Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Lion and Blade ❯ Chapter 2
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: whymihere 
Non Anime: Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Hentai / Fantasy / Romance / Shounen | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.13.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 450 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Hentai / Fantasy / Romance / Shounen | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.13.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 450 | Status: Completed
Okay, so just to get a few things straight. I forgot that the ships are named Gummi, not Gummy and Selphie uses Nunchaku not whips.
Chapter 2
“Will you get off of me?!” Kairi had just kicked Sora away for the second time as he was trying to steal her surfboard. Growling he told her that he’d left his at home and wanted to get back into the sport. Sticking her tongue out she kicked some sand in his face saying, “Your house is ten minutes away so go and get it yourself.” She then paddled out into the waves leaving Sora covered in sand while his best friend laughed at him for trying to take Kairi’s board. They watched her wipe out a few times and enjoyed a laugh as Selphie sped by her in perfect form.
Grabbing another water from the cooler, Sora took a drink and laid back sighing at the warm sunlight. Digging his feet into the sand he said, “I can’t believe we actually have some more time like this. Remember what happened one of the last times we were on a beach like this?” Riku nodded remembering the black beach bathed in moonlight. If it hadn’t been for Kairi’s letter, the two of them would never have been able to find their way home. Looking around Sora then said, “You know, this is the same exact spot we sat on when we beat Xemnas.” He heard Riku laugh loudly and throw some more sand into his face.
Noticing his friends look, Riku watched as Kairi sped past Tidus and Wakka on her board making them eat her backwash. Cheering her on, he focused his hand and made a small orb appear in his hand. Hearing Sora snort loudly, Riku made the orb disappear telling him, “Just because my light takes on a different form, doesn’t mean you have to be jealous.” Sora stretched out in the sand telling his friend that he had his own light shining within him. Sipping his soda, Riku asked, “I take it you’ve finally decided to heed my advice and ask Selphie out?” When Sora nearly choked on his water, Riku shouted to the flail user, “HEY SELPHIE! SORA WANTS TO DATE YOU!”
At that moment, Sora jumped up from his spot and began wrestling around in the sand with his best friend. Getting Riku into a leg lock, Sora thought he had the teen in his grasp when Riku suddenly broke from it and got him into a half-nelson burying his face in the sand. Lifting his head up Sora said, “Can we please stop sticking sand in my mouth tonight. I feel like an ostrich right now.” Feeling his friends grip loosen, Sora broke out and dragged Riku into the water to continue the fight. It wasn’t until Tidus came paddling up, and Wakka pulled Sora off Riku’s back that the two finally finished their latest fight.
“All right, bras, you two had bedda calm down or else ya gonna get hurt bad.” Wakka made sure the two kept their distance from one another as he said, “Now we got da ‘ole day ahead ‘a us and we dan’t need anyone going home hurt.” Muttering their disapproval, Sora and Riku promised not to fight anymore for the rest of the day. That being settled, Wakka pulled his ball out asking, “Any of you up for a game?” Selphie suddenly shouted that she was ready to play and had Kairi help her with the net while the boys picked teams. Two boys and one girl on each team made it fair, but who went with who was the bigger problem.
“I’ll take Wakka and Selphie,” announced Riku much to his friends surprise. Shrugging he told Kairi and Sora, “Just don’t expect any special treatment because of our relationship.” When the two announced they had no problem with the arrangements the game began with Wakka giving a powerful serve to which Tidus sent back without any problems. Riku took the return and tried to spike it at Sora only to have him block it and set Kairi up with an easy shot. “All right, it’s one to nothing in the first couple of minutes. That’s still no reason to celebrate.”
After Riku’s complaint, the game continued on with a surprising number of foot faults and out of bounds. Finally after nearly two hours, and a couple of sunburns, Tidus said, “Okay, it’s getting late and we’re all hungry so this is for the last point. Who ever gets it despite the serve, wins hands down no complaints. Agreed?” The group all nodded and Tidus served up the ball. It bounced back and forth for a few moments when Selphie went in for a spike straight to Sora. Going in for the block, Sora knew they had the game won when a voice took his focus from the ball earning him a violent slam to the right side of his face and loss of the game.
Watching him fall to the ground, the group all rushed to his side to find him staring absentmindedly at the sky muttering things about fairies and pixie dust. Hoping he wasn’t hurt, Riku asked the typical finger question, only to get slapped by Kairi about which finger he had decided to use. Selphie and Wakka helped Sora to his feet while Tidus went to shout at Leon who had just appeared in a boat, shorts and a tee-shirt. All of them had gotten used to Leon’s vacation clothes, considering the fact that Elizabeth had taken him clothes shopping for more appropriate garments, including sandles.
Today he’d gone with the typical tourist Hawaiian button up shirt. Only he hadn’t buttoned the shirt up showing off all of his battle scars. After getting yelled at by the girls for causing Sora harm, Leon told them, “Elizabeth sent me to get him for dinner. Seems she tried cooking pig over a charcoal induced flame. I think she called it bar-b-que.” The group all gave him the look most reserved for the homeless man on the street corner talking to God. Seeing the look that he was getting, Leon walked over to Sora and checked his face. Sighing he held out his hand while lazily saying, “Cure.” The green light flowed across the teens face removing the surfacing bruise from his friends face.
Rubbing his head, Sora looked up telling Leon, “Next time wait until I don’t have a ball going toward my head at ninety-miles an hour.” Climbing to his feet, Sora brushed the sand from his shorts asking, “So, Mom has dinner ready for us?” Leon confirmed that was what his mother had sent him to do. Picking up his shirt and his towel, Sora took control of the boat and steered them to the dock. Checking it back in, Sora put his shoes on and made his way up the streets to his home with Leon staring out at the sunset. Noticing his friends gaze Sora asked, “I take it your world had a lot of beaches on it?”
Averting his gaze, Leon stuffed his hands in his pocket saying, “I’d rather not talk about it.” Sora got the idea and pressed the situation. Knowing enough about Sora’s personality, Leon gave a large sigh telling the teen, “I’ll tell you this once. The place where I learned combat was near a village that was known for its fishing industry. Not to mention having about a miles worth of beach around it as well. So if you’re wondering if I’m homesick, the answer should be more than obvious with that explanation.” Sora was surprised at the sudden outburst but said nothing which relieved the former SeeD members mind.
Back at the house, Elizabeth had just finished setting the table. Helping the woman put the food on the table, the men both said thank you to the woman and began enjoying the meal she had spent so long preparing. As they reached the end, Leon wiped his mouth and thanked her for her kindness even though she didn’t need to take him in. Patting his shoulder, Elizabeth told the scarred fighter, “You helped my son in so many ways. So getting you some new clothes and giving you a place to stay is my way of repaying you.” While she said this Sora started making faces, and then got smacked in the head by his mother with a ladle. “If you’re done with your food and making faces at me you can start on the dishes young man.”
With a bump on his head, and his pride hurt, Sora spent an hour cleaning the pots and pans his mother had piled up in the sink. Finishing, he sat down and watched some television when out of nowhere he head some whistling go through the air. Going to the back window he saw Leon’s blade fly through the air with amazing speed. Stepping out onto the porch he watched his fellow knight. He summoned the basic form of his Keyblade and added the Lionheart chain to it before walking out onto moonlit beach. Placing it on his shoulder, Sora asked, “You want a sparring partner?”
Sticking the blade into the ground, Leon wiped a bit of sweat from his brow saying, “No thank you. I’ve done about six hours today and I’m just not into a sparring match tonight. Maybe in a couple of days.” When Sora started to whine about wanting to test his improvements, Leon gave a small laugh telling him, “I know how strong you are and you don’t need to prove it to me.” Putting the blade in its sheath, Leon headed up the back stairs and into the house. Going to the cupboard, he poured himself a drink and went off to take a shower while Sora stomped into the house waking his mother up from her sleep.
Sending his blade away, Sora went off to his room and fell onto his bed to the sound of waves wafting into his room. The next morning though he was woken up by a familiar voice shaking him from his odd dreams of being on television shows and sitting in hotel restaurants talking about pointless things. Opening his eyes he saw Yuffie smiling down at him. Jumping back a bit, Sora rubbed his eyes asking, “What are you doing here? I thought you were at the arena with Tifa training or trying to find those orbs you guys used to do magic with.”
Flopping down onto her friends bed, Yuffie spun a small shuriken on her finger by one of its tips saying, “Well, I did some training and decided to visit you guys and see how Leon was treating you since we all know how unsociable he is.” Leaning against his wall, Sora told her that he’d been pretty helpful around the house the past couple weeks and even her buy him some clothes. Stifling a laugh the ninja told her friend, “I saw him walking down the street with your mom after I got off the ship Mickey had drop me off. Amazing what you can see when jumping from roof to roof. Although I must admit, Leon in a flower print shirt and shorts is a funny sight.”
His eyes finally free of any sort of blur, Sora noticed that Yuffie was not dressed in her usual ninja outfit. In fact she opted for an outfit a lot like Kairi’s out of school garb, save for it wasn’t pink, but more of a blue. Seeing Sora’s eyes on it the ninja told him, “I went for a lighter color since you guys have sun all year round, and I didn’t want to smell like a sweat farm. And besides, I’d rather look like a local than go with the typical tourist look Leon’s been forced to wear.” The two shared a laugh when Sora got up and did a Leon impression of saluting in his vacation clothes. He continued until Yuffie pointed to the door going, “Uhh, Sora.”
It was too late for the teen to turn since Leon had him by the scruff of the neck asking, “Is this what you do behind my back? Make stupid impressions of me?” Turning around slowly, Sora’s eyes bulged to the size of dinner plates as Leon cracked his knuckles before repeatedly pounding his friend in the head. As Sora complained about being injured so many times in the head. Listening to the complaints, Leon continued the beating saying, “Who’d have thought the mighty Keyblade Master was such a whining little baby.”
At the sound of her sons beating, Elizabeth walked in to see what all the trouble was. Upon seeing Leon’s pummeling and Yuffie’s laughter she shouted, “Let him go right now!” Leon immediately let the younger man go as the woman shouted at him. Watching her son fall to the ground with a loud crash. She nodded saying, “Now if you’d all be so kind, breakfast is ready.” When she left Leon gave Sora one more punch to the head before following the woman to the kitchen as Yuffie helped him up off the ground and cast a spell to relieve his pain.
Climbing to his feet, Sora held his head asking, “Did he have to be so rough over such a stupid joke?” Yuffie patted him on the back saying that for Leon to even react in such a manner was odd enough and that the best thing to do was not dwell on it. “So you’re saying that I should be thankful I got away with a mild beating to the head and not end up gutted like a freshly caught fish?” Noticing he was now in the kitchen, Sora made eye contact with Yuffie as a mental sign to not answer that question. Instead he sat down at the table and served himself some eggs and toast before chatting with his mother and friends.
Finishing breakfast, Sora did the dishes with the help of Yuffie and told his mother that he would be back in a couple of hours. Walking out the door, Sora was surprised that Yuffie decided to follow him, leaving Leon all alone with his mother. Hoping for the best, Sora jumped onto short, but oddly wide brick wall and followed along next to Yuffie asking what she was doing on his home world. Hopping up next to him, she threw her arm around his shoulder saying, “I got bored and wanted to see something other than the back side of Tifa’s fist against my face and then waking up inside the arena infirmary.” When asked why she was getting beaten so badly, Yuffie did a cartwheel saying, “Well I use a giant shuriken, meaning I’m not all that great with hand-to-hand combat.”
Reaching the end of the wall, the two jumped down and continued their walk absentmindedly up a cobbled pathway. They arrived at the top of a hill with a small windmill on it seeing the sun reflect on the water and off the windows of the houses. Leaning against the fence that had been placed up, Sora smiled happily at seeing his home back to the way it was. Pulling the blue orb he’d gotten from Riku as a clue, he held it to the sunlight and watched it glisten as Yuffie gave him an odd look. Noticing the look he smirked at her saying, “It’s the personality of my Nobody leaking out.” Putting the orb back in his pocket he said, “He’d been put in an alternate reality and did that with his friends, and somehow it makes me happy the way it made him happy.”
Patting his shoulder, the ninja said, “Riku was right, you are a really big sap.” Before he could retort, a voice called out to them from the entrance to the hill. Turning she asked Sora, “Is he a friend of yours?” Looking over his shoulder to find Tidus jogging up to him, Sora said that he was, getting a “He’s pretty cute,” out of the ninja. When the blonde stopped in front of them a bit out of breath, Yuffie stuck out her hand saying, “I’m Yuffie, ninja and Materia hunter extrodinaire. Might I get your name?” Not getting an immediate answer from him, Yuffie waved a hand in front of Tidus asking, “What? Can’t you say something to a lady when she introduces herself.”
Shaking his head a little, Tidus took her hand and said, “My name’s Tidus. Been friends with Sora here since we were reborn on this planet. That seems to happen a lot around here.” The two boys laughed a little at how he, Wakka, and Selphie came to be on the islands. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Tidus asked Yuffie, “But, I can tell you aren’t from around her. A little too pale, so what brings you around here? Ya dating Sora, or just waiting until Leon decides to wake up and finally do something other than fight?”
Taking her shuriken off of her back, Yuffie twirled it around her hand asking, “Actually, I was in the middle of training for a few tournaments that’ll be held when we get time off from our patrol duties. You thinking about joining in on it pretty boy?” The somewhat sadistic attitude behind the ninjas voice frightened bot Sora and Tidus to an unprecedented level. Letting her weapon fall to the ground, Yuffie blushed asking, “Too mean?” When the two of them nodded, the kunoichi reattached her shuriken to her back asking, “But seriously, are you going to be entering? I can tell by the scars around your thumbs that you practice swordplay.”
Checking his hands, Tidus smirked at the callouses that formed around his hands from the extensive training he’d done with Wakka. After Sora and Riku left, he and Wakka trained harder than ever to compete with them. But, where Tidus added Blitzball to his list of combat skills, Wakka didn’t make any effort to learn swordplay. In fact the first time he’d even done it, he ended up slicing his shins to ribbons. Flexing his fingers, Tidus gave Yuffie a smirk saying, “I guess I could check it out. I mean you and your friends are some of the best fighters around. And if you’re serious about combat you always test yourself against those with more skill and experience.”
“Doesn’t really matter, because if I know Phil, he’s going to be adding in a lot of new features to these contests.” Having a lightbulb go off in his head, Sora got Yuffie into a headlock asking, “I know that you’ve been there during the remodeling so tell me what you know or face the consequences.” The ninja tried to fight him off, but with the help of Tidus, Sora got her pinned to the ground saying loudly, “Spill it ninja girl.” He was about to get an answer when a ball smacked him in the back of the head. Sora fell over with a thump and was then pulled up by an angry Blitzball expert.
“I take it your mother taught you never to treat ladies like that, ya?” He let go of Sora’s hair saying, “Whatcha think you’re doing holding a lady down like that?” Looking at Tidus he asked, “And you! You’re lucky I hit him before you or else you’d both be nursing pretty bad bruises.” Approaching Yuffie, the red head was surprised to find her laughing at Sora’s predicament. Confused he snapped his fingers asking her, “Ya hit your head or something? Normally after women get attacked like that they don’t laugh.”
Stopping her laughing, Yuffie then connected a fist to Wakka’s face knocking him over. Rising to her feet she dusted off her pants saying, “They weren’t hurting me, if anything their idea of tickle torture is by far a less effective punishment than having Cid cook you dinner.” Seeing Wakka rub his cheek she told him, “We were talking about mine and Sora’s job and asked Tidus if he wanted to join in on a few things we do with our off time. But, I didn’t answer a couple of Sora’s questions so he,” she pointed at Sora, “decided to try and tickle me to death unless I spilt the beans.”
Retrieving his ball, Wakka bowed saying, “Sorry for bothering ya then. I guess from where I stood it looked like something a bit different.” After apologizing he received to punches to the back of the head, and a wedgie from Sora who told him that was the last time the ball would cause him harm. Pulling the underwear from the nether regions of his backside, Wakka stood up telling them, “All right, all right. I’m sorry I started to beat you guys up, okay? Just don’t do something like that again or else the cops’ll do worse than throw a Blitzball at ya.”
That being settled, Tidus asked if they wanted to go and catch a movie later. Saying that they’d see them, Yuffie followed Sora into a small shopping area and visited a few of the local shops. In one she bought a new outfit, after modeling it in front of Sora who did not feel like being in that store. The reason for his discomfort was he knew a few of the clerks and had a suspiction that they’d be telling his mother about Yuffie’s little fashion show for him. Which would ultimately lead to her asking if he was dating the ninja.
Leaving the shop Sora asked if the new outfit had anything to do with Yuffie meeting Tidus. Spinning a bit she told her friend, “It might, but can’t a lady spoil herself every now and then?” Sora made the comment that it was sometimes hard to remember she was a girl, earning him a kick in the shin. As he hopped up in down, Yuffie snickered telling him, “Serves you right for ripping my pants?” She then showed a rip just above the knee on the current outfit she was wearing. Looking at it, she pulled out a kunai and made an identical cut announcing, “That’s better, at least they match now.”
Unsure of how to handle her logic, Sora stopped outside a weapons store and went up to the proprieter asking, “Did that sharpening kit come in yet?” Watching the little poofball of the owner bounce around from behind the counter, Sora heard the door open and Yuffie walk in asking what he was doing when she saw a Moogle climb up a ladder and pull out a small box. Having it placed in front of him, Sora opened it telling the Moogle, “You’re a life-saver Mog. How much do I owe?” The Moogle walked over to his ledger and made a few calculations before telling the teen his price.
When Sora began to protest the Moogle said, “KUPO!” The two teens remained silent as the Moogle said, “I had to pay extra for the delivery and not to mention shipping, insurance, and the price for import. So I think you’re getting off light paying only six-thousand munny.” Deciding it best not to mess with the tiny creature, Sora pulled the bills from his pocket and set it down on the counter. Picking it up, the Moogle put the kit into a bag saying, “Thank you for your business, Sora. I hope you’re a bit more grateful next time I do a favor for you.” He then took the money and put it into his safe.
Leaving before it got too mad at him, Sora left with Yuffie laughing nervously as he told the ninja, “That little guy has been through a lot. And trust me you don’t want him to start dancing.” When asked what would happen Sora told her, “Depends on where he’s at. The dances are all based upon his surroundings so inside his building, the most I know to happen would be he’d have a bunch of fire float around us and burn us to a crisp.” Asking if she could use it when he was done, Sora told her, “Shouldn’t be a problem, I got enough materials to keep all of my Keyblades in top condition for a couple of years. So, you sharpening your weapons can’t put that much of a dent in my supply.”
Feeling a little hungry, the two stopped at a hot dog stand and bought a couple of dogs for themselves. Setting down on a bench they watched people go by on their bikes and skateboards chatting and laughing while they wolfed down pig by-product. Tossing her foil into the trash, Yuffie began to go on about something when Kairi appeared from behind them saying, “Is anyone else bored out of their skulls?” Looking over her shoulder, Yuffie asked what the problem was. Grabbing Sora around the neck she whined, “Riku had to go away with his parents for some family thing, and my parents are working.” Crawling over she laid across her two friends saying, “So, that leaves me with no one at home to talk to, no boyfriend, and since we’ve had all our adventures, just hanging out is no longer my style.”
Patting his friends head, Sora flicked her nose asking, “Tidus and Wakka invited us to the movies. And, if ya got the munny you can come to.” The lack of kindness to Kairi had both girls hitting him about being mean to her. Blocking all the hits, Sora blocked all of them declaring, “She’s earned more than enough fighting with us. So why the heck should I have to pay for her to go see a movie?” At that moment, Tidus appeared behind him, grabbing his neck telling Sora that if he was a good friend then he’d pay for her. Knocking the blonde off him, Sora got up saying, “Fine, I’ll pay for her.” He then looked down to find Kairi rubbing her knee from where she had fallen after he’d gotten up so quickly.
Getting to her feet with the help of Yuffie, Kairi punched Sora lightly telling him, “You can also get popcorn and drinks after that little incident.” The group all laughed at him as he walked with his shoulders hung in defeat while Kairi marched ahead of him. The theater was a bit of a ways into town so by the time they arrived it was past two in the afternoon. They all stared at the list trying to decide what movie they should see. After some deliberation they bought tickets for an action movie, and after Tidus complained about them asking for identification they went in.
“Why did she I.D. us? We went to school with her for the love of God! Oh thanks,” he said as Kairi handed him a soda before he continued with his rant. “It’s complete bull, you go to school with us, you know our age, the theater owner knows our parents, so they shouldn’t have to do that.” His friends all told him to relax or else he’d end up having a stroke. Huffing he put the straw back into his mouth and took a few sips which seemed to calm him a bit. Inside the theater the group took their seats and waited as the screen flashed advertisements while music played softly through the speakers. Calm now, Tidus asked Wakka, “Do you even know what this flick is about?”
Stopping his devouring of the popcorn he’d bought, Wakka shook his head as he said with a mouthful of food, “Noff. Aff ah now ist that ist is good.” A few people gave Wakka looks of disgust because of the way he was talking. Apologizing, he set his popcorn down and waited for the movie to start. When it did, they were all surprised that the hero wore a mask and spoke a bit too quickly for them to catch everything he said. But, whether or not you could understand what was said, the message about their being too much injustice in the world was relevant from the moment the movie started.
When it was over, Kairi and the others continued to jaw on about the final fight scene and how before the hero died he took all the people he fought with him. Granted they did have to wonder why he stole butter and never gave it to people who really needed it. Wakka however liked the guy who was the talk show host and felt a bit sorry for him having to be hated the way he was. Patting his shoulder, Yuffie told him, “It’s called ignorance, and most people who claim to be understanding of someone’s choices show their true colors after they learn someone they’re related to or are friends with become part of a certain group. Although that leader who had all those people killed for their religion needed a worse death than suicide.”
Splitting off from Tidus and Wakka, Kairi, Sora, and Yuffie made their way back to Sora’s to find a large cloud of smoke coming from the back yard. Rushing to the aid of his mother, the learned that the house was not on fire. In fact, the smoke was caused by Leon using a Fire spell to light the grill. And rather than it lighting neatly, the charcoal blew up and spread soot and ash all over the place leaving Elizabeth and the gunblade user looking like they were trying to blend in with the shadows. Seeing the aftermath of Leon’s first grilling attempt, the three new comers couldn’t help but laugh as he made his way to the bathroom leaving a trail of foot prints in his wake before Elizabeth shouted, “Be quiet and get to work on this mess while I go and rinse off!”
While Yuffie and Sora went about cleaning up the mess, Kairi went inside and ordered a few pizzas. Two long showers, and an hour later, both Elizabeth and Leon came out to find the three teens laughing at the television and enjoying some pizza. Taking a few slices, Leon remained standing while the others all huddled around the television and chatted. Even after so much time in a group he still never felt like making small talk. It just didn’t suit him, and he was sure Yuffie would begin to rip on him after again after not joining them as they ate.
Finishing in silence, Leon left the living room and went into his donated chamber. Shutting the door, he pulled out his cleaning kit and began to clean out the trigger mechanism on his blade. He could still hear the laughter of his friends coming through. Locking the blade back in place, the scarred man beamed at his work and went around to cleaning the blade of any dirt and grime that might have built up. As he did this his mind drifted to thoughts of the dorms, fighting with Seifer, dealing with getting hot dogs for a friend of his. Not to mention all the tests he had to take at the hands of his whip-wielding, monster technique using instructor.
Then he had to add in Selphie, and her gun-using, womanizing boyfriend. And at last the memories of a black-haired rebel leader. Wiping the excess polish from his blade, Leon opened his weapons case, setting his blade gently in it. Locking the case, he stuffed it in his closet and pulled the covers over his head. He thought he’d only been asleep for a short time when Elizabeth knocked on his door telling him that it was past ten and that he had a visitor. Grumbling he got out of bed and went to the bathroom. After washing his hands he went into the kitchen only to be forced to dodge a punch thrown by a blonde-haired, tattooed man with a stupid grin pasted on his face.
Chapter 2
“Will you get off of me?!” Kairi had just kicked Sora away for the second time as he was trying to steal her surfboard. Growling he told her that he’d left his at home and wanted to get back into the sport. Sticking her tongue out she kicked some sand in his face saying, “Your house is ten minutes away so go and get it yourself.” She then paddled out into the waves leaving Sora covered in sand while his best friend laughed at him for trying to take Kairi’s board. They watched her wipe out a few times and enjoyed a laugh as Selphie sped by her in perfect form.
Grabbing another water from the cooler, Sora took a drink and laid back sighing at the warm sunlight. Digging his feet into the sand he said, “I can’t believe we actually have some more time like this. Remember what happened one of the last times we were on a beach like this?” Riku nodded remembering the black beach bathed in moonlight. If it hadn’t been for Kairi’s letter, the two of them would never have been able to find their way home. Looking around Sora then said, “You know, this is the same exact spot we sat on when we beat Xemnas.” He heard Riku laugh loudly and throw some more sand into his face.
Noticing his friends look, Riku watched as Kairi sped past Tidus and Wakka on her board making them eat her backwash. Cheering her on, he focused his hand and made a small orb appear in his hand. Hearing Sora snort loudly, Riku made the orb disappear telling him, “Just because my light takes on a different form, doesn’t mean you have to be jealous.” Sora stretched out in the sand telling his friend that he had his own light shining within him. Sipping his soda, Riku asked, “I take it you’ve finally decided to heed my advice and ask Selphie out?” When Sora nearly choked on his water, Riku shouted to the flail user, “HEY SELPHIE! SORA WANTS TO DATE YOU!”
At that moment, Sora jumped up from his spot and began wrestling around in the sand with his best friend. Getting Riku into a leg lock, Sora thought he had the teen in his grasp when Riku suddenly broke from it and got him into a half-nelson burying his face in the sand. Lifting his head up Sora said, “Can we please stop sticking sand in my mouth tonight. I feel like an ostrich right now.” Feeling his friends grip loosen, Sora broke out and dragged Riku into the water to continue the fight. It wasn’t until Tidus came paddling up, and Wakka pulled Sora off Riku’s back that the two finally finished their latest fight.
“All right, bras, you two had bedda calm down or else ya gonna get hurt bad.” Wakka made sure the two kept their distance from one another as he said, “Now we got da ‘ole day ahead ‘a us and we dan’t need anyone going home hurt.” Muttering their disapproval, Sora and Riku promised not to fight anymore for the rest of the day. That being settled, Wakka pulled his ball out asking, “Any of you up for a game?” Selphie suddenly shouted that she was ready to play and had Kairi help her with the net while the boys picked teams. Two boys and one girl on each team made it fair, but who went with who was the bigger problem.
“I’ll take Wakka and Selphie,” announced Riku much to his friends surprise. Shrugging he told Kairi and Sora, “Just don’t expect any special treatment because of our relationship.” When the two announced they had no problem with the arrangements the game began with Wakka giving a powerful serve to which Tidus sent back without any problems. Riku took the return and tried to spike it at Sora only to have him block it and set Kairi up with an easy shot. “All right, it’s one to nothing in the first couple of minutes. That’s still no reason to celebrate.”
After Riku’s complaint, the game continued on with a surprising number of foot faults and out of bounds. Finally after nearly two hours, and a couple of sunburns, Tidus said, “Okay, it’s getting late and we’re all hungry so this is for the last point. Who ever gets it despite the serve, wins hands down no complaints. Agreed?” The group all nodded and Tidus served up the ball. It bounced back and forth for a few moments when Selphie went in for a spike straight to Sora. Going in for the block, Sora knew they had the game won when a voice took his focus from the ball earning him a violent slam to the right side of his face and loss of the game.
Watching him fall to the ground, the group all rushed to his side to find him staring absentmindedly at the sky muttering things about fairies and pixie dust. Hoping he wasn’t hurt, Riku asked the typical finger question, only to get slapped by Kairi about which finger he had decided to use. Selphie and Wakka helped Sora to his feet while Tidus went to shout at Leon who had just appeared in a boat, shorts and a tee-shirt. All of them had gotten used to Leon’s vacation clothes, considering the fact that Elizabeth had taken him clothes shopping for more appropriate garments, including sandles.
Today he’d gone with the typical tourist Hawaiian button up shirt. Only he hadn’t buttoned the shirt up showing off all of his battle scars. After getting yelled at by the girls for causing Sora harm, Leon told them, “Elizabeth sent me to get him for dinner. Seems she tried cooking pig over a charcoal induced flame. I think she called it bar-b-que.” The group all gave him the look most reserved for the homeless man on the street corner talking to God. Seeing the look that he was getting, Leon walked over to Sora and checked his face. Sighing he held out his hand while lazily saying, “Cure.” The green light flowed across the teens face removing the surfacing bruise from his friends face.
Rubbing his head, Sora looked up telling Leon, “Next time wait until I don’t have a ball going toward my head at ninety-miles an hour.” Climbing to his feet, Sora brushed the sand from his shorts asking, “So, Mom has dinner ready for us?” Leon confirmed that was what his mother had sent him to do. Picking up his shirt and his towel, Sora took control of the boat and steered them to the dock. Checking it back in, Sora put his shoes on and made his way up the streets to his home with Leon staring out at the sunset. Noticing his friends gaze Sora asked, “I take it your world had a lot of beaches on it?”
Averting his gaze, Leon stuffed his hands in his pocket saying, “I’d rather not talk about it.” Sora got the idea and pressed the situation. Knowing enough about Sora’s personality, Leon gave a large sigh telling the teen, “I’ll tell you this once. The place where I learned combat was near a village that was known for its fishing industry. Not to mention having about a miles worth of beach around it as well. So if you’re wondering if I’m homesick, the answer should be more than obvious with that explanation.” Sora was surprised at the sudden outburst but said nothing which relieved the former SeeD members mind.
Back at the house, Elizabeth had just finished setting the table. Helping the woman put the food on the table, the men both said thank you to the woman and began enjoying the meal she had spent so long preparing. As they reached the end, Leon wiped his mouth and thanked her for her kindness even though she didn’t need to take him in. Patting his shoulder, Elizabeth told the scarred fighter, “You helped my son in so many ways. So getting you some new clothes and giving you a place to stay is my way of repaying you.” While she said this Sora started making faces, and then got smacked in the head by his mother with a ladle. “If you’re done with your food and making faces at me you can start on the dishes young man.”
With a bump on his head, and his pride hurt, Sora spent an hour cleaning the pots and pans his mother had piled up in the sink. Finishing, he sat down and watched some television when out of nowhere he head some whistling go through the air. Going to the back window he saw Leon’s blade fly through the air with amazing speed. Stepping out onto the porch he watched his fellow knight. He summoned the basic form of his Keyblade and added the Lionheart chain to it before walking out onto moonlit beach. Placing it on his shoulder, Sora asked, “You want a sparring partner?”
Sticking the blade into the ground, Leon wiped a bit of sweat from his brow saying, “No thank you. I’ve done about six hours today and I’m just not into a sparring match tonight. Maybe in a couple of days.” When Sora started to whine about wanting to test his improvements, Leon gave a small laugh telling him, “I know how strong you are and you don’t need to prove it to me.” Putting the blade in its sheath, Leon headed up the back stairs and into the house. Going to the cupboard, he poured himself a drink and went off to take a shower while Sora stomped into the house waking his mother up from her sleep.
Sending his blade away, Sora went off to his room and fell onto his bed to the sound of waves wafting into his room. The next morning though he was woken up by a familiar voice shaking him from his odd dreams of being on television shows and sitting in hotel restaurants talking about pointless things. Opening his eyes he saw Yuffie smiling down at him. Jumping back a bit, Sora rubbed his eyes asking, “What are you doing here? I thought you were at the arena with Tifa training or trying to find those orbs you guys used to do magic with.”
Flopping down onto her friends bed, Yuffie spun a small shuriken on her finger by one of its tips saying, “Well, I did some training and decided to visit you guys and see how Leon was treating you since we all know how unsociable he is.” Leaning against his wall, Sora told her that he’d been pretty helpful around the house the past couple weeks and even her buy him some clothes. Stifling a laugh the ninja told her friend, “I saw him walking down the street with your mom after I got off the ship Mickey had drop me off. Amazing what you can see when jumping from roof to roof. Although I must admit, Leon in a flower print shirt and shorts is a funny sight.”
His eyes finally free of any sort of blur, Sora noticed that Yuffie was not dressed in her usual ninja outfit. In fact she opted for an outfit a lot like Kairi’s out of school garb, save for it wasn’t pink, but more of a blue. Seeing Sora’s eyes on it the ninja told him, “I went for a lighter color since you guys have sun all year round, and I didn’t want to smell like a sweat farm. And besides, I’d rather look like a local than go with the typical tourist look Leon’s been forced to wear.” The two shared a laugh when Sora got up and did a Leon impression of saluting in his vacation clothes. He continued until Yuffie pointed to the door going, “Uhh, Sora.”
It was too late for the teen to turn since Leon had him by the scruff of the neck asking, “Is this what you do behind my back? Make stupid impressions of me?” Turning around slowly, Sora’s eyes bulged to the size of dinner plates as Leon cracked his knuckles before repeatedly pounding his friend in the head. As Sora complained about being injured so many times in the head. Listening to the complaints, Leon continued the beating saying, “Who’d have thought the mighty Keyblade Master was such a whining little baby.”
At the sound of her sons beating, Elizabeth walked in to see what all the trouble was. Upon seeing Leon’s pummeling and Yuffie’s laughter she shouted, “Let him go right now!” Leon immediately let the younger man go as the woman shouted at him. Watching her son fall to the ground with a loud crash. She nodded saying, “Now if you’d all be so kind, breakfast is ready.” When she left Leon gave Sora one more punch to the head before following the woman to the kitchen as Yuffie helped him up off the ground and cast a spell to relieve his pain.
Climbing to his feet, Sora held his head asking, “Did he have to be so rough over such a stupid joke?” Yuffie patted him on the back saying that for Leon to even react in such a manner was odd enough and that the best thing to do was not dwell on it. “So you’re saying that I should be thankful I got away with a mild beating to the head and not end up gutted like a freshly caught fish?” Noticing he was now in the kitchen, Sora made eye contact with Yuffie as a mental sign to not answer that question. Instead he sat down at the table and served himself some eggs and toast before chatting with his mother and friends.
Finishing breakfast, Sora did the dishes with the help of Yuffie and told his mother that he would be back in a couple of hours. Walking out the door, Sora was surprised that Yuffie decided to follow him, leaving Leon all alone with his mother. Hoping for the best, Sora jumped onto short, but oddly wide brick wall and followed along next to Yuffie asking what she was doing on his home world. Hopping up next to him, she threw her arm around his shoulder saying, “I got bored and wanted to see something other than the back side of Tifa’s fist against my face and then waking up inside the arena infirmary.” When asked why she was getting beaten so badly, Yuffie did a cartwheel saying, “Well I use a giant shuriken, meaning I’m not all that great with hand-to-hand combat.”
Reaching the end of the wall, the two jumped down and continued their walk absentmindedly up a cobbled pathway. They arrived at the top of a hill with a small windmill on it seeing the sun reflect on the water and off the windows of the houses. Leaning against the fence that had been placed up, Sora smiled happily at seeing his home back to the way it was. Pulling the blue orb he’d gotten from Riku as a clue, he held it to the sunlight and watched it glisten as Yuffie gave him an odd look. Noticing the look he smirked at her saying, “It’s the personality of my Nobody leaking out.” Putting the orb back in his pocket he said, “He’d been put in an alternate reality and did that with his friends, and somehow it makes me happy the way it made him happy.”
Patting his shoulder, the ninja said, “Riku was right, you are a really big sap.” Before he could retort, a voice called out to them from the entrance to the hill. Turning she asked Sora, “Is he a friend of yours?” Looking over his shoulder to find Tidus jogging up to him, Sora said that he was, getting a “He’s pretty cute,” out of the ninja. When the blonde stopped in front of them a bit out of breath, Yuffie stuck out her hand saying, “I’m Yuffie, ninja and Materia hunter extrodinaire. Might I get your name?” Not getting an immediate answer from him, Yuffie waved a hand in front of Tidus asking, “What? Can’t you say something to a lady when she introduces herself.”
Shaking his head a little, Tidus took her hand and said, “My name’s Tidus. Been friends with Sora here since we were reborn on this planet. That seems to happen a lot around here.” The two boys laughed a little at how he, Wakka, and Selphie came to be on the islands. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Tidus asked Yuffie, “But, I can tell you aren’t from around her. A little too pale, so what brings you around here? Ya dating Sora, or just waiting until Leon decides to wake up and finally do something other than fight?”
Taking her shuriken off of her back, Yuffie twirled it around her hand asking, “Actually, I was in the middle of training for a few tournaments that’ll be held when we get time off from our patrol duties. You thinking about joining in on it pretty boy?” The somewhat sadistic attitude behind the ninjas voice frightened bot Sora and Tidus to an unprecedented level. Letting her weapon fall to the ground, Yuffie blushed asking, “Too mean?” When the two of them nodded, the kunoichi reattached her shuriken to her back asking, “But seriously, are you going to be entering? I can tell by the scars around your thumbs that you practice swordplay.”
Checking his hands, Tidus smirked at the callouses that formed around his hands from the extensive training he’d done with Wakka. After Sora and Riku left, he and Wakka trained harder than ever to compete with them. But, where Tidus added Blitzball to his list of combat skills, Wakka didn’t make any effort to learn swordplay. In fact the first time he’d even done it, he ended up slicing his shins to ribbons. Flexing his fingers, Tidus gave Yuffie a smirk saying, “I guess I could check it out. I mean you and your friends are some of the best fighters around. And if you’re serious about combat you always test yourself against those with more skill and experience.”
“Doesn’t really matter, because if I know Phil, he’s going to be adding in a lot of new features to these contests.” Having a lightbulb go off in his head, Sora got Yuffie into a headlock asking, “I know that you’ve been there during the remodeling so tell me what you know or face the consequences.” The ninja tried to fight him off, but with the help of Tidus, Sora got her pinned to the ground saying loudly, “Spill it ninja girl.” He was about to get an answer when a ball smacked him in the back of the head. Sora fell over with a thump and was then pulled up by an angry Blitzball expert.
“I take it your mother taught you never to treat ladies like that, ya?” He let go of Sora’s hair saying, “Whatcha think you’re doing holding a lady down like that?” Looking at Tidus he asked, “And you! You’re lucky I hit him before you or else you’d both be nursing pretty bad bruises.” Approaching Yuffie, the red head was surprised to find her laughing at Sora’s predicament. Confused he snapped his fingers asking her, “Ya hit your head or something? Normally after women get attacked like that they don’t laugh.”
Stopping her laughing, Yuffie then connected a fist to Wakka’s face knocking him over. Rising to her feet she dusted off her pants saying, “They weren’t hurting me, if anything their idea of tickle torture is by far a less effective punishment than having Cid cook you dinner.” Seeing Wakka rub his cheek she told him, “We were talking about mine and Sora’s job and asked Tidus if he wanted to join in on a few things we do with our off time. But, I didn’t answer a couple of Sora’s questions so he,” she pointed at Sora, “decided to try and tickle me to death unless I spilt the beans.”
Retrieving his ball, Wakka bowed saying, “Sorry for bothering ya then. I guess from where I stood it looked like something a bit different.” After apologizing he received to punches to the back of the head, and a wedgie from Sora who told him that was the last time the ball would cause him harm. Pulling the underwear from the nether regions of his backside, Wakka stood up telling them, “All right, all right. I’m sorry I started to beat you guys up, okay? Just don’t do something like that again or else the cops’ll do worse than throw a Blitzball at ya.”
That being settled, Tidus asked if they wanted to go and catch a movie later. Saying that they’d see them, Yuffie followed Sora into a small shopping area and visited a few of the local shops. In one she bought a new outfit, after modeling it in front of Sora who did not feel like being in that store. The reason for his discomfort was he knew a few of the clerks and had a suspiction that they’d be telling his mother about Yuffie’s little fashion show for him. Which would ultimately lead to her asking if he was dating the ninja.
Leaving the shop Sora asked if the new outfit had anything to do with Yuffie meeting Tidus. Spinning a bit she told her friend, “It might, but can’t a lady spoil herself every now and then?” Sora made the comment that it was sometimes hard to remember she was a girl, earning him a kick in the shin. As he hopped up in down, Yuffie snickered telling him, “Serves you right for ripping my pants?” She then showed a rip just above the knee on the current outfit she was wearing. Looking at it, she pulled out a kunai and made an identical cut announcing, “That’s better, at least they match now.”
Unsure of how to handle her logic, Sora stopped outside a weapons store and went up to the proprieter asking, “Did that sharpening kit come in yet?” Watching the little poofball of the owner bounce around from behind the counter, Sora heard the door open and Yuffie walk in asking what he was doing when she saw a Moogle climb up a ladder and pull out a small box. Having it placed in front of him, Sora opened it telling the Moogle, “You’re a life-saver Mog. How much do I owe?” The Moogle walked over to his ledger and made a few calculations before telling the teen his price.
When Sora began to protest the Moogle said, “KUPO!” The two teens remained silent as the Moogle said, “I had to pay extra for the delivery and not to mention shipping, insurance, and the price for import. So I think you’re getting off light paying only six-thousand munny.” Deciding it best not to mess with the tiny creature, Sora pulled the bills from his pocket and set it down on the counter. Picking it up, the Moogle put the kit into a bag saying, “Thank you for your business, Sora. I hope you’re a bit more grateful next time I do a favor for you.” He then took the money and put it into his safe.
Leaving before it got too mad at him, Sora left with Yuffie laughing nervously as he told the ninja, “That little guy has been through a lot. And trust me you don’t want him to start dancing.” When asked what would happen Sora told her, “Depends on where he’s at. The dances are all based upon his surroundings so inside his building, the most I know to happen would be he’d have a bunch of fire float around us and burn us to a crisp.” Asking if she could use it when he was done, Sora told her, “Shouldn’t be a problem, I got enough materials to keep all of my Keyblades in top condition for a couple of years. So, you sharpening your weapons can’t put that much of a dent in my supply.”
Feeling a little hungry, the two stopped at a hot dog stand and bought a couple of dogs for themselves. Setting down on a bench they watched people go by on their bikes and skateboards chatting and laughing while they wolfed down pig by-product. Tossing her foil into the trash, Yuffie began to go on about something when Kairi appeared from behind them saying, “Is anyone else bored out of their skulls?” Looking over her shoulder, Yuffie asked what the problem was. Grabbing Sora around the neck she whined, “Riku had to go away with his parents for some family thing, and my parents are working.” Crawling over she laid across her two friends saying, “So, that leaves me with no one at home to talk to, no boyfriend, and since we’ve had all our adventures, just hanging out is no longer my style.”
Patting his friends head, Sora flicked her nose asking, “Tidus and Wakka invited us to the movies. And, if ya got the munny you can come to.” The lack of kindness to Kairi had both girls hitting him about being mean to her. Blocking all the hits, Sora blocked all of them declaring, “She’s earned more than enough fighting with us. So why the heck should I have to pay for her to go see a movie?” At that moment, Tidus appeared behind him, grabbing his neck telling Sora that if he was a good friend then he’d pay for her. Knocking the blonde off him, Sora got up saying, “Fine, I’ll pay for her.” He then looked down to find Kairi rubbing her knee from where she had fallen after he’d gotten up so quickly.
Getting to her feet with the help of Yuffie, Kairi punched Sora lightly telling him, “You can also get popcorn and drinks after that little incident.” The group all laughed at him as he walked with his shoulders hung in defeat while Kairi marched ahead of him. The theater was a bit of a ways into town so by the time they arrived it was past two in the afternoon. They all stared at the list trying to decide what movie they should see. After some deliberation they bought tickets for an action movie, and after Tidus complained about them asking for identification they went in.
“Why did she I.D. us? We went to school with her for the love of God! Oh thanks,” he said as Kairi handed him a soda before he continued with his rant. “It’s complete bull, you go to school with us, you know our age, the theater owner knows our parents, so they shouldn’t have to do that.” His friends all told him to relax or else he’d end up having a stroke. Huffing he put the straw back into his mouth and took a few sips which seemed to calm him a bit. Inside the theater the group took their seats and waited as the screen flashed advertisements while music played softly through the speakers. Calm now, Tidus asked Wakka, “Do you even know what this flick is about?”
Stopping his devouring of the popcorn he’d bought, Wakka shook his head as he said with a mouthful of food, “Noff. Aff ah now ist that ist is good.” A few people gave Wakka looks of disgust because of the way he was talking. Apologizing, he set his popcorn down and waited for the movie to start. When it did, they were all surprised that the hero wore a mask and spoke a bit too quickly for them to catch everything he said. But, whether or not you could understand what was said, the message about their being too much injustice in the world was relevant from the moment the movie started.
When it was over, Kairi and the others continued to jaw on about the final fight scene and how before the hero died he took all the people he fought with him. Granted they did have to wonder why he stole butter and never gave it to people who really needed it. Wakka however liked the guy who was the talk show host and felt a bit sorry for him having to be hated the way he was. Patting his shoulder, Yuffie told him, “It’s called ignorance, and most people who claim to be understanding of someone’s choices show their true colors after they learn someone they’re related to or are friends with become part of a certain group. Although that leader who had all those people killed for their religion needed a worse death than suicide.”
Splitting off from Tidus and Wakka, Kairi, Sora, and Yuffie made their way back to Sora’s to find a large cloud of smoke coming from the back yard. Rushing to the aid of his mother, the learned that the house was not on fire. In fact, the smoke was caused by Leon using a Fire spell to light the grill. And rather than it lighting neatly, the charcoal blew up and spread soot and ash all over the place leaving Elizabeth and the gunblade user looking like they were trying to blend in with the shadows. Seeing the aftermath of Leon’s first grilling attempt, the three new comers couldn’t help but laugh as he made his way to the bathroom leaving a trail of foot prints in his wake before Elizabeth shouted, “Be quiet and get to work on this mess while I go and rinse off!”
While Yuffie and Sora went about cleaning up the mess, Kairi went inside and ordered a few pizzas. Two long showers, and an hour later, both Elizabeth and Leon came out to find the three teens laughing at the television and enjoying some pizza. Taking a few slices, Leon remained standing while the others all huddled around the television and chatted. Even after so much time in a group he still never felt like making small talk. It just didn’t suit him, and he was sure Yuffie would begin to rip on him after again after not joining them as they ate.
Finishing in silence, Leon left the living room and went into his donated chamber. Shutting the door, he pulled out his cleaning kit and began to clean out the trigger mechanism on his blade. He could still hear the laughter of his friends coming through. Locking the blade back in place, the scarred man beamed at his work and went around to cleaning the blade of any dirt and grime that might have built up. As he did this his mind drifted to thoughts of the dorms, fighting with Seifer, dealing with getting hot dogs for a friend of his. Not to mention all the tests he had to take at the hands of his whip-wielding, monster technique using instructor.
Then he had to add in Selphie, and her gun-using, womanizing boyfriend. And at last the memories of a black-haired rebel leader. Wiping the excess polish from his blade, Leon opened his weapons case, setting his blade gently in it. Locking the case, he stuffed it in his closet and pulled the covers over his head. He thought he’d only been asleep for a short time when Elizabeth knocked on his door telling him that it was past ten and that he had a visitor. Grumbling he got out of bed and went to the bathroom. After washing his hands he went into the kitchen only to be forced to dodge a punch thrown by a blonde-haired, tattooed man with a stupid grin pasted on his face.