Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Akirame Norwen ❯ Training Room Soap Opera (w/out the soap) ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: um…..blah blah blah blah blah….I don't own this stuff, just Akira, Jerdania, Vanna and the increasingly hard-to-find Red….(don't worry, yes, he will show up in future chapters!!!)

CHAPTER 8

TRAINING ROOM SOAP OPERA (W/out the soap)

I walked out of the holographic training program room, finally feeling confident with my skills as an archer. Even so, I still didn't feel quite good enough. I couldn't forgive myself for missing such a great hit on that Anacondaur. I sighed and sat down on the bench by myself, watching as Riku went in, his sword, which he had dubbed Luz Luna.

A loud whirring sound could be heard in the walls as the program started up. I watched as a huge Granaldo (a giant dragonfly) and three Ranaldos (armadillo-type…things.) got into formation. Riku's had hadn't even gone to his weapon yet. I rolled my eyes at his cocky attitude. Yeah, so he knew what he was doing…but did he have to be so…flashy? The loud buzzer went off, signaling the beginning of the fight. I watched as Riku pulled out his sword so fast I never saw it happen. He instantly charged the Granaldo, leaping off the back of one of the Ranaldos to reach it. He twisted his wrist, twisting the sword around and effectively de-winging the monster. "Wow. That guy has a lot of skill, doesn't he?" Erik said. I twisted around to see him kneeling on the floor pulling several strange bags out of a box he had brought with him.

I jumped in my spot. I had been so…distracted that I never heard him approach. "Yeah. He's a big show-off, though. What's in the bags?"

Erik opened one of them and pulled out a 6 foot long, chrome-blue cord that was two inches thick on one end, and tapered down to one inch and split off into several foot-long strands. Out of another bag came what looked like a black, metal shotgun handle, complete with a trigger. Another bag, a large black box. Erik began to lay out the different things on the floor and started to assemble them, twisting the cord into the rifle handle, then secured it with several screws. Had he even heard me? He then gestured for me to join him. I sat down cross-legged next to him and looked as opened the black box. Inside was an impressive collection of various glowing gems. I looked at him for an explanation. "They're called Materia. Each one can be used to call up a special skill, like Fire or Graviga." He pulled a fiery red gem and a bigger black gem, letting me hold them and examine them.

"Now these, however…" Erik began as he lifted the tray holding the Materia to reveal a large velvet bag, "these are Guardian Force gems. Each one can be used to call up a special creature or person to assist in battle by using its special attack. These two are my favorite: Shiva and Leviathan." He placed the two perfectly spherical stones in my hand, an aqua green one with blue swirls, and an ice blue one, both the size of baseballs, but nearly weightless.

"They're beautiful." I said as he continued to pull out the Guardian Force gems and lay them on the floor in front of him. There had to be at least a dozen, if not more in his collection. "So, what do these have to do with the rest of your junk?" I asked, looking back at the rather odd contraption he had made.

"Junk!? This is the finest whip model that can be bought!" Erik told me as he opened the end of the handle and pulled out five chrome tube cartridges. "I'll show you how it works. Now…let's see… what's your favorite GF stone in that pile?" Erik asked me as he opened one of the tubes.

I picked up a glossy one that seemed to have a storm cloud of red floating in the indigo mist within. "I like this one." I said as I handed it to him.

Erik examined the stone carefully, then scratched his head. I suddenly found myself tempted to run my fingers through the glossy, golden curls. I put my hands under my legs, fighting the urge off until it passed. "I don't know what this one is. It must be the new one Instructor Trepe told me she had found while she was rescuing those dumb cadets from Fire Canyon. Gall, all of Instructor Utay's students end up nearly getting killed or squished or stepped on or something."

I cocked an eyebrow as he sifted through the bags and finally pulled out a chart loaded with various notes and diagrams. "Instructor Trepe? You mean Quistis?" I asked, looking at the color coded chart with him, pointing out the purple stone I had picked.

"Yeah…" I looked up to see a broad smile and a hint of blushing on Erik's face. "Quistis is great. She's my class Instructor and personal trainer. She gave all of this to me as a gift…and for coming out in top in the school finals."

I noticed for the first time what a gorgeous smile Erik had, the boy-like glimmer in his eye bringing back sudden memories of Riku in his childhood. I tried to push them aside, and bit my lip and tried to focus on what the chart said as the feel of warm sand under my feet and the innocent giggles of a little boy and girl filled my mind. Erik looked at me. "You okay?"

I blankly looked at him for a moment, trying to clear my head. "Yeah, why?"

"I was afraid that if you bit down any harder your lip would get completely severed from your face." He told me, a hint of humor in his voice.

"Oh…yeah. It's a bad habit I have. Whenever I try to concentrate I start to chew on my lip."

"Yeah. Know what you mean. Well, anyhow, shall we continue?"

Erik then pointed out that the GF held the beast Renezueken, a great purple, red-striped/spotted tiger-cheetah that used a powerful attack at its current level (level one) called Sled Fang, where it charged itself with energy and then rushed at the enemy with lightning speed and sliced through it with its flaming razor sharp claws.

"Now, let's see how much common sense you got in your cute head." I blushed at his compliment. "Now, Renezueken has an attack based on two elements. One of them is Psy, which it uses for its speed. What do you think the other one is?"

"Fire?"

"Exactly! Now, I need you to get the two biggest Fire Materia you can find, and two Psy Materia."

I looked at the tray of various stones. Fire was obviously red, so I pulled out two red stones. Psy was trickier. There were green, cyan, clear, white… I guessed and pulled out a couple light blue ones and turned back to Erik, who had finally managed to get the GF gem to go into one of the tubes. I handed him the two red ones, which slipped into their own tubes with ease. However, Erik raised an eyebrow at me when I handed him the two clear stones I had picked out as well. "Geez, I should've told you. Look, the different elements are color coded in the stones. Now, what are the two colors in Renezueken?" He asked me.

"Purple and red."

"Right! So if red is fire, then purple is…"

"Psy!" I eagerly answered, absorbing his lesson with the utmost interest.

Erik now looked over my shoulder as I looked through the tray of materia. I couldn't find any purple gems. Erik then chuckled as he reached an arm around my waist and gently lifted my leg, revealing two Psy gems. "Thanks." I said as he put the gems into the tubes and then loaded the handle of his whip.

"So, does this weapon have a name?" I asked Erik, holding the weapon in my hand as Erik read the chart for instructions.

"It's called Violetta's Thorn." Erik said as he finally found what he was looking for and quickly poured through it.

Erik then took the weapon back and examined the handle, found a large red button and held it down for several seconds. The whip then began to make a soft humming sound, and the chrome cord started to glow. "Woo-hoo! I can't wait till it's my turn! It's gonna be great to try this baby out!" Erik enthusiastically said, turning the whip back off.

"So, what do the Materia do? I mean, they obviously strengthen Renekueken's elemental attack, but what do they do for the whip?"

"Oh, well you see, the trigger here on the whip allows me to channel the power of the GF and the Materia directly through my whip, allowing me to super-power my attack. All I got to do to release the energy is just pull this trigger here."

"So, is a special, high-tech weapon the only way to use these stones?"

"Nope. The only other way is to focus your will, and mentally release the power, but I could never get the hang of it."

"Ah."

Erik lay the whip on the bench and I helped him put all of the empty bags back in the box, and made sure that we picked up all the gems before he closed and locked the box. At that moment the humming sound of the program stopped, and Riku walked out, re-sheathing his sword effortlessly. "How'd it go?" I asked him as he picked up a towel and wiped the sweat away from his face and neck.

"Darn Ranaldos gave me a hard time, but I won in the end."

"Hey, I know Akira, why don't you go in with me? You could still use some fine tuning on your crossbow." Erik said, now picking up his whip and standing in front of the door.

"Hmm… Is that okay with you?" I asked, looking at Riku.

"What does it matter to me? It's your weapon."

I scowled at Riku's cold reply. Somewhat colder than usual. "All right then, let's go Erik." I turned and politely nodded as he held the door open for me.

Once inside, Erik took a quick moment to unravel his whip and activate it. I readied myself, quickly loading an arrow. The humming reverberated under our feet as the program started up. I was shocked when I saw what our opponent was. "A T-REXAUR?" I panicked, looking over at Erik. The dinosaur could take us out in one bite!

Erik smirked with confidence. "Come on, don't limit yourself! There's nothing you can't do if you push yourself to do it." He assured me.

Taking his words to heart, I threw my shoulders back and got ready to take the first shot I saw. The buzzer sounded and the dinosaur charged. I found a spot under it's neck and fired. Unfortunately I hesitated and missed, watching as the arrow snapped against the hard leathery skin of the animal's shoulder.

Erik used the distraction to take a shot. He brought his arm above his head and then threw it back out, sending the whip snapping out at the monster's head, the strands on the end doing great damage to the monster's eye, which now had a deep gash going through it. I then loaded another arrow and desperately searched the animal, trying to stand my ground as the dinosaur gave an ear-shattering roar that nearly deafened me. "Akira! It's neck is exposed! Now!!" Erik shouted, bringing his arm up again.

I brought my bow up and fired, relieved when it pierced the loose, papery folds of skin. The dinosaur was furious, and brought its head down to look me directly in the face. I tried to move, but found myself entranced by its large, yellow eye. "Akira! It's using is Leer attack! Hang on!" Erik's voice sounded like it was a hundred miles away.

I could feel the dinosaur's hot breath steaming me as it opened its mouth, preparing to deal a deadly blow. I could suddenly hear a loud crackling sound. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a great purple and red flame burst from Erik's whip as he lashed it out. Renezueken! The great beast gave a loud moaning roar as it hunched down on all fours, collecting energy. The air around it began to glow, and the animal then leapt forward, turning into a streak of colored light that erupted into flames just inches from my face as the animal tore into the dinosaur's neck.

The dinosaur quickly raised itself up, fiercely growling as it tried to bring its head around to remove the beast, which was still clinging to the folds of skin, digging in with its teeth. The effect of the Leer attack broke, and I quickly moved into action, loading in arrow and firing at the dinosaur's exposed chest, hitting it successfully several times. The monster had now had enough, and whipped its head around, causing Renezueken to fly across the room. Its fast reflexes saved it as it quickly twisted in the air and leapt off the wall, landing perfectly on the floor, where it then turned into a flash of purple energy that run back up the length of Erik's whip back into the handle.

I quickly took another shot at the dinosaur's now exposed chin, and was surprised when the arrow went straight through, causing the animal to give a strangled growl as it began to choke on the arrow. It finally collapsed on the floor, and the program shut off. Erik walked over and I offered my hand for him to shake. Erik ignored it and instead hugged me tightly, lifting me off the ground and spinning me around once before setting me back down. "You did great Akira!" He said, a huge smile making me blush.

For a moment I could see Riku looking in the window, watching us. He gave no sign of whether he was pleased or angry, and turned away. I looked back up at Erik. "Look's like Riku was watching." I said, waiting while Erik quickly coiled his whip.

"Oh really? He ought to be proud of you. Your skill has at increased by at least six times since when you first got here." Erik told me as he finished.

We walked together out of the room, trading comments and remembering the most exciting parts of the fight. Jerdania and Irvine were waiting in the room with Sora and Kairi, Jerdania happily chatting while Irvine was bent over slightly, his arms around her waist and his chin looking over his shoulder at Sora, who was animatedly describing his recent skirmish with a Grand Mantis, a giant…well, bug. He began to weave his hand through the air, bringing laughter from the group. Vanna and Squall were listening as well. I noticed how their fingers were interlaced, and I could see the glimmer of a ring on her finger.

Riku, however, was sitting by himself on the bench, working on his sword with a cloth, completely absorbed in his work. For Riku to be that antisocial and miss out on one of Sora's infamous story-tellings to polish his sword…unthinkable.

I walked over towards Riku as Erik quickly tossed me a water bottle before joining the others. I looked over Riku's shoulder and looked at his eyes in the perfect reflection of the sword. I could tell by the tenseness of his jaw that he was about to make a big decision. Of course. Today was the day we left for…well, we didn't know yet, but we did know that today we would be evicted from our dorms. "So Riku, you know where we're going to go now?" I asked him softly.

Riku didn't answer, but instead turned the sword's handle, moving the blade gently, giving himself a better view of me. I looked directly at his face, but a stone mask had slid in place. Riku put the sword back in its scabbard and then simply sat there, staring at the floor, his hands in his lap. I slid down next to him and tried to duplicate his posture, and then was forced to sit up. Riku finally looked up at me, a somewhat….distant look in his eyes. "You like him?" he finally asked, his question catching me off guard.

"Who? Erik? He's just a good friend, that's all."

Riku looked away and went back to staring at the floor. "Come on Riku, it's no big deal. He's a cool guy. If you would stop with your evil ways and get to know him, I think you'd two have a lot in common." I said.

"Hmm." Oh great. Riku's famous I-have-a-serious-decision-to-make-that-could-affect-us-for-the-rest-of-our- lives-and-I'm-more-concerned-about-whether-or-not-Akira-likes-someone-bette r-than-me Hmm.

I sighed and walked away. Riku…the guy was about as easy to get along with as a piece of sandpaper with a block of wood. His rough personality just kept grating on your nerves until you either learned how to handle it or you just turned into a pile of dust and blew away. I silently chuckled to myself. I didn't know I could be so clever with metaphors before. I'd have to think of some particularly funny ones and share them with Erik. Hmm… then again, maybe Riku did have cause to be worried. I looked and watched as another one of his open grins spread on his face as Sora gave another side-splitting detail. However, I did say that I liked Erik as a friend, and I was willing to stick to that. That is, I would try. I guess.

I joined the group and listened as Sora began to describe the time Riku and I had gotten into our seven day war, or, as Sora was calling it, the war of the morons. I started to laugh as Sora recalled the time where I had filled Riku's shoes with peanut butter, and how he had tried to act cool and ignore the sucking sound his feet made every time he moved.

My eyes glanced over in Riku's direction as Erik casually placed an arm over my shoulder, teasing me by pushing me around. Riku was getting ready to announce his decision. I could tell by the way he was needlessly untying and re-doing his boots. Like a nervous president about to call his country to war. Riku finally stood up from the bench and was walking towards us. Sora saw the grin fall from my face and his eyes traced their way to Riku. The others quickly followed suit, including Erik who now removed his arm from my shoulder but didn't leave my side.

We all silently watched him stop in front of us, one of his hands slowly running down his arm towards his glove, his fingers slowly running along the edge, about to dive underneath to his palm when Irvine grew impatient. "So, Riku, what's the plan?" He asked.

Riku's hand jerked back, just as his fingers made it into his glove and had nearly touched his palm. Why was he so nervous about his stupid hand? "We're going take the Chocobos as far as we can, and then we'll walk the remaining 10 miles to Balamb, where we'll get on a train to Transverse Town." Riku stated, like a general explaining the battle plan to his troops.

The troops, however, were not as loyal to the general as thought. We looked at each other, questioning his motive. "Um…why are we going to Transverse Town, exactly?" Irvine asked, slightly raising his hand.

Riku sighed, as if he had hoped he wouldn't have to explain himself. "I picked up a tip that there is a man who lives there who can help me…and us out." Riku somewhat faltered.

Riku really never had explained his whole reason for dragging us off the island, rather than just the fact that we needed to see the world if we ever wanted to understand things. "The truth is out there." He had coined. Sounded corny, like something from some sci-fi TV sitcom. Thankfully, after a while he had finally dropped the stupid saying. He had had the adults thinking he was on some inland drug or had finally gone off the deep end.

Irvine opened his mouth to ask another question, but Jerdania could thankfully read Riku's voice better than he could and gently put a hand over his to stop him. "Well, I suggest we pack and meet back here by 1:00. We can't afford to miss the 4:45 train. Transverse Town can get dangerous at night if you don't know your way around." Squall said.

Riku nodded and looked at a clock on the wall. "It's only 10:00. You guys can take a little time to do whatever you want, but I'll leave any stragglers behind. I don't feel like herding sheep."

I cocked my eyebrow. Something was definitely wrong with Riku. He was never critical of our group, and always knew that we would follow through with--- I followed his eyes to were they rest on Irvine, who was only paying half attention and was now trying to get the rubber band out of Jerdania's hair without her noticing. I rolled my eyes and poked an elbow into Jerdania's side. She turned her head to look at me, and Irvine lost her braid as it went over her shoulder. I looked back at Riku, who gave me a nod and a secret smile. I winked back and turned to walk away.

We all scattered, Jerdania (who had pre-packed…hey, since when was she so responsible?) was heading off to Irvine's room to help him pack. Or so Irvine had told the hall monitor who had caught Irvine trying to sneak her in.

Squall had announced that he would be going with us to Balamb, but he would instead be taking a train that would take him to another city where the SeeDs he would be commanding would be meeting.

Vanna had decided to join us as far as Transverse Town, as she knew the whole place pretty well from all of her missions to the mall.

Riku had gone off without a word, Kairi was going to go take one last hike to the overlook where…well…you know what happened.

That left just me and Erik. He walked toward my dorm room with me, suspecting that since the hall monitors would be on break at that time, he would be able to quickly shuffle in and back out with my stuff. Then he would try to get me over to his dorm, which would be way too easy, since the hall monitor in his part of the school didn't care one way or another.

As we approached the door, Erik began to crane his neck, keeping an eye out for "Mrs. Bulldog" as he called her, a short, fat woman who always loved to go the extra mile to see that he was caught doing something wrong. I fumbled with the keys and unlocked the door, quickly shoving him in first, and then running in after him.

I walked over to the drawers where I had my stuff and began to pull things out and shoved them into my backpack. Erik opened the top drawer and quickly shut it again, his face turning beet red. "What's wrong?" I asked him as he slowly opened the drawer below it, peeking in before finally pulling it out all the way.

"I…uh…heh heh." Erik nervously said, quickly shoving a shirt into my bag.

I stood up and opened the drawer he had gotten so nervous about. I then cracked up. "You got into my underwear drawer!" I laughed, falling on the floor, not aware of when I had ended up rolling over so my head lay in his lap.

"I am really sorry, I didn't know, I mean, I wouldn't ever-" Erik nervously stuttered, helping me back up.

"Oh, geez! Erik I know you didn't mean to! Are you afraid that now I'll have to throw you out the window because you saw that I have a pair of flowery panties?" I asked him, cracking up again.

Erik saw the humor in the situation and began to chuckle, but still looked embarrassed. "I didn't see any flowers, but I think I saw one pair that were as red as my face turned when I slammed the drawer shut." Erik teased me, making both of us go crazy with laughter.

When we finally stopped, I grabbed my sides as they started to ache. "Man… this is crazy. All of it." Erik said as he grabbed several shirts out of another drawer and helped me shove them into my backpack with everything else.

"No kidding." I said as I stood up and headed to the bathroom.

Erik was now sitting on the bunk where I slept, looking at his shoes as I carried out a bag of toiletries and crammed them into the backpack, hesitating for a moment when I thought I heard the sides of my backpack explode from tension. I looked up and saw that Erik was now laying on his back, his arms under his head. He had removed his jacket and it was now laying on the floor. I took one moment…just to…you know…look. I had never noticed before how finely built his arms were, from use of the whip, no doubt. Erik nearly caught me staring and now sat up on the edge of the bed. "You done?" He asked, picking up his jacket.

"Yeah." I picked up the pack and slung it over my back, shifting it around until I was comfortable, but then was surprised when Erik took it from me and easily slung it over his shoulder. "Um…thank you?" I asked. Oooh… biceps.

I slowly opened the door and peeked out. The hall monitor was still gone. I nodded to Erik and quickly stepped out into the hall and began to run, Erik close behind me. We barely made it, the hall monitor turning the corner just as we rushed by. "Hey, you two! Slow down!" The cranky woman shouted at us in a whiny voice.

"We're gonna be late!" I shouted as we picked up the speed.

We finally did stop as we came out of the dorm hall. Erik was laughing as he slowed to a walk. "I can't believe we fooled Mrs. Bulldog!" He said, jumping in front of me and now walking backwards.

"That was Mrs. Bulldog!?" I said, stopping in my tracks.

"Yeah! And we made it! Come on! Let's hurry to my dorm! I wanna show you all of my posters!" Erik said, now pulling me along.

We raced down along several halls before we entered a corridor that looked exactly like the one were my old room was at, except now the carpet was a bit darker, and the occasional guy stepped out of his room or walked down the hall, and in a couple rare cases they were pulling girls along with them. As Erik led me along we were suddenly stopped by a pair of tall, popular-looking teen boys both at least 3 years older than us, each one with a girl or two in their arms. "Don't say anything. Just stay as close to me as you can. Everyone in this hall…well, just stay close. We're almost to the corner." Erik whispered in my ear.

"So Erik, finally decided to join the club and have a little fun, eh?" One of them said. I quickly spied the case of beer he was carrying as Erik pulled me closer.

"No, Brent. I'm just getting some things." Erik firmly said, his grip tightening on my hand.

I quickly tightened mine as well, trying to silently encourage him. I kept my eyes on the girls, wishing I could stop them. "Oh, come on now Erik! The best way to enjoy yourself here is the join the party! And you've already got a girl." The other one said, the blonde in his arm giggling stupidly.

"For the last time, no. I'm not joining one of your dumb parties, getting drunk and `hanging out' with girls I've never met in my entire life. In fact, I don't even think they're from this school. Now, if you'll let me pass, I am taking this girl to my room, getting my things and leaving." Erik asserted, his jaw tight with tension.

"Too bad. The fun is just starting. It's not too late. You can join anytime. Just bring the broad with you." The one called Brent said. I could feel the guy's eyes on me.

A door opened, and the scent of smoke and loud, pounding music mixed with voices escaped while the two guys and the girls with them entered. Erik let out a loud, angry growl after the door closed, and now pulled me with a firm determination toward his room. "Those guys will get it one day. The nerve of them! I should've popped his jaw clean off when he called you that. I could've fought `em both off." He said, his grip getting uncomfortable.

"Erik…you did the right thing, standing up for your self like that, sticking to your personal standards. And for protecting me." I softly said, relieved that Erik had finally found his dorm room and was unlocking the door.

Erik sighed and relaxed. "I've had to put up with this every other day the whole time I've been here." He said as he opened the door and quickly walked in after me.

The dorm was very different from the one I had stayed in. There was one communal living room, and three doors in the opposite wall were evidently the rooms. There was no sign of a shower however, but there was a small bathroom that had various things lying around in there. Erik walked over to one of the doors and opened it, gesturing for me to look. The whole room was covered with posters of Gunblades, Balamb Garden, charts showing various models of different weapons. Erik took the time to point out everything about each one, and even pulled out several cardboard tubes from under his bed and pulled out his newest posters, including a chart of all the available whips made by his absolute fave company, and in the center was the model he currently owned. I nodded and tried to absorb everything he was telling me. I then sat down on his bed and waited while he rummaged through his closet and pulled out his own pre-packed backpack, plus another poster tube. "Um…here. I want you to have this. I had to special order, but dang! They sure do deliver fast." Erik said, handing it to me.

I opened the tube and pulled out a poster that had a scene from… I put a hand up to my mouth, placing my fingers gently over my lips. "That's the very spot me and the gang used to watch the sunset every evening." I softly murmured, soaking the picture in.

"Do you like it?" Erik asked, standing behind me.

I turned to face him. "Love it." I said, hugging him.

"I'm happy that you do. Check this out." He said, flipping it over. On the other side was a map of the entire world. "It might come in use one day, you know. See? There's your Destiny Islands right there. I've always wanted to go and just hang out there one day. It sounds like a great place." Erik said, his finger pointing to a small group of specks surrounded by ocean and far larger land masses.

I silently nodded as I rolled the poster up and put it back into its tube. Erik had no idea how much the simple poster really meant. It was a precious treasure given out of pure…pure…friendship? Or something more, like love? I felt unusually peaceful as Erik handed me back my backpack and we left the dorm. I was surprised when…of all people, we ran into Riku as we had just left the dorm hall. "Riku? What're you doing here?" Erik asked, quickly letting go of my hand.

"My dorm is down this way." Riku simply said, still standing in front of us.

"Oh, I never saw you down here before. Anyway, we were just heading over---"

"I don't care. Really. I got to call to get our tickets, and then I need to make sure that we can properly ration everything. I don't have time to hear all the details." Riku said, now getting ready to leave.

"Oh, sorry to stop you then. I'll let you go now."

Riku was already heading off before Erik got done. I quickly reached out and grabbed his arm, making him stop. Riku turned to look at me. Now he was listening. "Riku. It's fine." I said, looking him in the eye, making sure he understood.

Riku gave a slight nod and then continued down the hall. Erik looked at me for a moment before heading off. "What was that all about?" he asked. Why did he have to ask that, of all questions? It would take a million years to explain. "Are you two, like…"

"No. We're not dating or anything like that. It's just that Riku considers himself to be my older brother, and he…well, he just gets jealous really easy when I'm not talking to him 24/7." I quickly said, now wondering where Erik was taking me.

I noticed how Erik hadn't even so much as stood close to me since Riku had given him that…evil look. Erik was a little shaken up. "Boy…Riku sure does take it personally. I was afraid he'd cast a spell on me or something there for a moment."

"Everyone says that the first time Riku sees them with me. Well, if they're a guy he does. He could care less about anything else."

"Ah. Now I get it." I looked up to see what Erik was looking at.

My group had all gotten together at the same fountain where Erik had held me while I cried. They were all being goofy and posing while someone was taking pictures of them. I tried to see it from Erik's perspective. Kairi with her head on Sora's shoulder while he had his arms wrapped around her, Irvine grinning as he gave Jerdania a quick squeeze as she sat on his lap (…for the photo, right? Work with me people!).

Kairi began to giggle as Sora whispered something into her ear. The person with the camera encouraged them to get closer, then snapped another photo. The group then posed differently, now Jerdania was being effortlessly lifted onto Irvine's shoulders while Kairi laid out and rested her head in Sora's lap, while he took what looked like a bunch of grapes and was holding them over her head. I still didn't get it. No, I mean the way they were acting. Wait, I mean what Erik saw….oh forget it. I'm still confused. "I don't think I'm getting your point here." I said, looking at Erik.

"Well, Riku must feel left out. Irv's with Jerdania, Kairi is Sora's main squeeze, which leaves, or rather just left, you and him. So now Riku wants to have fun with the other guys, so he's wantin' to hook up with you. But now he thinks I'm going to pull some sort of stunt and steal you, and that'll leave him out of the picture indefinitely."

"Oooh. That makes perfect sense." I said. Hey, it did! And it still does!! Erik and I continued to watch the nonsense for a moment.

"I got an idea. Just for the fun of it, let's go join `em! We can pretend we're in love, and act stupid like them!" Erik suddenly said, making me stare at him.

I put my hand up and felt his forehead. It was a little warm. "Uh…are you feeling okay?" I asked him.

"Come on! We can have a couple laughs while we're still here. Besides, it's not like Riku's gonna suddenly come bursting out after us and strangle us to death." Erik said, tugging on my hand.

"Augh! First of all, he'd only kill you, he'd have me live on a leash. Secondly, I don't look all…cute and `in love' like they do. I wouldn't know how to fake it."

"It's easy. All you gotta do is…well, whatever you want with me. It's fun! Besides, I've never gotten love-drunk and then got photos with other couples before. It looks really, really, really, really fun!" Erik was definitely the kind of guy to look for a genuinely good time. I'd remember to invite him the next time I came across an amusement park.

Sighing, I looked at the two couples at the fountain. It did look like tons of fun…plus, I felt relaxed around Erik. "This is going to be so weird." I said, finally letting Erik lead me over.

Sora and Kairi looked up and smiled at us. "Hey you guys, you two at it as well?" Sora asked, and what would have been a knowing had he really known bounced right off of me.

"Just looking for the place to have to most fun." Erik said, saving me as he tightly squeezed my hand.

"Come on you two! Join us!" Jerdania said, tilting her head back so she could look at Irvine.

Erik pulled me over between the two, and now had me sit next to him. He laid out on one side, propping himself up with an arm. I sat down in front of him, and he didn't seem to mind when I decided to relax and lean his body. "Get ready!" The camera girl said, a guy now standing behind her, evidently her boyfriend. Darn! Everyone was in on the whole dating thing! How come I'd never noticed it before… I couldn't help but give a big, pretty smile when Erik quickly pulled me a little closer and put his face against mine, just before the camera bulb flashed.

"Great pic! Come on, all of you need to really loosen up!" The photographer's main squeeze shouted at us.

"No he doesn't!" Jerdania shouted, now realizing Irvine wasn't letting her get up, and was his hold was now tightening.

I suddenly laughed. So this…this is what it felt like. I got up so Erik could lay out on his stomach, and I went ahead and leaned on top of him…still holding back, not wanting this to actually end up anywhere, especially in my face. "Oh, come on you two. Let me help you out here." Kairi said, walking towards me.

She had Erik sit up on the edge, and had me sit behind him and then had me rest my head on his shoulder as she took my legs and placed them over Erik's. Kairi giggled and now took my arms and had me put them under Erik's, then had him take my wrists and wrapped my arms around his waist. Oh god… I was going to die, either of humiliation, from Riku's sword or from a heart attack from my heart now suddenly working so hard. "Erik, I hope you're having fun." I said, fakely smiling as the camera flashed.

I scooted back, trying to escape, only to have Erik lean back against me, his head now resting on my chest. He rolled his deep brown eyes up to look at me, a big grin on his face. "Just get loose and have fun!" He said, reminding me that my legs were still on top of his.

What was "loose" supposed to mean? I sighed and leaned over him, now looking directly into his face, even though it was now upside down. Why even bother getting revenge on this? I'd have photos…to do with whatever I pleased. I made a mental note to get a book on practical Voodoo while in Transverse Town.

I smiled down at him, noticing just how dangerous this was getting. "Erik…are you actually, uh…this can't be serious." I said, seeing that same…happy-in-la-la-love-land look in his eyes that I had seen with Riku… who the heck let the pheromones out?!

I had no time to think when Erik smooched me as the camera went off… It had to be true. Having your photo taken really could steal your soul. Heck, Erik had to have lost his. I quickly swatted him with my hand for it. He understood what I had meant, however the others must have thought I was merely teasing him.

The last photo was taken, and now Erik finally let me up, much to my nearly forgotten relief, which now came back like a tidal wave. "Thank god that's over." I said as Erik draped his jacket over me. "You can cut it out already. Once was enough." I said.

"I don't want to now. That was too much fun. Hey, Irv! Make sure you get extra copies of those, all right?" Erik shouted.

Irvine looked back from where he was leading Jerdania away, waving and nodding. Sheesh… what a moony guy. Ick. "Erik, is it like, love is some sort of dangerous, deadly and highly contagious disease that everyone has unknowingly contracted except for me, and that means I'm the only sane person left in the world?" I asked, trying to shake him off of me.

"Hmm… yeah, I think so." He said, now suddenly straightening up.

"So, is the normal, healthy Erik back yet, or do I have to quarantine you and the rest of the population?"

"Nah. I think it was just….I dunno. Did you feel it too?" He asked me, now suddenly stopping in front of me.

"Feel what?"

"The sudden feverish feeling, followed immediately by chills every time you think about what you're doing, and then a sudden loss of reality." Woah.

"Actually…" I trailed off, thinking of the exact moment when Erik had leaned back, and his beautiful, perfect eyes had looked at mine, eyes lost…the loss of reality. I had seen it. "Maybe we should go to the infirmary and get some pills for this or something." I said.

Erik laughed. "You've never been in love before, have you?" He asked me.

"Nope. And I'm not in love right now either." I said. Hey, remember? I'm the Snow Queen. Untouchable. Powerful. Occasionally weak-kneed.

"Geez. One day Akira, you're going to finally realize that you can't hide from your feelings forever." He told me.

I silently followed him toward the training center where we would meet up with the others. A million questions buzzed in my heads like a swarm of mosquitos or Bite Bugs, draining me of my sanity. I subconsciously lifted a hand and swatted my head.

We reached the entrance to the center, but Erik stopped and looked at me."Hey, um…Akira?" he said, his voice sober.

"Hmm?"

"Look, I'm…I'm sorry…if what I did back there, well… made you feel uncomfortable or anything…I won't do it again to you." He said, staring at his shoes.

Well, if you counted weightlessness and having your stomach parachute into oblivion counted as being uncomfortable, yes, he did owe me an apology. "It's…thanks. Let's go in already. Friends?" I offered him a hand, relieved when he looked up and smiled.

"Yeah. Friends." We walked in and joined the others who had already gathered.