Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Akirame Norwen ❯ Get off of me, Riku! ( Chapter 1 )

"No Akirame, I really don't think life is quite that simple."

I shifted in my spot on the palm tree that curved outward from its base, giving us a most unique bench. I sighed and continued to watch the everyday glory of the tropical sunset over the gold-crested ocean. I should have known that Riku would answer like that. It was a stupid question I had asked. Even "Do you believe in fate?" would have gotten a better response than "Do you think life is all up to chance?".

I gave a quick glance down to where Riku stood against the tree, apart from the rest of us, his eyes seeing things beyond the expanse of water that isolated us here on this island. Me (my name's Akirame, if it matters), Riku, Kairi and Sora had all grown up together on this island, and were now at the active, edgy age of 16, except for Riku who had just recently turned a sober 17, making him the oldest, and therefore, our leader.

"So Riku, what are your plans for getting out of here?" Sora finally asked as he slowly wrapped an arm around Kairi's waist. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"I figure I can butter up one of the tourists and get us ride on a boat. If that doesn't work, we'll think of something else." He responded in his usual, casual tone.

We were near desperation to get off of the island. We had soaked in the tales we heard told by the people who had begun to arrive at our island when we were only children and our hearts were full of adventure. Now we were itching to leave the island we now saw as a prison, and set out to have our own adventures and find the answers to long-asked questions. Of course, it was all Riku's idea, and it was he who put the idea into our heads.

We continued to silently watch the sun set until Kairi and Sora finally left to go pack, leaving me and Riku, which meant I was really alone. Riku had a personality that could freeze Hell over.

Which of course meant I was surprised when Riku jumped onto the tree and slid over so that we were sitting practically shoulder to shoulder. I tried to pay him no mind. What he did next was completely unthinkable and stupid. He shifted around in his spot until he was able to lay out with his head resting on my lap, his eyes fortunately never leaving the glory of the oncoming twilight. I gritted my teeth and tried to resist the urge to push him off, sending him falling the four feet to the sand below. Suddenly he looked up at me and spoke. "You're actually enjoying this, aren't you?" He asked, a mischievous smile making his aqua-green eyes twinkle, which I ignored.

I looked down at him, causing my wavy, shoulder-length, blue (yes, natural!) hair to cascade down around my face."I find it hard to find romance with someone who has the emotional IQ of a squid." I told him.

Riku smiled as he reached up to gently tug on a lock of my hair. "Aw, come on, I can change." He said with a gentle tone.

I lifted my head and turned my eyes to the sky for forgiveness as I gave into temptation. I scooped my hand under Riku's waist and pushed him off. "Too late." I sweetly said as I watched a sand cloud rising up.

I looked down to see Riku laying face down in the sand. I began to hysterically laugh. I was then caught off guard when Riku grabbed my ankles and pulled me down, causing me to plop into the sand. "Ha! Revenge!" Riku shouted.

"You'll pay for that!" I threatened him, looking up at him between strands of that had fallen into my eyes.

"You're gonna have to catch me first!" He playfully shouted.

I leapt up at the challenge and began to chase him across the beach. Now this, this I found exhilarating. Running after Riku, his shoulder-length silvery blue hair rushing in the wind, reaching out and grabbing the back of his black muscle shirt and pulling his perfectly built body down to the ground and landing next to him.

We both laughed for a while and tried to catch our breath as we sat down cross-legged next to each other. I looked out at the ocean and was rewarded by a rare sight-a pair of dolphins leaping playfully in the water near the docks where we used to keep our boats until the tourists began to arrive and expanded them. Riku's arm gently came down to rest across my shoulders. I was too tired to resist. "How come you're never like this around the others?" I asked him.

"Well, I don't feel comfortable acting like this around anybody else." He said. His arm gently slid down to my waist.

"Didn't getting pushed off the tree teach you anything?" I asked him, lacing my voice with annoyance.

"I learned about gravity." He said, making me laugh. I quickly stifled my giggles. I was not going to give into his evil ways!

"You know, Riku, there are other girls on this island besides me." I finally told him. The dolphins both leapt high into the air and back-flipped back into the water. Somehow I felt that Riku never saw it.

Riku then made him move, bringing his other arm around and pulling me into his lap. Why oh why didn't I move?! "Well, none of the other girls make want to be fun and playful, unlike you." He said with a voice that could have melted any heart, except for me, the Snow Queen…I was melting. Fast.

I turned my head and looked into his eyes. They were glistening. Was there something in his eyes?

"I think I'm…" I quickly cut myself short. I was not about to confess that I was falling hard for him.

"Ha! I knew it!" He said. Why was I still sitting in his lap? It was…feeling impossible to move.

"Knew what?" I asked him, trying to sound obnoxious and failing miserably.

"You're falling in love with me, aren't you?" He teased me.

"I am NOT!" I angrily growled at him, now finally standing up.

I got even more ticked off when he pulled me back down into his lap. "Come on, fess up." He said.

"Confess what?"

"'Fess."

"Never."

Riku then rolled over onto his side , causing me to fall onto my back. He then pinned me in on both sides with his arms, his head directly over mine. I looked up at his face which was framed by silver strands now glowing from the fiery orange of the quickly ending sunset. "I'm not letting you up till you confess." He told me. He looked serious.

I studied his face for a moment, his expression clearly one of impending romance, his eyes softly blinking, the deep aqua searching my soul, staring directly into my crystal blue ones. Was he going to kiss me?

"Is there something in your eyes?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Well, his eyes were still pretty misty looking.

He only smiled slightly. He was definitely moving closer to me, that was for sure. I was beginning to feel his hot breath on my neck, making me shiver with giddiness. Then the voice of my savior rang over the beach. "Akirame, time for dinner!"

Riku closed his eyes with disappointment as I lifted my head and called "Coming Mom!" over his shoulder.

Riku didn't move. "You have to let me up now." I told him.

Riku sighed and finally leaned back onto his hands and I hastily leapt up and began to walk away. "Don't even look at him Akira. You look back and you'll make him think that he's got you hooked." I thought to myself. I looked back. He still sat in the same spot, still looking at me, a look of… smug confidence upon his face. I hastily looked away and broke into a jog.

I felt better when I arrived at my house and opened the screen door. "Come on in, honey." I heard my mom say. I walked into the kitchen. Oh joy, spaghetti. Again.

"Was that you and that Riku boy I saw out there on the beach?" My mom asked, obviously trying to tease me.

"Oh, god, you saw us." I groaned as I took a plate and began to fork on noodles and sauce before heading to the table.

"I like Riku. He's a real cute boy, and a gentleman at that. Whenever he's around me all I hear is `Akria this' and `Akira that'." Well, that quickly let me know that he really wasn't just teasing me back on the beach.

"How long has he been like that?" I asked my mom, trying my hardest not to sound overly interested.

"Oh goodness, I think he started up sometime after he turned 17 a month ago and realized just how pretty you are." Now my mom was against me in this too.

My hand went absent-mindedly to my pocked and I gasped. "Darn it! My wallet's gone! I must have dropped it back on the beach…oh man. Now Riku's going to have to come and try and return it!"

At that precise moment there was a knocking sound at the door. So predictable that Riku would try and play on my Mom's judgment by playing the part of the good citizen. "I'm not getting it." I said.

My mom sighed and got up to get the door. I could nearly see it from where I sat and found myself leaning in my chair so that I could see my mom talking to Riku without him spotting me first.

"Well let me go get her. Akira! Riku's here to see you." My mom said as she walked into the kitchen.

"I'm not going." I whispered to her.

"Yes you are."

"No."

"Yes."

"Make me!"

"Fine then." My mom pulled my chair away from the table and pushed me over to the door, an evil grin of matchmaking delight twisting her face. She would pay one day for this.

"Hi Riku." I muttered, talking to him through the screen in the door.

"Hey `Keera." He said. I was going to kill him.

I opened the screen door and walked out to meet him. "Well, give me my wallet already." I said.

"Hang on a minute." He began to fumble in his pocket.

Losing my patience I pushed his arm away and thrust my hand into his pocket, pulling out several wads of junk, a photo of himself posing (as he blushed madly and mumbled something about "its not mine". Whatever.) and his wallet before finally pulling out mine. "Alright, you can leave now." I said, turning and walking back into my house.

"Wait, Akira!" He called.

"What?"

"We need to talk about the arrangements to get to the mainland." Riku said, reverting to his steely, impersonal self.

I stepped back out. "I'm listening."

"Okay, there's this guy named Irvine Kinneas. He made a deal with me, and if we manage to meet our end of the bargain, he'll give us a lift on one the tourist boat he came in."

"Alright." I said, then I was suddenly overcome by curiosity as Riku glared at me, almost over my shoulder. "What is it?" I asked.

"Hold on a sec, I gotta check something out real quick."

Riku walked around me and approached a grove of thick foliage that grew under the platform of my house-on-stilts. Suddenly he thrust his hand in and pulled out….

"JERDANIA!!!" Riku angrily shouted, pulling her up by the back of her neck.

"I didn't hear anything, I swear!" The 16-year-old girl protested.

"Yeah, uh-huh." Riku pulled her away from the shadow and into the light the moon provided. Her honey-brown eyes implored us both. "Tell us what you heard, or else I'll hack your hair off!" He threatened, taking a knife out of his pocket and holding it up her thick, crimson hair.

"No! Not my hair please! I heard something about a guy named Irvine that's gonna give you a lift to the mainland! That's all!" She quickly confessed.

Satisfied, Riku put away the knife. "Good. Now it would please me to know exactly why you were eavesdropping on us."

"I… I want to go with you. I'm sick and tired of this island! I need to stretch my legs, see the world!"

I looked over at Riku. Jerdania wasn't part of our group. Instead, she always preferred to go hiking in the jungle and climb trees. But, at the same time, despite her semi-clumsiness and buddy-buddy attitude, she was lovable and an excellent companion. Besides, she could cook.

"Riku, let her come with us. I mean, as long as she brings some of her own stuff, she shouldn't be a problem to us." I told him.

Riku stared at me, and then Jerdania for minute, then sighed. "All right. You can tag along. First, let me tell you what you'll need…"