flames. He swung it in front of him, making the leopard give a loud growl and lunge at him. Irvine quickly whipped out his shotgun and took aim. BANG! The Leopard gave a loud hiss and turned towards him, despite its wound which bleed profusely.

Jerdania rushed in from behind and flung her giant throwing star like a frisbee, which flew at the attacking cat and dealt a good deal of damage to it's side before retreating back to her hand, stained dark red. Riku then raised his sword for the finishing blow, and slashed the beasts' side, effectively slicing it's skin open. The leopard screamed and limped off into the forest, most likely to die.

Satisfied, the group eyed the suspicious frogs. "What about them?" Jerdania asked, ready to deal out another whipping.

Riku shook his head. "They're just frogs. I don't think they pose any real threat." He said, trying to shake off the eerie feeling as they continued to stare at them.

The group shrugged and walked past the giant toadstool, unnerved when the frogs turned around to watch them go. Akira quickly stepped forward and walked next to Riku for assurance. When she looked back, the amphibians were gone, which didn't make her feel any less nervous.

A few yards later, another frog sat in the middle of the path, two more jumping out from the jungle to join it. "...What the heck?" Sora asked, stepping back when the one in the middle hopped forward.

Riku frowned and bent over to pick it up. "It's just a pathetic little frog. What's it gonna do to us?" He mocked, startled when the kitten-sized amphibian reached up with its little froggy hands, pulled his head down by his hair, and bestowed a kiss upon him before jumping back down to the ground and turned to look at the disgusted and shocked teen.

"Ha! Looks like your frog friend has a crush on you, Riku." Sora laughed.

Riku opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a loud croak. His eyes widened as his skin began to turn dark green, and everything seemed to grow huge, followed by a sudden craving for insects.

"Omigosh!" Akira shouted, bending down to inspect the frog version of Riku.

Frog-Riku gave a croak and tried to hop away. "No you don't." Akira said, quickly scooping him up.

The other two frogs on the path suddenly hopped forward, making the group scream and make a run for it. Another frog appeared from the jungle and made short work of Sora, and soon Erik and Irvine became victims of the kissing frogs. Akira, Jerdania and Kairi all screamed and stood back-to-back, holding their weapons in front of them. To their surprise, the frogs retreated to the jungle, minus their frog-ified friends. Sighing, the girls scooped up their friends and looked at each other. "Now what?" Kairi asked, grossed out when her frog snatched a passing butterfly with its tongue and consumed it.

"We need to get them to Mideel. It can't be too much further. Come on girls, we can handle ourselves. We've got Red.....wait, no we don't." Akira said, hearing the loud cry behind them, then turning to see the bright red frog sitting in his place.

Kairi bent over and scooped up the bright red amphibian. "So....I guess I've got Red and... this has got to be Sora, he's so cute." She said with a smile, making the more brown-colored frog roll its eyes.

"Well girls, lets get out of here, lest any frogs come after us." Akira said.

The frog in her hands ribbitted in agreement, then turned to face the path. With a nod, the girls tucked their friends safely away and continued down the path.