~Characters belong to Square Enix~

III - Who's That Cutie?

"Since you're the slave of our club, you're to follow every one of our commands."

Steam was filling up the space inside a large shower cubicle, mist obscuring the glass and relaxing against the jets of water was Sora, his back faced against the strong current and his eyes closed, deep in thought. The entire bathroom was laid out with white marble tiles and consisted of more than one facility. There was the circular shower cubicle on one side; in the middle was a round bathtub that also functioned as a Jacuzzi. Half the wall was a classy mirror with silver edges and above it was a flat screen TV which was immune to condensation. There were also roses in expensive looking vases in all four corners, the house keeping maid comes in every day when Sora's away to tidy his room and change the flowers. It was weird for Sora to take his showers inside such a large bathroom; the one back at home barely had any space for himself, this bathroom was roomy enough to hold a party, it made him feel a bit agoraphobic.

Riku's words were ringing inside Sora's ears and along with that dark voice was an image of bright green eyes. The eyes of a predator etched into his mind, those deep greens that gazed directly into Sora's blue gaze sent shivers that resonated throughout his body. Whenever Sora shut his eyes, he'd relive that same memory. It felt as if Riku had targeted Sora and put his mark on him, so he couldn't escape.

Sora runs his fingers through his hair and turns off the faucet, sliding open the glass door allowing the thick haze to escape through the gap, he steps onto the fluffy bath mat and throws a towel over his head. Eyes still dazed and mind lost in Riku's hypnotic gaze. Sora blinks and shakes his head scrubbing the towel into his hair.

"Pull yourself together Sora!"

The sisters had said they'd drop by in the morning to Sora's room, they didn't say why though; those two were as vague as they could possibly be. All Xion offered was a snicker and Naminé an innocent chuckle, very suspicious, who knows what diabolical plan they were plotting. The girls were complete opposites, Xion was the older one and more "Devil-like" and Naminé was supposedly the more "Angelic". Even their hairstyles contradicted each other with Xion having very dark, almost black short hair and Naminé had golden locks neatly parted to one side of her shoulder. However different their appearances may be, there was one similarity between them and that is when it came to cheeky ideas they were both in the same boat. Sora didn't even want to think about what they were going to do with him; he really wasn't in the mood to be tortured especially because he didn't feel like he slept at all last night, every time he tried to sleep he'd see Riku behind his eyelids, like it was permanently scarred there, he didn't know what drew him to Riku like that, maybe because he was jealous of how perfect Riku was? Maybe it was those mesmerizing eyes? Perhaps it was neither.

Knock Knock Knock

Sora's train of thought had been interrupted by some expected visitors. He hastily dries himself while hopping on a pair of trousers and forcing on a shirt, it wasn't exactly an easy task getting changed when he was still damp. Rushing over to the entrance he yells "Coming!"

He was reluctant to open the door but knew he had to; Xion would most likely break it if he didn't. Greeting the visitors standing on his doorstep, Sora waves a little and grins. "Uhhm… Morning guys…"

Xion and Naminé stands idly in front of him, their gaze planted on the boy surprised at how Sora's appearance could change so much from the day before. His hair was still wet and messily brushed to one side allowing his crystal blue eyes to display themselves with no obstructions. In the sister's eyes he looked pretty cute, maybe even a bit sexy… And that worked in their favor for whatever they were planning.

"Good morning Sora." Naminé beamed a lovely smile, her voice, sweet but hidden behind that mask of innocence was a detectable hint of deviousness. Xion also greets Sora "Hi" She smiles at him and an obvious amount of mischievousness was radiating off her. Behind her back she was holding something and she looked up at Sora with her navy eyes that twinkled devilishly. "We have something for ya~" Xion pushes her way pass Sora following behind was her little sister.

"Heeeey!" Sora calls after the intruders as they invade his home, well dorm room. They make themselves comfortable on the sofa and observe the living room.

"Oooh the school rooms aren't too bad, 'cept it's tiny compared to my room." Xion places the paper bag which she was holding onto the floor next to her and arching back her spine she sinks into the soft red sofa and closes her eyes.

"I think it's nice." Naminé remarks as she bounces on the cushion sitting next to her sister, her smile never fading.

Sora closes the door behind him and approaches the girls "So what did you guys want?" He asks. Xion opens one of her devious eyes focusing on the boy and smirks.

Naminé reaches into the bag and pulls out what seemed to be the Radiant Garden school uniform that was neatly attached to a clothes hanger. "A present for you~" Naminé chirps holding up the uniform to Sora's face.

Sora examined it; they're going to give him the uniform? Was it cursed? Is there really nothing fishy about it? Should he accept it? Better than wearing his own clothes right? "Is it really okay for me to take this?" He cautiously asks.

Xion grins "Sure, it is for you." That mischievous aura still surrounding her. Just to be safe Sora inspects the uniform more carefully, he takes it off Naminé and removes the blazer. Sora gasps in surprise, big blue eyes widening, oh man, he knew there was going to be something wrong with it.

"You guys can't be serious…" His expression changes into a worried one.

"One hundred percent serious!" Naminé was now grinning uncontrollably along with Xion.

Sora's eyes were still fixed on the clothes. On the hanger, hidden beneath the blazer, was a skirt. It was the Radiant Garden's girl's uniform.

"No way!" Sora exclaims pushing the hanger back into Naminé's hands "I've already soiled my reputation by looking like a hobo yesterday! I don't wanna be seen as a cross-dresser too!" He defends. Sora doesn't notice it but his mouth had already formed a pout automatically, it just made him look cuter.

"Heeheehee, I think it will suit you though, you're cute Sora." Declares the blonde girl boldly.

Sora blushes slightly at the comment; he'd never been complimented by a girl before. Sure he was cute but everyone back at his Island never approached him about it, he was more like the "baby-cute" type and everyone saw him as a little brother.

"And you owe us munny for breaking the precious tea set." Xion wryly smirks at Sora reminding him of the tragic event which occurred during lunch the previous day.

Ack! Of course, it was their revenge tactic all along, humiliate Sora even more, ensure that he will never succeed; it just might work for them. Sora didn't want that, he came to study at Radiant Garden to acquire his dream, not to become the laughing stock of the school. The weirdo transfer student, the hobo transvestite, the clown of RG, the names would never seize to end, he'd become the character of a shameful legend and would even tarnish the flawless name of the school. No, no, no! Sora shook his head violently in protest.

"You can't refuse us, slave." Xion raises a finger and points it directly at the flustered boy reminding him again that he was indebted to them and as long as the munny isn't paid off, he would remain captive to them. If Sora agrees and does wear the uniform, he'd no doubt become the freak of the school and never be able to chase his dream. If he doesn't do as they say the entire club will hunt him down for the rest of his life, his days would never be peaceful. It was an endless dilemma.

"Relax Sora" Naminé says reassuringly, she had noticed Sora's string of agitated expressions "We're not asking you to do this to embarrass you."

Sora's eyes wonders to Naminé who has a sympathetic look on her face.

"We've been trying to find a girl for the club to balance out the amount of guys and girls." Xion says, her pointed finger never left Sora.

Naminé cuts in again "And you're perfect!"

Sora's previous thoughts were still circling like a tornado in his head, why don't they find a real girl for the job "I-I don't want to be a clown!"

Naminé's disappointment reflects onto her face, the smile flips upside down and her eyebrows draw together slightly "But we think you'll look great! You'll charm everyone in the school for sure!"

Was she kidding? It'd be so obvious that Sora's a dude in a chick's uniform.

"Please? We'll help you too!" Naminé's eyes started to water as she looks up at Sora with pleading eyes. Woah, was it really this serious for them? Sora felt his heart weaken at the sight.

Xion smirks and glares at Sora "You can't refuse us." She repeats "You are the chosen one for our trio, the perfect element in our balance between good and evil."

Sora was darting his eyes left and right trying to find an escape route somewhere in the room, maybe he'd unexpectedly get kidnapped by a ninja, or get sent back in time by a godly being so he wouldn't have ever entered that club room. Either way, Sora didn't even mind getting eaten by a rabid dog right now, anything to get away from this situation and not having to worry about any consequences.

Realizing that none of these incidents would happen, Sora sighs "Fine." He obeys unwillingly his head droops to the floor; his dignity will be forever ruined.

Xion and Naminé both share an excited smile, the blonde dashes over to Sora and pulls him into a squeezing tight hug "Oh thank you Sora!"

"Agh! You're-welcome-"Sora says trying to breathe and break away from the sudden attack.

"Glad we can come to a settlement" Xion says smugly "Why don't you wear it right now?" She throws the uniform into Sora's arms. Sora doubts he'd ever come across an even more humiliating moment in his life, he strolls into his bedroom with the uniform sighing and closes the door.

A prominent blush was glowing in Sora's face as he steps out in the girl's uniform. All the sisters could do was stare in awe, astonished by how outstanding it looked on him. The Radiant Garden's school uniform is a ruby color, the outer material was velvety and the inside was silky and felt heavenly, no wonder it was so expensive. The girl and boy's blazers were very similar but instead of the boy's tie, the girls had a ribbon that hung around the neck over the chest. The skirt was pleated and matched the blazer's color with a plaid pattern and Sora pulled it off extremely well, even with those black knee high socks. It was mainly down to his girlishly skinny body, and tiny frame, his face was also deceiving with his round cheeks and childlike features, he could really fool people dressed like this.

"Wow, Sora! It looks great." Naminé was chirping again, she bounces around the room like a child with candy.

"Just need some finishing touches, now be a goodie and come here." Xion pulls out a hairbrush and other hair accessories and when Sora sees that, he backs away in shock.

"No way! I've already been humiliated enough!" He cowers. Poor Sora, the nightmare doesn't seem to be ending for him.

"Oh shush, if you're gonna do this you might as well go all the way." Xion smirks.

Sora knew she was right, he'd already given up anyway, might as well sign off the rest of his dignity to the girls. He once again sighs and walks over to them.

"Hee hee!" Naminé giggles as Sora sits beneath them on the carpet and she brushes his hair. It felt kind of nice.

There were a few minutes left to spare until class starts and an exchange of gasps and whispers echoed in the classroom, whether the attention was good or bad remained a mystery. Classmates stole quick glances as Sora made his way to his seat. Sora's blush didn't wipe off either, his hair had been tamed and straightened to frame his face, the girls also tied a few spikes above his head into a mini side pony tail which frayed like a little fountain. Decorating the pony tail was a red ribbon which matched the uniform's color; and also complimented the color of his cheeks which burned a fierce scarlet shade.

"Heh, that looks pretty good on you." Roxas was glancing in Sora's direction, his face pasted with an amused look.

Sora twists his head and shyly looks over to Roxas "It was the sister's idea…" He says in a soft voice.

Roxas rests his head on his palm and smiles "Yeah I know, we discussed it yesterday after you left, figured it'd be a good idea for you to be our toy, Riku agreed to it too."

Sora also rests his head on his hand with his elbow on the desk and blows up his face pouting "Discussing it without me…"

"It's not too bad; I think you'd make a good Hostess like that." Roxas' aqua like eyes gleams the same gleam that appears in Xion's devious eyes and Sora returns a puzzled look and tilts his head with a raised eyebrow.

Hostess?

Before Sora could raise any questions as to what a Hostess was, Axel arrives and swiftly makes his way toward his desk. Axel was pretty popular amongst quite a number of girls in the school, immediately after he entered; half the girls had their sights glued onto him. Axel was used to the stares; he just ignores them outside of "club hours".

Making his way over to Roxas, he greets the boy and ruffles his hair "Yo Roxas, good morn- Woah." Axel's gaze catches sight of the girl sitting beside his friend and his eyes widen in surprise "Is that you Sora? Damn, you look hot!"

Axel's fan-girls stayed silent but Sora could feel them despairing over the comment; jealously already started brewing inside of them, some girls sneering across their seats at the timid boy. Great, the red head had just made Sora some unintentional opponents of a war game, the game of 'Who can steal Axel's heart first'.

Sora buries his head between his arms breaking off any eye contact, was it shamefulness he was feeling? Should he feel happy for being complimented? Or just feel totally embarrassed by the fact that he had been complimented, by a guy, while dressed as a girl and in the process make a bunch of enemies? It still made Sora's stomach flutter a bit with little butterflies, maybe even a little happy. He hid his blush and his eyes were travelling up and down the wooden marks on the table as he tried to concentrate on something else other than the deathly glares directed at him by a few girls and unexpected stares from various male students.

Roxas fixes his hair which Axel had messed up, it didn't seem to bother him, it appeared as if Roxas was used to Axel's actions. "Yeah I know, I think she'll be pretty popular."

Axel pulls out his seat, his green eyes like a serpent hardly moving away from Sora as he sits down. "She'll take all of the Xion and Naminé's customers within a month, maybe even myself." Axel glances over to Roxas and smiles slyly.

Roxas blinks a few times at the last comment "Huh? What you mean by that?" He asks confused.

Axel replies, the corner of his lip spreads "Well you're my favorite right now, buuuuut…" Axel's gaze reverts back to the boy whose head was still hidden between his arms "Sora is kinda cute, he looks a lot like you too, haven't you noticed?"

Roxas looks over to Sora, it was true, their eyes were literally the same color, their height was also the same. The only difference is that Roxas has dark blonde hair, but that was because he had dyed it. Roxas started dying his hair a long while back, he didn't even remember what he looked like when his hair was completely natural, he made sure his roots never showed. But if he imagined his hair color was the same as Sora… There would certainly be a striking resemblance.

"Hello, are you Sora Azul?" Says a kind and friendly voice, Sora lifts his head and his eyes meet the gaze of a girl with glossy crimson hair, her eyes like pure and lucent aquamarine. She was really pretty and she held out a hand in front of Sora for a handshake. "My name is Kairi Laurel, I'm the class president" She smiles warmly at Sora "Sorry I wasn't here yesterday for your introduction, I was incredibly busy the whole day."

Sora reaches out his hand and grasps Kairi's to perform a handshake "Nice to meet you, Kairi." Sora smiles politely, she seems nice, not like the other girls who have been shooting him those scary glares of doom, Sora's blush had also faded; he seemed really comfortable with this girl.

"Great! Hope we can get along!"

Ding Ding Ding Dong

The morning bell interrupted the short greeting between the two. "Ooh! Class is beginning, I'll speak to you later Sora." She beamed one last smile and quickly hurried to the front of the room. Just as Kairi arrives at the front of class, Vexen marches in, wow, right on time.

It was a tradition in Radiant Garden for class presidents to direct their classes. In this case, every morning the Class Presidents instruct everybody to stand up and say "Good morning." And bow. Vexen actually found it a waste of time which is why he took the liberty to skip the greeting the day before since Kairi was away, but rules is rules, it had to be done when Kairi returned, especially because she was the daughter of the Principle of Radiant Garden. Kairi had to be seen as the symbol of the perfect student, her grades were the top of the year too, she probably is the most perfect student in the entire school.

As the students settled back down in their seats, Axel whispers over to Sora, "Psssst, you taken a liking to the class prez?"

Sora darts back at Axel exclaiming in a sharp whisper, "Huh! N-no! I just think she's a really nice person."

The fiery red head chuckles to himself, "Well whatevs, she turns down like every guy who confesses to her."

Roxas butts into the conversation also whispering, "And she doesn't seem to have a crush on anybody."

Sora sticks out a pout "Well not like she knows I'm a guy anyways…"

Axel continues sniggering to himself. Roxas and Sora watched him with the same puzzled expressions.

After 2 hours of straight physics, it was finally time for break, half an hour for Sora to get lunch. His belly was rumbling like a drum, those long hours of studying causes Sora to burn up all his energy, he needed food badly. Axel and Roxas had invited him for club activities during break time but Sora declined the offer, he was more interested in filling up his stomach, he knew they'd just mess around with him in the club, besides; club time should really just be limited to the 1 and a half hour break times and after school. With 30 minutes free, Sora hastily makes his way to the cafeteria, yummy dishes circling his mind, what should he have today? Instead of steak he could have grilled garlic wild salmon in white sauce with roasted veggies and creamy mash potatoes… Yes, that sounded appealing, the hunger made him crave buttery foods and the smell of grilling fish was waffling its way under his nose. The drool was almost escaping from his mouth when he laid his eyes on some fellow students who had ordered the meal he had in mind.

Sora swallows his saliva and reaches into his pocket for the payment card.

Suddenly.

Sora came to a realization.

He had no pockets.

All hell befalls on the young boy, lightning strikes him as his eyes widen in distress. The payment card was left in trousers! He was only 10 minutes away from the dorm rooms, he could make it right? But to get there and back would take 20 minutes already, and then he'd have to stuff the food down his pipe. No, he would never allow such glorious foods to be eaten so disgracefully. Sora's eyes tears up and his mouth forms his famous little pout. He searches in his school bag for a wallet which contained 500 munny, not even enough for a slice of apple pie here.

Closing the worthless wallet, he sloppily exits the cafeteria.

Sora aimlessly wanders around the school, he was too hungry to care where he was heading right now, he also catches the attention of random male students, barely hearing their quiet whispers between other males.

"Who's that?"

"She's cute…"

"Isn't that the new transfer student?"

"No way!"

It was troublesome for Sora to hear so many things said about him, he ignores the gossip and makes his way up a flight of stairs walking up floor by floor, he wanted to sit down somewhere quiet by himself. Away from the world and its sorrows, he wanted to run away from the land of the hungry but alas, the hunger follows him wherever his stomach took him, which was everywhere.

Eventually Sora arrives on the roof of the school building which was 15 floors up, how he managed to lazily creep up all those stairs was a mystery even to himself, but he was glad he did it, there was not a single person in sight. The sky was clear and warm, the breeze was light, Sora managed to find a spot behind a wall and sit down enjoying the view of the town below.

The town looked so different compared to his Island. There were buildings everywhere and patches of greens which were usually people's front gardens and local parks. The front of the school was also stunning, there were groups of water fountains in the front of the gates and inside the premises were large grassy areas which housed beautifully tended exotic plants and flowers. There were also ponds which reflected the light of the sun decorated with lily pads and lotuses. Surrounding the entire perimeter of the school was a hedge maze. Radiant Garden really did live up to its name. It was enchanting to study in such a wonderful school, Sora was extremely glad he was able to attend. All he was used to seeing was endless amounts of sand and blue sea, the dusty old fashioned tiled pavements in his local town and the palm trees which lined the shoreline and that endless heat.

As Sora gazed down at the unfamiliar town of Asellus, the gentle breeze brushes pass his hair and a voice suddenly cuts through his mind and a nostalgic feeling warms up in his heart.

"Remember, no matter where we are, we're all looking at the same sky."

Familiar words echoed in Sora's mind. He reaches into his bag searching for something.

"Found ya…" He whispers softly to himself and pulls out the precious crown necklace which sparkled radiantly under the light of the sun.

Sora gazes idly at the ornament, the hint of familiarity and nostalgia slowly fading away.

No…

He stares at the crown in hopes that the feeling would return but to no avail. His childhood clue had been swept away yet again, he just knew that pendant meant something to him- a lot, but he just couldn't remember who that person was anymore. Sora sighs and leans back on the wall dangling the necklace in front of his face he notices a pair of bright green eyes gazing directly at him.

"WOAH!" Sora yells out in surprise knocking his head against the wall.

It was Riku, he was watching Sora for a while but the clueless boy hadn't noticed at all.

"Haha, I was wandering when you'd notice me crouching here…" Riku chuckles at Sora who was rubbing the back of his head relieving his pain.

"Owwww... Man Riku… You could at least tell me you were there."

Riku rubs his chin "I was here the whole time; you were too lost in your thoughts to pay me any cognizance so I just watched you." He smirks "Besides… Who could look away when you look like that."

Sora's face instantly burns up in an uncontrollable brewing of blush soup. He looks away slightly pouting again.

Riku edged towards Sora and without warning the older boy clutches the younger's chin and brings it close to his own gazing deep into those ocean blue eyes. If Sora wasn't already furiously blushing at the max of his potential, he certainly was now; his face felt like it was being toasted next to the sun. He was forced to gaze back into Riku's captivating emerald eyes, his heart suddenly starts to pound against his ribcage, it made his entire body jolt at every beat. Riku's eyes, so pretty, so safe… So beautiful.

It felt like a minute of staring in silence, the only sound heard was the elegant swishing of the gentle breeze and a few birds singing on the fence.

After the brief staring contest, silver haired boy decides to break the moment of silence.

"You know… This look suits you." Riku whispers in a hoarse voice, their faces were barely an inch apart.

Sora didn't reply, he couldn't say anything; he was too succumbed in the predator's hypnotizing eyes, the gaze which was impossible to escape from.

"And your eyes… I could get lost in them." Riku releases the prey from his clutches, the smirk, however, was back on his face.

Sora scampers on his butt creeping like a crab a few feet away from Riku. Poor Sora was totally flustered and confused; his face was as red as a tomato.

What the heck was that!

Sora's thoughts were raging inside his head like a mad hurricane, on the outside he may look completely calm due to the fact that he was sitting completely still and dumbfounded but his mental state was in complete ruins.

Riku coolly continues to observe the bewildered boy sitting in front of him, he found it quite amusing. Riku was used to causing hearts of girls to skip beats, he had many "skills" but when he used them on Sora, it entertained him more, he loved the reaction he got from the boy.

Riku laughs at Sora and runs a finger through his long silky hair. "I was just showing you one of my tactics." He kids.

"Totally got you didn't I? Did you fall for me?" Riku asks while grinning his refreshing smile at the confused boy who was hugging his knees.

Sora's bottom lip stuck out "What do you mean by tactic?" His defense position was locked in place, he wasn't moving until he felt safe again.

"Didn't they tell you anything?" Riku asks, but all Sora returned was another combo of confused looks.

Riku sighs and leans against the wall next to Sora resting his head on his arms which were crossed behind his head, he gazes up at the fluffy clouds in the sky.

"You're going to be our new hostess."

Sora blinks in shock and looks up at Riku "Huh?"

Green eyes grins down at blues "You know what a Host is, yes?"

Sora draws his eyebrows together to pull out a thought bubble, "Aren't those people who accompany others to satisfy their needs?"

Riku nods down at Sora pleased that he delivered a correct answer, "Precisely. And you are our newest member."

Sora's eyes now reflected worry; his mission was to coo other guys! Dressed as a girl! That's totally weird! He couldn't do that! "But I-"

"You're my slave, you can't refuse." Riku interrupts Sora before he could form a valid excuse, "Besides, it'll be okay, I'll teach you." Riku smiles warmly at Sora, and ruffles his brown hair; the deviousness in his eyes had vanished for a split second. Where had Sora seen those exact eyes before?

"Come to the room during next break time, I have the perfect customer for you." And just like that, the sparkle of doom was back clearly displayed in his irises.

Riku's gaze wanders to the Crown necklace which Sora was still tightly clutching in his hand. "By the way… Where did you get that?" He curiously asks.

Sora slowly breaks away from his defensive knee hugging pose. His eyes gazes off distantly at the accessory which rested in his hand.

"It was a present from my friend… A very long time ago." Sora's voice was embedded with passion and it touched Riku's heart.

"Was this a special friend?"

Sora's sapphire eyes emanated a dismal and painful glow, he slowly shook his head.

"I don't even remember their name." He says quietly.

Riku felt a needle prick his heart and he forces a prince-like smile and puts his hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Don't worry, you'll remember one day."

Sub chapter, 10 years ago.

Fateful Day

White daylight shines through a window into a grand looking room. The walls were spread with ivory coloured wallpaper embroidered intricately with fine golden threads. The carpet was red and felt like heaven for feet to tread onto. Having such a majestic room anyone would feel like royalty... With the exception of a certain young boy. His hair was shoulder length and silver which reflects a tint of lilac when it met the rays of sun. It was definitely silky to touch if fingers were ever lucky enough to run in between. Eyes were innocent and as pretty as emeralds yet displayed hints of boredom.

"Riku, now try these." A man sitting adjacent to the boy on an oaken desk slides a notebook to the child.

Riku's elbow was on the desk and his head was being propped up with his hand, he picks up a fountain pen and starts to solve the problems which his tutor, Zexion, had given him.

After scribbling down some calculations, doing some mental arithmetic and jotting down some answers, the boy caps the fountain pen and slides the notebook back to his tutor.

Zexion adjusts his glasses surprised at the speed the young man had managed to solve his set of questions, uncapping his red pen he proceeds to check the answers.

Riku glances outside. The window was open and allowed a warm ocean breeze into the room, it smelled delicious. The sky was a clear dark blue and gracefully decorating high above were some feathery cirrus clouds. He sighs and wanders his gaze below and spots some kids, it was summer vacation for them and they were playing.

There were four of them and they were all around the same age, a tall blonde boy, an even larger tanned skinned boy, a skinny girl with shoulder length blue hair and a small boy with spiked brown hair.

Riku had seen them before; he sees them all the time. He often watches them play outside from his third story window when they passed by the mansion gates. He had always wanted to hang out with friends his own age. His mother never allowed it which is why he was stuck with private tutoring; she probably thought other children would corrupt her son.

One thing seemed strange about the kids, Riku always notice it. The blonde boy, big guy and girl would always be close together while the fourth small boy would always chase behind them, as if he was always trying keep up.

"Geez Sora, you're so slow." Sneered the blonde.

"Totally worthless!" Mocked the larger boy.

"Pathetic." Came a third voice from the girl.

Sora was out of breath and raises his head to face the blonde. "S-sorry Seifer, I just don't think it's a good idea to knock on people's doors then run away."

"With your ass slowing us down, then yeah. You should play by yourself right? Fuu, Rai?" Seifer didn't sound forgiving and he continued to ridicule the smaller boy.

Raijin waved his arms in the air in favour of Seifer's comment "Yeah! Yeah! Let's ditch 'im!"

Fuujin crosses her arms and looks straight at Sora "Agreed." She never spoke more than she had to.

Sora felt isolated as the three of them picked on him, his eyes waters up and his mouth trembles.

"Humph, you're always crying like a weakling, let's go guys! We don't need a cry-baby. " Seifer spins around and engages in a sprint, his two accomplices following behind loyally.

"W-wait you guys!" Called Sora, he starts chasing them but clumsily slips on a round pebble on the ground and falls flat on his face.

The trio did not stop; they continued to run until they were out of Sora's sight. The lonesome little boy sat up with quivering lips which soon turned into a huge gaping hole that bellowed out a high pitched voice. His eyes were closed but tears were rolling out like a waterfall. He tries to rub his cheeks dry but more tears flowed out soaking his face again.

Back in Riku's room Zexion had finished checking Riku's solutions. "Perfect score." He smiles proudly at his pupil. Distracted by Zexion's voice, Riku looks away from the window and smiles back at his tutor.

"Well then, I guess that's it for today, you're free now." Zexion removes his reading glasses and gathers textbooks and other notes that were scattered on the desk and neatly places them back into his office bag.

"You're mastering every subject like a genius." He pushes out his chair from under the desk and stands up.

"Thank you, sir. Would it be fine if I were excused now?" Riku asked politely flashing a charming smile at the older man.

Zexion nodded and Riku dashed out the door, into the hallway and flew down all those flights of spiralling marble stairs.

Speeding out the back door to avoid being noticed, Riku sets foot onto the lawn outside and scurries over the soft bouncy grass heading to the large black gate that connected to the "outside". Riku slowly pushes open the gate and was relieved to see Sora still sitting on the ground.

Boldly approaching the crying boy and crouching down to his height, Riku asks "Are you okay?"

Sora's eyes open slowly to see a blurred image of a boy in front of him. He blinks away some tears and swallows a lump in his throat.

"Wh-Who're you?" Sora shyly asked rubbing underneath his eyes.

Emerald eyes gleams at Sora's sapphire ones and Riku smiles.

"I'm Riku, I live here." He points to the building which he emerged out from "what's your name?" Offering a hand which Sora grasps onto, Riku pulls up the boy from the ground.

"M-my name's S-S-S-S" Sora stuttered, it was difficult to speak properly after putting all his effort into crying.

Riku tilts his head in confusion "S-S-S-S? That's an odd name."

"My name is Sora!" Those blue eyes had snapped shut again after Sora concentrated all his energy into forming that short sentence.

"Oh! Sora! Are you okay? I saw you fall down and was worried."

Sora didn't speak again, he just nodded slowly.

"What about your friends? Are they going to come back?"

Tears starts to build up again, hands were clenched into small fists and bottom lip hidden while quivering.

"Th-they not" Sniff "M-my friends" Sniff "Anymore..." Sora's gaze drops to the ground.

Riku was a bright kid; he managed to piece together the information and figured out what had happened between Sora and the other trio. A sympathetic look crossed his face, then a glowing smile.

"You can be my friend!"

Sora's gaze returns to Riku's, his mouth parted slightly from surprise.

"R-really?" He asked quietly.

Riku nods and displays a friendly grin "Yup."

"But I'm slow and weak and a c-c-cry-baby" His lips were trembling again and Sora wipes away the droplet which escaped from his eye.

Riku sighed and shook his head "I don't care if you're an alien! You can still be my friend."

Sora lightens up and smiles faintly at Riku's comment, he could use a friend like Riku, he seems kind and emanated a friendly aura. It was nice, approachable, welcoming and nothing like Seifer.

"Okay, I hope we can become good friends." Sora's previous woes drain away little by little and as he takes a step forward he almost stumbles again.

"Owww..." he moaned. "My foot hurts,"

It would appear that Sora had twisted his ankle during the trip he had earlier.

"I'll help you get home." Riku offered eager to assist his new found friend. "Do you live near?"

Riku wraps Sora's arm over his shoulder and the younger boy guided the older back to his home while hopping on one foot.

"Sora! Darling are you okay?" Sora's mother pulled Sora into a loving embrace suffocating him between her chest.

"You hurt your ankle you silly thing! Here sit down" She picks up Sora and props him onto a chair in the kitchen.

"Thank you for helping Sora get home, young man" She thanked Riku smiling at him with her crystal-like eyes.

Smiling up to the pretty lady he says. "You're welcome Miss, my name is Riku Hedera, I just became Sora's friend." Riku was well mannered and polite; even though he was "trained" to be like that around adults he was genuinely kind hearted.

"Wow, the little prince of the Hedera fortune! I didn't expect you to be such a handsome little gentleman." She chuckles sweetly

"You can call me Sana."

Sora calls out to his mother from the kitchen table where she had left him.

"Mooooom~ I'm hungry." He whines pouting, one foot swinging.

"I was just making some pancakes, honey. Would you like to join us Riku? It's nothing compared to the luxury meals you have though." She chuckled.

Riku's eyes twinkles with excitement and he nods while grinning widely. He was adventurous and was incredibly eager to taste Sana's home cooking.

Seated at the kitchen table were two hungry little monsters. Their bellies growled at the tasty scent of pancakes filling their nostrils. Sana glided over and placed two plates in front of the boys, each one decorated with a soft warm pancake smeared with a coat of butter and glistened with a golden syrup glazing. It looked appetising to them indeed and inviting to their stomachs.

"Well boys, dig in!" She says to them.

Sora certainly did not falter; he picked up a fork and was already gorging down at the meal placed before him. Riku was more graceful; he picks up his cutlery and slices a tiny edge of the pancake feeling kind of bad after piercing his fork into the soft and spongy surface. Carefully making sure no syrup would drip, he slowly brings the food into his watering mouth.

As soon as the fork entered his opening, Riku's eyes instantly grew teary and he froze. Sana and Sora watched Riku's strange behaviour and wondered what was wrong.

"Riku, dear. Is it really that bad?" Sana asked worriedly, of course, she wouldn't think to believe that her meals could compete against high class chefs with imported Class-A ingredients.

Riku swallows slowly saying "This is possibly the most delicious pancake that I've ever eaten."

It was true, to Riku, as soon the fork entered his mouth and landed on his tongue, a tingling sensation spread like a ripple throughout his taste buds and sent happy goose bumps up to his face. The sweetness of the syrup was measured perfectly; it was sweet, very sweet but disperses quickly as soon as the warm treacle trickles down his throat. The pancake itself was incredibly soft and felt like a velvet cushion which quickly dissolved as soon as Riku pressed it to the roof of his mouth squeezing out the buttery syrup juices. He always ate expensive cuisines but there was something different about Sana's cooking... A secret ingredient.

Sora laughs at Riku's emotional remark "It's just a pancake!"

Riku shakes his head "It's not just a pancake..."

Mother and child stare blankly at the boy. Of course it's just a pancake, what else would be in there they both wondered.

"It's made with so much love."

I RUN ON CORNYESS! XD YAYS! I didn't have time to re-read this chapter so I apologize for any weird mistakes. But meanwhile, YOU SHOULD REVIEW ME! Much love to you [Heart heart heart]