Homework and Storms

Roxas was starting to love spending time with Sora. I mean...I'm always with him but I can see why everyone loves him so much. They had met 3 times by now in Sora's dream realm and they even conjured some dream eaters to play with. At the moment, however, they were sitting on the Yuletide Hill in Halloween Town and eating Ice-Cream.

Sora wanted to see what Roxas' costume would be in Halloween Town so he asked Roxas to set up their next meeting there. Roxas didn't have the heart to tell Sora that he didn't have a costume so he spent the day coming up with one. It turned out to be just like Sora's own costume with the colors reversed but instead of a pumpkin mask, Roxas wore a nobody emblem.

"So how's my heart Roxas?" Sora asked.

"Still cracked but I'm pretty sure I fixed it enough to use magic again. It's not going to be anywhere near as powerful as it could be but I'm sure you'll get there again," Roxas answered. "It doesn't help that the darkness seems to have stripped away most of our power but it's nothing you can't gain back."

"It's alright then." Sora said. "I was mainly worried that I wouldn't be able to fight ever again really" Sora paused for a few seconds in thought but smiled regardless, "Starting from 0 is no big deal! Happens all the time."

"I don't think you should sound so happy about that Sora," Roxas said laughing. "I hope you remember some spells at least."

Lightly bumping his fist against his chest, Sora said, "Just watch! I'll be my old self in no time!"

Sora always was a positive one. "I don't know how you do it Sora; how do you always stay so positive?" Roxas asked.

"I don't know...it just seems natural" Sora said. Sora's face was scrunched up in concentration for a bit and he continued. "It's getting harder to stay that way though. I'm...I'm scared Roxas. There's so much that needs to be done and I'm stuck somewhere with no way of knowing if my friends are in danger."

Roxas already knew this actually; repairing Sora's heart wasn't as easy as grabbing it and glueing it together. He had to study and empathize with all of Sora's emotions to know it's structure and then he had to figure out the most important parts of Sora's character and memories to know where they belonged. It's easier for me to put Sora's heart back together when he's happy for some reason. I actually got most of my work done while he was hanging at that party. By the time I finish, I'll be the leading expert on Sora's psyche and emotions; well...other than Namine.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Roxas said. "All your friends are strong. Even Kairi is able to fight now or did you forget how she tried to save you at the Organization castle?"

Sora smiled at that, "You're right. I'll just have to keep moving forward."

Their Ice-creams were reduced to to bare sticks by then and Roxas took it as the signal that it was nearly time for Sora to get up.

"Well, it's almost time to wake up Sora. Keep training hard so you can get lots of Hero kisses like Yang gave you," Roxas said as he laughed at Sora. "Seriously, she's way bolder than anyone else I met! I'll be sure to tell Riku and Kairi."

"No no please don-" Sora then remembered Roxas didn't exactly have a way to talk with everyone outside. "Haha very funny…"

"I got you," Roxas said. "I'll see you next time Sora. Where do you want to be?"

"I'll let you pick this time Roxas. I'll see you later."

"See you Sora." Sora became more and more translucent until he faded away completely and Roxas was once again left alone. Guess I better get back to work. Sora's doubtless going to train with Glynda but he'll get stronger faster if I do my part.

Changing the scenery back to the familiar station clock tower, Roxas sat in a meditative position and started the healing session. I'll just have to hope Sora has some good couple of days. Otherwise this might take forever.

I feel lonelier than I thought I would, Blake thought. She was sitting by herself in the dorm reading the novel of the week. Most of her friends had left yesterday morning, leaving only her and Weiss alone for the next two weeks. Currently, Weiss had left the dorm to go train; she said she was curious as to what else Sora could do. Not many people we hang out with right now...Well, I guess there's Sora who joins us for meals but he's been busy with Goodwitch most of the time. There's definitely something going on there. When we asked him yesterday what they do, he said training. That's why Weiss left to see why they might be training so hard.

Blake still wasn't sure how she felt about Sora just yet. She found his carefree nature and optimism endearing like Ruby but she could sense that he wasn't being completely honest with them just yet. Everyone has their secrets Blake...you should know better than go prying. Unfortunately, the mystery surrounding Sora didn't let her concentrate on her book; there were just too many inconsistencies with his story.

He says he's from some previously undiscovered Islands off Menagerie but the Faunus have scoured the entire continent for the past 100 years for stuff like that. He doesn't appear to be a faunus either so he can't just be descended from some secret voyage could he?He also knows next to nothing about Shade...all he's told when asked is that it's "shady and pretty much like Beacon." Vacuo wouldn't make anything like Beacon though….

"I wonder what Sora's up to?" Blake said. I'm not gonna get any more reading done that's for sure. Blake stood up and decided to train herself. Exiting the dorm, Blake picked up Gambol Shroud from it's spot on the wall and headed to the fighting arenas. I'll probably find them sparring in there.

It didn't take long to make her way over and soon Blake walked in on the end of a spar between Weiss and Sora. Sora was being pinned down by a hail of frost missiles and was losing aura fast. He did something that surprised her; Sora surrounded himself in a circle of fire that appeared out of nowhere and every missile that would have hit him melted before it reached him. Weiss didn't appear fazed but she switched her strategy to surrounding Sora in a group of glyphs and quickly zoomed around him, each pass accompanied by a strike.

"That will be enough!" Ms. Goodwitch called out from the sidelines. She seemed impressed by both combatants and as she was making several notes in her scroll, Ms. Goodwitch noticed Blake walk over. "Hello Ms. Belladonna, how are you today?"
"I'm fine. I actually came down to see what Sora and Weiss were up to," Blake responded. "I didn't know Sora used dust. He seems to be pretty handy with it to."

"Your right," Glynda said. "He didn't use any in the fight with Ms. Nikos the other day because he didn't have time to replenish his supply. If you want further details you can ask him; I'm not one to talk about other fighters secrets."

Blake looked to Sora and saw him getting a small lecture from Weiss. Weiss wasn't mad; however, she just seemed to be giving him advice that he readily accepted. Blake walked over to them and caught the last bit of their conversation.

"Your control is top notch though. Just work on giving each dust attack more power with your semblance for now before we can move on to more complex constructs," Weiss said.

"Sure. Thanks Weiss, you're really good at this stuff," Sora said. Weiss preened at that and said a quick thanks; both of them noticed Blake walking their way.

"Hey Sora. So you can use dust?" Blake asked.

Sora paused for a bit but answered her easily. "Right. My semblance is being able to manipulate dust or enhance it, like I can ignite fire and make it move around at will. I'm able to use other types but for now I'm working on getting my fire abilities stronger."

"Do you place crystals in your keyblade?" Blake asked. There doesn't appear to be any holes in it or slots to fit stuff in there.

"No, it's in my clothes but I do use my keyblade to channel my attacks." Sora said. "It's kind of like how Weiss uses her weapon." Lacing dust in clothes wasn't rare but it definitely wasn't used often. Sora's clothes must be really special if he depends on it so much, Blake thought.

Ms. Goodwitch walked over and looked at them all. "I assume that you wanted to spar yourself Ms. Belladonna?" Ms. Goodwitch said while looking over Blake's gear. "We're not running full fights but we are trying separate drills to improve everyone's skills. Sora and Weiss have been working on their dust use but I'm sure we could try incorporating you into these sessions."

"Okay." Blake said. I'm not gonna do much else anyway.

I'm glad Ozpin was able to come up with a pretty good story for me after I explained my magic, Sora thought. I wouldn't normally care but this school could help me get stronger again and Ozpin said I had to live by his rules if I wanted to stay. Plus it's not like I have anywhere else to go. The rules were simple but Sora was definitely not used to having a limit on his powers.

No magic outside the basic elements

All magic use outside of that may only be seen by the Ozpin and those he approves.

Do not materialize/disappear your keyblade in front of anyone.

Notify Ozpin if any secrets are found out.

Sora had to make a simplified strap on his back for the keyblade to follow that third rule; he was okay with the other's for the most part though. Sora's main worry was about just how long he could keep outside worlds a secret. I've been horrible at keeping that secret honestly...I already threw out the don't meddle rule too.

Sora was standing on the outside of the ring when he turned his attention back to the fight between Weiss and Blake. Blake was having trouble dodging all of Weiss' attacks but she was holding ground thanks to her semblance. Those clones of Blake are really cool...every fighter on this world has amazing abilities. They aren't technically magic though; I still don't get that. Clones kept phasing out left and right and Sora was starting to have trouble keeping track of all of them.

Hunters sure are strong. Ozpin and Glynda had been giving Sora the quick summary on how the world of Remnant worked. He still didn't understand most of it but Glynda had been tutoring him in between drills. These people sure have it rough...they're constantly losing ground against the Grimm and I guess the faunus(?) have it worse. In fact, Sora thought the discrimination against the faunus was stupid for the most part; He just didn't understand how having an animal trait and NIGHT vision would make you inferior.

"That's enough!" Glynda called. "Ms. Schnee, your mastery over ice dust is showing but you're too predictable when it comes to actually launching your attacks. If someone dodges, then you always counter with an attack on their right side. Ms. Belladonna, you are also very predictable. When you see an attack, your first instinct has always been to dodge up and back but this could land you in plenty of trouble. A strong opponent will exploit that weakness easily."

The girls sent their thanks to Glynda and moved over to the edge of the ring with Sora. "You guys did great!" Sora told them with a wide smile. "I could barely keep up with your clones Blake but Weiss you're able to put out so much power!" They each gave Sora a nod of appreciation as they stood next to him.

"I believe we'll have time for one more drill before I'll have to ask you ladies to leave me and Sora alone for a bit," Glynda said. "This time, all three of you will be participating in a 2 vs 1 strategy duel. The rules are simple: Sora, you can only use dust attacks; Weiss, the same goes for you; Blake, your job is to find an opening in Sora's defenses and tag him but you can only use your weapon to block attacks. This might seem unfair but I assure you Sora is more than capable of keeping you two at bay."

"How do I win?" Sora asked.

"Hold off their attacks for two more than two minutes," Glynda said. "Remember to use the other dust types Sora." Glynda nodded to the girls and they took up positions opposite Sora. He in turn got into his combat stance. "Begin!"

Weiss immediately stuck her rapier into the ground and sent a wave of ice toward Sora. He didn't try to overpower it with his magic but instead dodged to the side and was rewarded with the sight of Blake reaching for his face.

Acting on instinct, Sora threw up a wall of Ice in front of him and backed away. Haven't tried that before...glad it worked. He didn't have much time to rest, however, as he noticed a combination of ice crystals curving around the left of his wall and a determined Blake from the right. Sora decided to go for the safer option and weave between the ice missiles to get a clear shot at Weiss.

If I can't take Weiss out then it'll be way easier to dodge Blake. Screaming "Thunder!" Sora sent a torrent of lightning towards Weiss. She then maneuvered around the strike with a combination of glyphs but not before the first tendril of electricity grazed her.

Blake was getting dangerously close to Sora by then but Sora had already readied another lightning spell for her. Instead of a strike, however, Sora condensed the attack into a tiny ball of plasma; it was actually weaker than the strike he sent towards Weiss but Blake didn't know that.

The next thirty seconds were full of mad dashes and flying elements but no one was gaining any ground yet. Blake and Weiss stopped halfway through an attack and gathered on the opposite side of Sora and shared a few quick words. I don't like this… Suddenly, Blake made like a mad hellcat and sprinted at Sora with weapons drawn. Sora sent a few fireballs her way but those were battered aside by Blake easily enough but right when she reached a hand out to tag him, Sora rolled behind her.

Sora had made a grave mistake without knowing it. What Sora should have been doing was distracting each huntress with a scheme in mind that prevented any teamwork but he instead was reacting to the "separate" attacks. While Sora was busy tending to Blake, Weiss had crept a smaller sheet of ice towards him that snapped around his ankles once it got close enough. Soon his entire bottom half was frozen under Weiss constant pressure and Blake was able to calmly walk over to him and tag.

Awww man, guess I can't always win…

Donald and Goofy were stuck outside of Remnant.

"Wasn't Master Yen Sid's magic supposed to help us get through?" Donald asked.

"It should have but something's blocking us." Goofy replied.

They had been trying to land on Remnant for about five minutes but each attempt was met with failure. It wasn't hard to maintain orbit but every time they tried to land it was like trying to move through syrup until they eventually just hit a wall.

"You think Riku might be able to get us through?" Goofy asked.

"I hope so…" Donald said.

They waited a while but soon their communication crystal started to pulse with a soft blue light. Goofy tapped it a few times and the image of Riku in a snowy forest clearing came up.

"Hey guys, where are you?" Riku asked.

In unison Donald and Goofy replied, "We're stuck."

"What do you mean stuck? What happened?" Riku asked.

"Well whenever we try to land, it's like something pushes us back until we can't move anymore." Goofy said. "Do you think you can help us?"

"Maybe...I'm gonna try to open a path for you so just wait a bit," Riku said.

The image cut out and Donald and Goofy were left by themselves once more for a while. Suddenly, a bright purple blue portal opened up inside the gummi ship and Riku stepped out into the gummi ship.

"Come on," Riku said.

Riku stepped back into the portal along with Donald and Goofy. Upon stepping out, they were greeted with a large pure white clearing. The trees had lost all their leaves long ago with only a few containing one or two orange leaves; snow covered everything in soft layers and the air smelled clean.

"Were you guys waiting long up there?" Riku asked. Riku was staring at the trees for any nearby life. He see anything wrong with the place but the stench of darkness was definitely present in the area.

A few loud quacks greeted Riku's ears but he wasn't able to understand them. "I'm sorry Donald can you repeat that?" Riku asked.

Turning towards the duo, Riku was surprised to see a completely average looking duck and dog staring back at him. He only knew it was Donald and Goofy because of the clothes they were wearing. Donald was a smaller pure white duck and his wings no longer formed strong enough feathers to grasp items. Goofy was the most obvious change with him reverting to a four legged stance and taking on a dark black bloodhound form.

"Uh..you guys look...different," Riku said.

Some panicked barks and quacking was the answer but Riku for the life of him couldn't really understand their but he did understand their emotions. Donald was going on a particularly long rant.

'Guys! Calm down. I can't really understand you but we can't really worry about that right now. Something tells me this is place isn't as friendly as it looks and this isn't the first time your forms have changed to suit a world's laws. Come on, the sooner we find Sora, the faster we can get out of here."

Unknown to the search party, however, Braig had been spying on the trio and quietly slipped away into the darkness.

Glynda was overall impressed with her students performances. After his initial defeat, Sora picked up on the strategies that Blake and Weiss were employing and the matches became far closer. The score ended in favor of the girls 2 to 1. Sora adjusts well to pressure and unknowns if this exercise is anything to go by. I have a hunch that his entire fighting style revolves around adaptability and reactions; it's almost like he's never had formal training.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Glynda spoke to the group in front of her. "Alright students I believe that is enough," Glynda began. "Excellent work all around but your defensives could use work. There were enough openings that any experienced huntsman could easily take advantage of; the Vytal festival will show up sooner than you think and you need to be prepared."

"Of course Ms. Goodwitch," Weiss said. "We'll be sure to continue training on that."

"Alright then, ladies please go out and enjoy the rest of your day while I stay back with Sora for a bit," Glynda said.

They both nodded and Glynda turned her attention back to Sora. "Well Sora, how are you feeling."

"Pretty exhausted…They sure are strong." Sora said. "Also, what's the Vytal festival?"

"The history of that is rather long," Glynda said sighing. "The short version is that about 100 years ago Remnant was locked in a perpetual state of war that threatened to wipe out humanity. I'm assuming your islands were separate from the chaos so you wouldn't really know but they were truly dark times. Eventually, things were settled on the small island of Vytal where peace was finally brokered and we celebrate that treaty every year. You can ask Professor Oobleck if you want to know more."

"Oh. What do you guys do" Sora asked.

"Well, each kingdom and culture has their own way of celebrating but the main event is seen all over the world: the Vytal Festival Tournament," Glynda said. "Each Huntsman academy sends its best students to participate and the winner wins a large cash prize along with prestige to their school." Taking a prouder posture and with a small smile Glynda continued, "Beacon Academy has the highest win rate at 35% I might add."

"Wow, can I enter!?" Sora asked excitedly.

"I'm afraid not. You might be an official student of Beacon but unfortunately you don't actually have a team present," Glynda said. "I'm rather disappointed myself actually, you'd be a great contender for Beacon if you keep up your growth rate." Shame. "But on to the real reason I wanted to talk to you. Your magic abilities are rather strong even if they aren't elegant and your keyblade skills are no doubt exemplary. Your understanding of the kingdoms and their functions are severely lacking, however, so I'm going to be assigning you some history homework on topics you definitely need to know about. I would have told you yesterday but I hadn't come up with the lesson plan yet."

Sora slumped a little at the mention of homework. Truth be told, he didn't do much homework even when he went to school on the islands but the look on Glynda's face quickly erased any hesitance.

"It's mainly reading but I want a report on what you've learned after each assignment. It won't do to have a student of Beacon not understand how the world works; make no mistake Sora, you represent Beacon now and Beacon only accepts the best in both body AND mind."

Sora seemed to understand if his enthusiasm was anything to go by, "Don't worry Glynda, I'll do my best."

"Good, in the meantime, be sure to stick by Ozpin's rules and details of your first assignment will be forwarded to your scroll by this evening. You're free to go and enjoy the rest of your day but I expect you back here tomorrow morning."

Sora gave her a short wave and made his way out of the arena. That boy really reminds me of Ms. Rose sometimes. So much potential in terms of strength and skill but not enough when it comes to worldly matters. Almost hopelessly naive at times but that doesn't seem to bother them. I must admit, however, Sora is far more socially inclined than Ruby ever will be.

Riku was a little surprised to see a log cabin so soon. They hadn't been walking for more than five minutes when they spotted it in the distance and decided to make his way over there. As weird as it is to have Donald and Goofy with me, if i get into trouble, I know they'll have my back at least.

Said duo was quietly bickering amongst themselves or at least Riku thought they were bickering. It was like he could almost hear their voices but something stopped him from understanding them every time. He was able to understand their intentions at the very least and it seemed everyone was in agreement to visit the house.

Reaching the door, Riku glanced at his animal companions and knocked on the door. There were noises of chairs scuffling and a quiet "who could that be" coming from inside until the sound of a clicking lock was heard.

A tall blonde woman answered the door and behind her stood an adorable red cloaked girl. They gave Riku a quick once over before the yellow one said anything. "Um are you the new mailman or something? You're much better looking than the usual guy at least," she added with a wink.

"Yang! Don't be gross," the small one said.

"Uh...no I'm not a delivery boy. My names Riku and I'm looking for my friend. I was wondering if you'd seen him." Riku said. She sure is confident.

"Well no one besides you and your pets have passed through here recently. I'm Ruby by the way and this is my sister Yang. We can keep an eye out for whoever you're looking for if you want.," the small one said. She was answered by a few angry squawks from Donald at the word "pets" but Goofy managed to calm him down a bit. "Wow he sure is angry."

"They really don't like being called pets, this is Donald and that's Goofy," Riku said pointing to each one in turn. "I'm looking for a guy named Sora. He's got really spiky hair and makes friends with just about anything that moves."

"Oh you're a friend of Sora's!? He's over at Beacon waiting for you and the rest of your team to show up," Yang said. "Man, you must be pretty bad at directions if you ended up in Patch instead of Vale."

Sora what did you drag me into this time...even when you get lost it can't be a simple find and leave mission can it. Riku didn't express those thoughts and said instead, "yeah I'm part of Sora's team. Can you guys point me in the direction of Beacon so I can find him."

An entirely new voice joined the group then, "Yang, Ruby, who's at the door? Did we finally get a new mailman who doesn't look like he's about to fall dead or something?" A muscular blonde haired man made his way to the door and looked over Riku. "You don't look like a mailman. Yang...please tell me you aren't inviting boys over to the house, you're like 6 years too early for that."

"Why do you assume it was me, it could have been Ruby," Yang said.

"No offense, but Ruby isn't a social butterfly like you," the man said. He turned over to Riku and spoke, "I'm Taiyang, please tell me my daughter didn't invite you over…"

Sora...you really owe me now. You're in so much trouble when I find you… "Your daughter didn't invite me," Riku said. "I'm just looking for a friend who's apparently at Beacon so if you could just point me in the right direction to get there then I'll get out of your way."

"Well I'm afraid you won't be getting anywhere near Beacon for a while," Taiyang said. Riku's disappointment was clear on his face and Tai began before he could argue. "I'm afraid the only safe way off Patch right now is by airship but those are going to be grounded today and most of tomorrow on account of the incoming storm. You're gonna have to find a place to stay it looks like."

Sure glad I always bring a few tents with me then. "That's fine, I'll be on my way then," Riku said. Turning away from the home, Riku looked at a slightly fuming Donald and calm Goofy to make his way deeper into the forest. "We'll camp out there for the time being then guys. Sounds like Sora made it somewhere safe for the time being so we don't have to worry too bad."

Donald and Goofy replied with some short yelps but Riku was finally starting to understand them better. Just when they were about to make it into the woods though, they heard Yang call out after them.

"Riku wait!" Yang exclaimed "Are you just going to camp out in the woods or something? There's an inn the other way and there's no way your tent is going to be good enough to brave a winter storm bad enough to ground the bullheads."

"Hey kid my daughter's right," Taiyang said. "I thought you were going to town but if your plan is to camp out there why don't you come in with us."

"Besides, you can tell us some cool stories about you and Sora while your waiting!" Ruby said.

The weather was starting to get colder in a twist of irony and the house seemed to radiate warmth. Riku looked at Donald and Goofy to ask for their opinions but their looks of longing at the warm log cabin seemed to settle it. If he was on his own, then he would have just left but he didn't want Donald and Goofy to go out into something they didn't want to. He replied, "Sounds good to me."

Walking towards the cabin once more, Riku couldn't help but think he made a good decision somehow. Following my heart may not be so bad. I just hope it works as well for me as it does for Sora.

Yang was starting to grow fond of Riku if she was being honest. A little standoffish at first like he still wasn't sure if he trusted them but after they proved they weren't about to murder him in a cabin in the woods, he relaxed. He doesn't seem to trust easily but that's not exactly a bad quality. Sora is way more naive apparently.

They were all sitting in the living room on several chairs and sofa's. Donald and Goofy sat by Riku's side and Zwei had joined the group by now and sat in Tai's lap. Currently, Riku was telling a story about a raft that he, Sora, and a girl named Kairi worked on.

"Everyday I would go out to work on the raft and I would find Sora busy napping on the beach," Riku said. "Kairi wasn't all that much better cause she'd eventually just sit next to him and start working on her wayfinder instead."

Wayfinder?

"What's a wayfinder?" Ruby asked.

"It's a star shaped charm made out of seashells," Taiyang said. "Sailors tend to carry them for good luck but it isn't all that popular. Am I right?"

"Yeah," Riku said. "How do you know that?"

"I live on an island kid," Tai said. "Patch might be a little small but we have our shared customs."

Wasn't Sora holding onto a wayfinder when he got here? He must be really close with Kairi if that's the case.

"Anyway, Kairi let Sora hold onto it whenever he went on a solo journey," Riku said. "Always made him promise to bring it back and everything."

"That's so romantic!" Ruby said. "I didn't know Sora had someone so special. You should feel soooo bad Yang after that spin the bottle game!"

"Spin the bottle?" Tai and Riku asked in unison. Taiyang then quickly turned his attention to Ruby, "Ruby you didn't play right!? Please tell me you didn't…"

Ruby turned as red as her cloak at a distinctive memory involving her white haired partner but said nothing else. Taiyang quickly spiraled into his own psyche and a few mutters of "my precious ruby…" could be heard.

"Right," Yang began. "While daddy dearest over there has a mini crisis, I may or may not have given Sora a strong kiss to the lips. He was just kissing people gently on the cheek so I decided to teach him how to properly play."

Riku let out a loud mirthful laugh at that and turned his attention to Yang. "I didn't think Sora would ever play spin the bottle again after I made him and Kairi kiss one time when we were young. He kept calling me a cheater because my foot 'purposely' stopped the bottle. Kairi was all for it though."

Sora...how much about you do we not know about? I really want to meet this Kairi now though. "So are Kairi and Sora really that close?" Yang asked.

"I mean you would think they were dating based on how close they are but they seem to be towing that line between friendship and love," Riku said. "I mean, to be fair, I'm about as close to them as they are to each other and the subject of romance isn't something anyone's brought up."

"Romance in a team doesn't always end well," Tai suddenly said. "There's probably a good reason it hasn't come up yet but if it's going to happen just give it some time." Tai seemed to retreat into another world for a moment but he quickly remembered who surrounded him and tried to lighten the mood. "Anyway, how long ago did you talk to Sora? He might be your team leader but leaving you guys behind is pretty mean; he at least told you where he was right."

Riku sighed loudly at that and Donald and Goofy seemed to deflate a little. "He kind of got lost on the way back home. They sent me out to find him along with Donald and Goofy here; they're usually traveling with him but he didn't take them on his journey this time. Something about how he needed to do some task on his own."

"Awww don't worry little guy," Ruby said to Donald. She picked the duck up and set him on her lap. He tried to wriggle out at first but Ruby's gentle strokes on his back quickly quelled those escape attempts. "You know what, let's call Sora and give him a piece of our mind."

Yang handed Ruby her scroll but she noticed that Riku was looking at the device rather strangely. You'd think he'd seen a scroll before but why does he look so lost? Before she could make some quip about it, Sora had answered the scroll with a cheery grin.

"Hey Ruby!" Sora said. "How you been?" His tone shifted to worry under Ruby's glare and continued, "Am I in trouble?"

"Yes you are!" Ruby said as she picked Donald up so that he showed on the screen. "Why don't you tell your friends where you are mister!"
"Donald! How you been buddy?" Sora said. Donalds angry squawks filled the room but Yang for the life of her couldn't understand them. He seems pretty angry.

Sora replied, "Well, it wasn't exactly my choice Donald! I can tell you all about it later but where are you?"

Riku walked over then and replied for him, "as strange as it is that you can understand him," (QUACK!) "we're on an Island called Patch and we'll probably get to you tomorrow evening. I'm glad your skill at making friends came in handy again otherwise we'd be out in a winter storm right now."

"Riku! I'm sure glad you're here! Wait...it's snowing where you guys are? That is so not fair!" Sora complained.

"Only you would be jealous about not being in a storm Sora. We can talk more later but for now just stay at Beacon," Riku said. "Wait for us until then."

"You got it! I already have a dorm and bed prepared for you guys anyway," Sora replied.

Riku face was scrunched a little in disbelief at that but he apparently decided not to comment on it. "Right, of course you do. SInce when did you get so resourceful?" Riku asked.

"That's a secret," Sora said smiling. He then proceeded to let out a small laugh before he noticed the look on Ruby's face. "Awww man, am I still in trouble?"

"You bet you are," Ruby said.

Yang watched on as Ruby went on a tirade about leader responsibility and keeping in touch with friends. Yang didn't really listen as she turned her attention back to Riku. "So who's stronger? You or Sora?"

"Hm," Riku hummed as she he turned to look at her. "When we were younger I was definitely the strongest but Sora soon caught up with me. It sort of alternated a bit but I'm pretty sure I'm stronger right now in terms of physical strength. Sora still has a stronger heart though."

I don't really see what his heart has to do with it...but Riku definitely looks tougher than Sora. He's got enough muscle to rival dad for crying out loud. "We should spar sometime then. I'd love to get a crack at someone as strong as Sora. He already beat one of the best fighters at the school."

"Maybe later," Riku yawned loudly then. "If it's alright with you guys I'd like to sleep now. We've been travelling for a while and it'd be nice to get some sleep."

Goofy had already fallen asleep and Donald was was starting to doze off himself. He probably would be asleep himself if it wasn't for Ruby carrying him around and randomly turning every now and then. Looks like Ruby's calming down.

"So you promise to talk more with your team." Ruby said.

"I promise," a more subdued Sora said. "I'll see you guys later okay."

Yang and Ruby said bye as Riku walked over to them. "Be sure to do something useful with your time at least," he said.

"Hey, I'm training everyday! Soon I'll definitely be stronger than you," Sora said confidently.

"We'll see. Take care of yourself," Riku said.

The scroll feed cut out and Taiyang started to dig into the closet for some blankets. Ruby quickly said some goodnights and after putting Donald down on the couch, she sped off to her room. Tai handed Riku the blankets and made his way over to his room after saying goodnight.

"You sure are a nice family," Riku said.

"Yeah...we weren't always this functional but it's good to have a home," Yang said. She debated saying more but quickly stamped down that idea. You don't go around telling strangers your life story no matter how good looking they might be. "So do you want a goodnight kiss or something or should I leave."

Riku looked confused for a few seconds but he didn't look overly embarrassed. "I'm fine. Thanks for offering a place to stay though. That storm is getting pretty bad."

The snow outside wasn't so much falling but it was whipping past the windows with force. The loud howl of the wind could be heard faintly but the cabin was built with some decent insulation.

"Alright then, goodnight Riku. I'll see you tomorrow," Yang said.

She heard Riku say goodnight as she walked up the stairs to her room. Sora and Riku...where do they bring up boys as nice as them?

My Friends! I'm back after my absent week. Long story short, car was broken into and I had a lot to deal with that weekend so I didn't release anything.

I hope this chapter makes up for it though.

Review and all that jazz to quench my thirst!

PS: Finals are coming up soon so there may be an odd week or two where I don't post anything. My classes aren't terribly hard but I don't want to fail na'mean?