Dive into the Horizon

Disclaimer: I think Disney employs Ninjas so I'll have to be quiet if I pretend I own anything. Well anything like Sora and Riku, Square-Enix owns Tidus and them. I own… some stuff in my room. Oh. And Aria. hiss no touchie Aria.

Rating: Teen! I knew they'd come to the manga side.

Author's Note: works furiously between things You'll all be happy to know I think about Dive consistently. Right now I am looking at a doodle of Kairi on the side of a note (actually it's a planning of another fanfic) Selphie is there too. (And Lillia… but that's a different story haha!) See? Even when I am writing another story it all comes back to Dive. plots revenge

I got accepted to Ottawa U! This chapter gets SO random at the end I don't think I like it.

Response to Reviews:

Slashy – look at you. All popular and shit. If I didn't love you I'd hate you. No more making out in public for Riku. Ha ha this chapter is TORTURE

QianYun – Wow, thanks for the awesome review. I'm glad you like the characters and that they're not totally out of character… (at least for the story ) Let the non-bashing of Kairi reign! stuffs Kairi back in the closet

Ink2 – Harumi and Kohana just miss each other. Riku and Sora are like a hobby. Muwa hahaha. Sora gets some more evidence to the truth this chapter.

KDhearts – You own psychopaths (little boys) at your house? You are a brave soul.

Princess of Mirrors: Fluffy and adorable? Heh. Try annoyed, frustrated and screaming. I am glad you like Kairi and Leon forces Kairi back into the closet

C.A.T. – To half quote Riku from the beginning, O what didn't they do? LoL, the list gets shorter this chapter.

Insert Bad Cliché Here – I haven't stopped, it just takes time to write. Lots of action this chapter. Random action.

Zavalfuin – I'm glad you like it! I've been writing for a while but I only started being forced to write fan fiction, I think it's fun! Wait no longer!

Chapter 7: Running Aground

"You found them where?" Kohana whispered in surprise over afternoon coffee with Riku's mother, Harumi. At least today she knew that Sora was in school where he should be.

"Oh, you heard me. On the bed," Harumi grinned triumphantly. Messing with her son's love life had never been so fun. Half of his girlfriends (and, more recently, boyfriends) hadn't even visited his house. Harumi was certain Riku was afraid of her in that respect.

"My little Sora, growing up so fast," Kohana mused.

"You mean being corrupted so fast," Harumi said, correcting the wistful sentence. She had the feeling that's what Riku was good at. Kohana nodded with a giggle. This was the most fun she had had in a long time.

"So, I can meet your older daughter soon?" Kohana asked. She remembered Harumi's daughter merely as a small child.

"Yes! And you're lucky I even know that. I think Riku wants to hide it from me," she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Oh? For a surprise?"

"No. He has this strange notion that Yuffie is the scariest thing on earth," Harumi stated as she gestured to make her point.

"Well, she is his older sibling. I think I can understand," Kohana shrugged and then remembered something, "Ah, next week I have to go to the main land for a conference, and after that display of Sora's responsibility…"

"Of course, I understand! Think nothing of it," Harumi grinned, knowing what Kohana was thinking. It was wonderful to have one's best friend back, someone who thought along the exact same lines as oneself. Conversations were just simpler this way.

The two sat for the mid morning coffee. It was becoming a daily ritual, to not only catch up on the past but also the present as well. It was much better than annual letters that had been their connection before Kohana moved back to the islands.

.:---:.

Riku, once again, had to unlock the classroom door before English class commenced. This extra labor in the morning made him extra grouchy as he called out the announcements to a distracted class.

Distracted was a perfect description, Riku thought. Teaching a room full of goldfish would be more fruitful than this. Even with their five second memories they would retain more.

His pillars of the class, Kairi (who always listened even though she had already read the announcements) and Sora (who surprisingly paid attention almost exclusively to the announcements and spaced out during the rest of the class) weren't paying attention. Kairi was focused on Leon, not a big surprise in Riku's mind, and Sora was… almost asleep.

"One last note: the fall festival is coming up and we need to do something for it," he explained. No one looked surprised; other classes had already begun working on their entry. This was something Tidus could not let go unmentioned.

"How come you're days late mentioning this?" he asked snidely, always ready to question Riku's leadership. It was his duty as a member of the press.

Riku just glared the rebel into submission and then asked for suggestions from the class. A formality of course. He and Kairi had decided on a café the day before.

However, the class did prove themselves and, after a few minutes of debate, they chose a café anyway. Kairi and Riku exchanged satisfied looks as he slipped into his desk just as their teacher begun the lesson for the day.

.:---:.

Riku sauntered up to Kairi at the beginning of lunch. He had been at a class presidents' meeting for half of second period. He breathed a sigh of relief to be finally free from it. Though he liked the power and the attention, the rest of being a class rep. was a living nightmare of meetings, committees and paying attention. He looked around for the much-appreciated Sora, but he was nowhere to be found. He raised an eyebrow.

"Where's Sora?" he asked, still standing in front of Kairi like a commander missing someone from his troops.

"Oh, he just left for the library." Kairi looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun and knowing that in any other situation Riku would comment that his divineness made him so bright one had to shield their eyes. However, at the present, she gave a giggle at the slight disappointment that flashed on his face.

"I'm almost getting annoyed with that kid," Riku sighed and promptly did what he needed to do. Dropping down to one knee in front of Kairi, he made himself look as pathetically adorable as someone as smoldering as he could. He grabbed her hand and cleared his throat. He had thought about this all through the meeting and planned his words carefully.

"O wise and ever beautiful goddess among girls," he began over dramatically. Kairi blushed and pried her hand away from his grip.

"Let me guess. You're dumping the café on me?" Kairi guessed. Her eyes narrowed as Riku grinned with a mixture of innocence and expectancy. She held out her hands for the papers she knew were coming.

"Not dumping. Delegating," Riku handed her the papers for the festival and gently kissed her on the back of her hand regally, "Out of all the women in the world, I love you the most, Kairi," he proclaimed rising up to his feet once again.

He still had to go to his locker before he could eat or do other things. He started to walk away, glancing around, half certain he saw Sora disappearing around a corner. But then again, there were many brunettes in the school.

"What about men?" Kairi called out the question slyly before Riku was too far away. She tore her eyes away from the paper to see his response, not only from his mouth but his face as well. Riku turned and gave her a smirk.

"Myself, of course. Good try, though," he said, continuing to walk away. If Kairi wanted a confession she would need to catch him more off guard than that. Riku was so on the ball that he was the ball.

.:---:.

Sora shook a bit and fell into a lonely chair in the library. He hadn't seen that. His heart wished the scene to not be true.

It had only been two days since he told Riku he liked him, but everything was just as confusing as before or maybe more so. Deep in his mind he told himself he was being played like a fool, and, still not sure if he truly did like Riku, Sora had to agree.

He looked around to make sure he was alone and then let his head hit the desk. Sora had been drowning himself in self pity for a few minutes before his senses finally alerted him to the presences of two people surrounding him. He didn't bother to look up to know who they were.

"Kairi, Riku, go away. I'm not feeling well. No repeats of biology today," Sora grumbled not wanting to make out with Riku in every room in the school. Though, it did occur to him that might be one of the white haired boy's goals in life. He looked up hearing a giggle of a girl who wasn't Kairi.

"What happened in Biology?" the girl with flipped brunette hair and sparkling green eyes asked, seemingly interested in the answer to the question. On the other side of him, he noticed a boy with spiky, dirty blond hair. Sora finally recognized them as Selphie and Tidus, classmates from English.

"Umm... Nothing, I just hate that class," Sora half lied. He didn't like the class for a reason he didn't need them to know about.

Selphie pouted but decided to keep her biological questions for later. She'd find out what happened in biology class soon enough. She glanced over at Tidus, who knew that he had a new job to do: find out what happened in bio. He nodded and walked away, leaving Selphie's partly open pencil case on the desk. The brunette girl smiled easily and gave Sora a thorough look over.

"Well, you're right about one thing. You don't look so hot," she said good naturedly, giving him another slight smile. Sora looked at her a moment, trying to decide if she was being sarcastic but he didn't see it in her smile at all so he ignored the small turn of his stomach.

"I don't think moving here was a great idea after all," he said after a moment of deliberation. He wondered if she could help him figure some stuff out about the whole mess about Riku and Kairi.

"Oh dear. Why? Finding it hard to make friends?" Selphie asked. It was a normal problem for new students to go through. Sora shook his head slightly, wishing that it was that simple. No, friends could be easily mended for Sora.

"It's the friends I have, or, at least, it's Riku," Sora said, not thinking too hard. He had yet to realize the explanation he might be asked to give about the Riku problem. He glanced at Selphie as some processes went on in her mind.

"Oh, well, I suppose Riku isn't always crystal clear. He is kind of dirty, if you catch my drift," Selphie giggled, her eyes watching narrowly for Sora's reaction to her comment. She was certain Sora knew even more than she did about Riku's dirty side. Selphie got her reaction when Sora's cheeks turned a shade of dark pink.

"I know. I don't know how Kairi puts up with him," Sora said slyly, hoping Selphie would confirm or deny them going out.

Suddenly, the whole situation dawned on Selphie. She almost laughed in delight. It was perfect. Sora thought the two were going out. She hid her amusement well on the outside, even though it was like Christmas inside. She knew Sora must be beating himself up so much for being "the other man" in the relationship. She nodded and put on a look of understanding.

"I ask that myself a lot too. She does put up with a lot of crap from him," Selphie decided to fuel the fire but never actually say they were going out. She'd leave that to be answered by Sora's imagination. That way, it could never be said she lied. Selphie Oshiro did not lie. Not to anyone. Sora nodded and hoped she went on, just as Selphie wanted. Shestarted to pick her words carefully.

"You know, they've always been together. I think it started when they were kids. When Riku got older, he sometimes drifted away from her to, you know, fool around with other people. But it all seems meaningless because, at the end of the day, he's right back to her side," Selphie explained, knowing that she just trivialized any feelings Sora thought he and Riku shared. She could sleep tonight knowing her job was done.

"Meaningless flings, eh?" Sora thought out loud, a little disappointed. He knew it was like this, but he just hadn't wanted to believe it. That thought made him start. He had just confirmed to himself that he did like Riku, which was something. Sora didn't know if he liked that thought anymore.

"Riku and Kairi have a deep connection, I think," Selphie nodded, knowing she was leaving Sora with some things to think about. She glanced up and saw Tidus jumping up and down outside the library's glass walls, waving, trying to get her attention. She frowned. Something must be up.

"Uh, Sora, I gotta go, but, here," Selphie scribbled her phone number down on a piece of paper, "If you want someone to talk to, you can phone me, okay?"

She gave her best innocent 'I'm a shoulder to cry on' smile, picked up her pencil case and walked away, going off to one side to make it seem like she hadn't been with Sora. Selphie narrowed her eyes through the book shelf, noticing Riku walking quickly over to Sora's location. She smiled grimly. Just in time.

Selphie smiled coolly at Tidus, who sighed happily that she had gotten out of the war zone in time. He had been going off to find people in Sora's biology class but had found instead Riku walking a break neck pace to the library (while remaining very cool in his appearance, but, knowing him for years ,Tidus could spot the irritation in him). He had doubled back to get Selphie clear of Sora so they wouldn't be found out.

"They're in perfect range of one of the security cameras," Tidus observed, figuring out a plan to sneak back into the security room to pick up the file for the library from today. He glanced at Selphie, "Did you get it?"

"Every nervous word," Selphie smirked and produced a small tape recorder from her pencil case. She had 'forgotten' to mention to Sora that she was recording their conversation. Glancing behind Tidus, she quickly stashed it back in the case before a familiar red headed girl narrowed her eyes at the two.

"Oh, hey there Aria," Selphie said clearly, stomping on Tidus's foot for effect to cut the boy's words off before he went ranting on about Sora and Riku.

"That's President Aria to you," the older girl corrected, with her eyes still narrowed.

"What's wrong, Prez?" Tidus asked with a very innocent look on his face. Aria rolled her eyes.

"Cut the crap Maeda and stop pretending to be innocent. You're not cute enough to pull it off," Aria snapped, hitting Tidus gently upside the head. Selphie giggled nervously.

"She's got you there, Tidus," she agreed, hoping to get on Aria's good side. It didn't work. The older girl raised an eyebrow. She knew something was up with the most troubling members of the arts council.

"Alright you two, what are you up to? You know I don't approve of your… hobby. And believe me, WHEN I find out and IF I don't like it, you two are going to have more than one foot in the grave," she warned, pointing her finger at the two a few times for effect. Aria had a way of making vague threats very poignant. Tidus swallowed nervously.

"No worries, Prez. We're not doing anything illegal like last time," Tidus waved her off as Aria walked away. The older girl whirled around and glared at Tidus.

"Maeda, I believe in an ethical handling of life. But I'll beat you into a pulp if I must," she warned simply, glancing at Selphie to tell her that went for her too. Passing the library doors, she dashed off to the opposite side of Riku, who had just stormed out of it.

"Aria," Riku snorted, glaring daggers at the red head. She returned the look. Both seemed to take their anger at someone else on each other.

"I heard you're doing a café, Daijou. You won't beat me. You haven't yet," Aria sneered, knowing saying something like that was pushing Riku to the edge of his patience. They were too alike to like each other without the nasty competitive edge, though, Aria would admit, she respected the white haired boy's pluck.

"This year will be different. You'll see Prez," Riku said in a mocking tone, pushing past her and fuming under his sulky but calm exterior. His mind was a blur. He only wished that when he had woke up that morning something would have warned him to stay home. How could Sora say that?

.:---:.

Sora sat in the library after Selphie's flight, deep in thought about what she had said to him.She seemed sincere enough. She was, at least, concerned about him. Which was something no one else had been that day. Not even Kairi had noticed his worsening mood throughout the morning and, well, Riku… Riku never noticed unless it was good for him.

Was it really meaningless? Riku's touch… did it have feeling behind it or did the white haired boy just enjoy watching someone shiver at his touch? Did it just feed his ego? Was that why he lied? Did he trivialize Sora's heart to just a play thing? And at the end of the day, would he leave Sora broken and go back to his Kairi?

It seemed so.

Sora started to realize that when Riku told him he liked him, Riku just meant he was attracted to him. It didn't contain the deeper, complex feelings that Sora felt. Riku kept those for Kairi and only her. Maybe that was why she had yet to mind or not show she minded Riku's infidelities.

Exploring this disappointing turn of events in his heart and mind, Sora didn't notice Riku sitting beside him, staring at him in bewilderment and calling his name softly until the fourth time.

"Sora, O Deaf One," Riku mused quietly, tilting his head to look under Sora's bangs so he could get a better look at the confused face beneath them. Sora finally noticed and jumped a few inches, startled at Riku's sudden appearance.

"Oh! Riku! I-I…" Sora stopped his startled mumbling at Riku's gentle touch along his cheek and the sweet pressure of his lips against the others. He blushed and looked downwards, almost embarrassed by the attention though not for the reasons he usually was.

"That's the second time you've spaced off enough to ignore a fire alarm. For your well being, I think I should stay with you forever and keep you from dying while day dreaming," Riku nodded, thinking it was a good plan. He didn't mean it to be serious, but when he started thinking about it, it didn't sound that bad. Forever with the cute, chubby cheeked Sora.

"Nergh," Sora responded incoherently, not knowing how to respond to that statement. He didn't think Riku meant forever. Just until he got bored with him and dumped him. Sora's mind whirled. That kind of thing was starting to make him annoyed with Riku. Sora didn't like being lied to, especially when it came to his feelings. His feelings were precious to him, not something to be meddled with nor messed with. He didn't like that and rarely forgave people for it.

"Oh really? My, aren't you the articulate one today," Riku laughed quietly, ruffling Sora's hair, "Or maybe I'd just distract you more," he purred next to Sora's ear, watching the boy shiver under him.

"Probably," Sora muttered, wishing he could have suppressed that shiver. He didn't want Riku to think he had him wrapped around his little finger. It just wasn't fair.

"Once again with the verbal barrage. Are you feeling alright?" Riku asked, playing gently with Sora's hair. He had silently moved closer to the brunette, their legs now touching. Sora stared down at the place, his eyes burning a hole in their flesh.

"What does it matter to you?" Sora asked with more than a drop of poison in his voice. He didn't want to be played. Not by Riku. Not by anyone.

"Pardon?" Riku narrowed his eyes a bit, trying to figure out if Sora had meant to be so rude to him. He decided to ignore it for the moment. Those blue eyes were just too cute to stay annoyed at.

"You heard me. Why do you care what I feel?" Sora asked, accidentally changing the meaning of Riku's original question. He stared a Riku, his hands balled into fists.

"Sora, what are you going on about? I just thought you looked a little off and apparently I was right," Riku said, offended by the brunette's tone. Mostly, he was confused by all the rage in the small body before him. He reached out to touch Sora's cheek, but his hand was slapped away. He stared at Sora, his aqua eyes wide.

"Don't patronize me! You don't know everything!" Sora spat, his body shaking and his lips in an angry pout. Riku was sure he was about to burst into tears. Usually that was a huge warning for him to just walk away and let the psycho (usually a girl) handle their own problems. But this wasn't some psycho. It was Sora. Sora mattered.

"Sora, I only know what you tell me," Riku ran a hand through his hair, frustrated, "And right now your body language tells me there's something wrong. Can't I help you?" he pleaded, not understanding what was wrong. He wanted Sora to be his happy self again. He missed it.

"You don't care! Go find someone else to screw up!" Sora whispered harshly. He wanted to yell at Riku but he didn't want the librarian coming over and making it into a scene. It would be terribly embarrassing.

"Sora!" Riku exclaimed, not caring about rules. The library was loud anyway with gaggles of students chatting. He reached out and hauled Sora to his feet, standing up himself.

"What the hell is wrong with you today?" Riku asked, fighting the urge to drag Sora out of the library to have a proper row about this. He wanted Sora to calm down and explain things in a logical and coherent manner.

"You're what's wrong. I hate you," Sora snapped, pushing Riku away from him. Sora fell back down into his chair and covered his head with his arms, signaling that this conversation was most definitely over. Riku stood there, staring at Sora blankly for a few moments before letting out a frustrated sigh and fleeing the library.

.:---:.

"Whoa, Sora. The face that launched a thousand ships to escape from it," Kohana teased her son who turned from glaring at the TV to glaring at her. She raised her hands in a 'don't blame me' gesture. Kohana ignored the low growl coming from her son and sat down beside him. She glanced at the television.

"I didn't know Blue's Clues was so frustrating," she said, getting another glare from Sora. She gave a sweet smile and leaned back into couch. Sora snorted and switched the channel. He hadn't even noticed he was watching that program. He continued to glare silently at the TV.

"Sora, sweetie, you should stop glaring at the innocent television. You're going to cause interference," Kohana said, snatching the remote controller from him and switching it off. If all her son was going to do was sulk, he didn't have to waste electricity while doing it.

"Leave me alone and let me rot in front of it," Sora argued, trying to get the remote back and finding it impossible since was Kohana standing up on the couch and dangling the remote just out of his reach.

"What's wrong today, Sora?" Kohana asked as Sora gave up on the remote and glared at the black television like nothing had changed.

"I had a bad day, okay? Lay off," Sora spat. He felt a little guilty because he knew his mom didn't do anything wrong to deserve this, but it was just how he felt. Santa Claus could be giving him the world and Sora would be snotty.

"Oh, did someone have a lover's spat with a certain Daijou boy?" Kohana teased, flopping down on the couch to poke her son's cheeks. She moved her hand out of biting range when her son made a move.

"Riku's not my lover! He's a—a stupid self centered jerk!" Sora cried out knowing he sounded really immature. He made a mental note to expand his angry vocabulary.

"Oh, really? Tell your mommy what happened," Kohana said, dragging Sora over to her Sometimes you just had to treat him like a small child to make him realize he was acting as such.

"Argh, stop it," Sora squirmed as Kohana expertly started tickling him. She continued her attack on Sora's sides until the brunette had given up on glaring at the world in general. After he caught his breath, Sora sighed carefully and felt a little better.

"We had a fight," Sora explained, looking at his mom who let out a giggle.

"I was right: a lover's spat," Kohana pointed out. Her son pouted until she was quiet again.

"We're not—He's not… I'd never go out with him. He's a total jerk. He doesn't care about me," he tried to explain. He didn't want to discuss this with his mom. She always made him see that his problems weren't that large and foreboding so he always felt bad about them after a talk with her.

"Oh really? So what? He's a pervert wanting into my darling son's pants?" Kohana asked, raising an eyebrow. Sora gaped and turned red.

"MOM!"

"Heh, am I right?"

"Argh! Moms aren't supposed to talk like that!" Sora squealed, embarrassed. At least this time it didn't happen in a public place.

"You know, you've yet to deny this fact," Kohana pointed out, watching in delight as her son tried to wipe that sentence from his memory. Sora pouted and waited for his mother to stop embarrassing him.

"You're not helping. I told him I hated him," Sora admitted, that changed Kohana's look of delight to one of concern.

"Oh dear, Sora, isn't hate a bit strong? What did he do?" she asked quietly, realizing the problem was a little more than she had thought.

"Nothing. It's what he didn't do. Mom, he doesn't… I don't know how he feels about me," Sora let out with a sigh. He stood up. Sora didn't feel like talking about this to his mother of all people.

"Well, no one said love was easy," Kohana commented, giving her son a look. She left him to go make something for dinner in the kitchen.

Sora stared at her in disbelief and marched up the stairs. He threw himself into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. He collapsed on his bed and hid his face in his pillow.

Since when did love come into this?

Sora hit himself on the forehead. This might be the last time he talked to his mom about anything, especially if she brought up the scary L-word again. That just wasn't fair. Moms shouldn't be going around planting such thoughts in their children's minds.

.:---:.

"Is your son a raving lunatic, too?" Kohana's voice came over the phone with an edge of twisted humor attached to it. Harumi Daijou laughed sharply and peeked into the living room. A pillow came flying at her.

"Oh, doubly yes. Riku's having a fit. Somehow, it's my fault," she said, going back to the safety of the kitchen. Riku knew the kitchen was a fit-free zone and it would be painful if he went in there like he was.

"Oh dear. I hope things get patched up by Tuesday," Kohana responded. She could faintly hear Riku rambling on in the background.

"No worries. If they don't I'll force it out of them," Harumi smiled into the phone. She glanced into the living room again where Riku was glaring at the television and mumbling incoherent threats.

"I think Sora is sulking in his room," Kohana said numbly, looking at her finger nails.

"Well at least that's quiet. Does he try to glare the television to death too?" Harumi asked. The giggle on Kohana's end confirmed the strange behavior was the same with both boys. Just then, Riku popped his head into the kitchen.

"Is that the psychopath's mom? Ask her if Sora's PMSing," Riku sneered. Harumi glared at him, silently telling him not to act like that in the kitchen. He pointed down, showing that his feet were very much in the living room.

Harumi rolled her eyes and grabbed a rolling pin from the counter. She pointed it at her son and gave him a silent threat. On the phone, Kohana laughed since she had heard Riku. Listening to her house, she heard a frustrated scream upstairs.

"Tell Riku it's either that or someone's beat him to Sora, because he's screaming upstairs," Kohana laughed again. It was good to be able to laugh at things again.

Harumi told Riku this and the white haired boy stepped back into the living room away from the rolling pin. He twitched a bit before rolling his eyes. It was obvious that someone was trying to make him jealous or at least get something out of him.

"Well, then, they can screw him up. That's what he wants. Someone else," Riku snapped. Apparently the psychopath's mother wasn't going to be any help. And neither was Harumi, who shook the rolling pin at him to tell him not to be so rude.

"I don't think Sora is the only one PMSing," Harumi commented dryly into the phone as Riku stormed away to go glare at the television in his room.

.:---:.

"Kairi? Why are you still here?" Leon had been ready to leave school and go home, his bag all packed. It was late, almost six PM. He was walking through the spacious hall by the main doors when he noticed the familiar redhead in a work room, staring furiously at scattering pieces of paper.

The girl looked up surprised at Leon's presence.

"Oh, I—Are you going home Leon?" Kairi asked, shuffling the papers a bit. She was trying to come up with a design idea for the café. She thought it was a little early for the teachers to go home.

"Kairi, it's almost six. Shouldn't you be home?" Leon asked a little concerned.

"Six? Oh—Oh no! I must of lost track of time… This is all Riku's fault!" She said, flustered and tried to gather up her things. She missed her bus and the late bus from the school. Kairi knew she'd have to phone her father to give her a ride home, if he was home at all. She sighed, knowing, most likely, he wouldn't be.

"Riku's fault? What's wrong?" Leon sat down beside her, inspecting the designs and scrapped ideas. Kairi had stopped bothering to put things away in a hurry. She wasn't going anywhere quickly.

"I'm totally in charge of the café for the festival. I have to do everything, but, before I can buy anything or recruit people, I need a design," Kairi explained. Leon narrowed his eyes on the papers in front of him.

"Isn't this Riku's job?" he asked, helping her with her papers and putting them into a neat pile for her.

"Well, technically, but he delegated me to do it," Kairi bitterly used Riku's term for it.

"He dumped this on you and won't bother to help?" Leon looked a little annoyed. He continued to help Kairi clean up since she looked a little upset.

"Oh, it's okay. I'm used to it," she said quietly, not noticing that she had started to cry.

Leon frown deepened and he put a hand on Kairi's shoulder. He figured she had to be really frustrated and stressed to burst into tears so easily. On the other hand, he wanted to have a talk to Riku about using people. He waited a few minutes while Kairi continued her cry.

"I'm sorry," Kairi mumbled, wiping her eyes with a tissue. Leon shook his head as he finished packing her bag.

"You have nothing to apologize for," he gave her a rare smile, "Now, how are you getting home?"

Kairi blinked away a few stray tears and looked at Leon, thinking, "Um, I'll have to call my dad, but I'm not sure if he'll be home," she explained quietly. Leon looked like he was deep in thought.

"Do you need help on this project?" he asked after a moment or two. Leon stood up and Kairi followed suit. She nodded a bit.

"When I get everything organized, I'll find some people to help me make it," Kairi explained, hoisting her heavy bag onto one of her shoulders. She glanced up to catch another hidden smile.

"How about I help you? I don't have a ton to do as a student teacher," Leon suggested as they walked out of the room into the deserted main hall. Kairi smiled softly.

"That'd be great, at least, to know someone is helping me," she said, paused in the hall. Kairi wasn't sure if the office would be open or if she would have to use the pay phone.

"Good," Leon bent down and kissed Kairi on the top of her head before he realized what he had done. He averted his eyes as she stared up at him surprised and turned a bit red. Twice both of them tried to restart the conversation. Leon ran a hand through his dark hair and then glanced at Kairi, who gave a small smile. It was contagious and he broke into a fit of nervous laughter.

"Sorry 'bout that. How about I drive you home since I already know the way?" he suggested as they walked to the main doors. Leon had driven Kairi home after Riku and Sora had left them in the park.

"That'd be great, thanks," Kairi smiled, following him to the parking lot. A fizz of hope for her crush still tingled inside of her. Maybe, just maybe, she had a chance.

.:---:.

Riku wasn't sneaking around. Riku Daijou didn't stalk people. People stalked him. Or, at least, that's what he was currently telling himself.

Presently, Riku was stalking someone. Sora, to be exact.

He rubbed his bare arms in the fresh night air. So it would have been better to plan ahead and dress for the occasion. However, he was wearing what he had been sulking in at home: second best jeans and an almost sleeveless knitted top. He had wandered the streets for a bit and then found himself at Sora's house. The lights in the boy's bedroom were on and they were also on in the living room.

He stared up at the window on the second floor. Now, how to get there? He could walk in, chat with Kohana and then go up, but he wasn't in the mood to have her know he was there. Riku looked around. There was a tree by the house; a small cherry tree. Riku grinned. The edge of the roof of the porch was just under Sora's window and the tree reached it. Perfect.

Riku raced over and studied the tree, figuring out how difficult it would be. After a few minutes, he decided it could be done.

He hoisted himself up carefully through the tree, making sure to check every branch he was about to trust. Though he was good at it, he wished he had spent a little more time climbing trees recently. Good thing it came naturally to him.

Riku checked the last branch he'd need in the tree before he perched on it, trying to devise a way onto the roof. After a moment or two, he decided what to do and jumped silently onto the porch roof, desperately hoping it was safe to walk on. He was good at moving quietly, but, if the roof collapsed beneath him, there wasn't much he could do.

Luckily, the roof held and he was able to sneak across it to Sora's bedroom window without incident. Riku kept low to the window sill and snuck a look inside. He liked what he saw.

Sora was facing the closet, away from the window, standing only with his boxers hugging his narrow hips. He looked like he was glaring at his assortment of clothes that were in the closet in a state of chaos. Riku was also glad that, grumpy as he was, Sora had the radio turned up loud.

Not waiting a moment, in case Sora turned around, Riku pushed up the already half open window and tumbled inside noiselessly onto Sora's bed. With one hand, he pushed the window down to its original place and stalked across the room. Riku put a hand on Sora's mouth and whirled him around.

Sora tried to scream in surprise, but the hand muffled the sound to almost nothing. He didn't have to be turned around to know who it was. Sora knew Riku's intoxicating scent already. He stared at Riku in, not only anger, but mystified at the older boys audacity. Looking around, Sora figured he must have come through the window.

Good. He could finally give Riku a proper yelling at.

Riku gripped Sora's shoulders and quickly replaced the hand on the brunette's mouth with his own in a fierce kiss. Since Sora didn't fight back, Riku slipped his tongue into the mixture to claim Sora's mouth as his own.

His hand gently rubbed Sora's arms up and down. Breathless, they parted, Riku weaving his hands through Sora's hair. He smiled warmly and pressed his lips onto Sora's again, who clutched at Riku's shirt, torn between giving up and fighting back.

He hung there, eyes tightly closed, trying to ignore to ignore how floaty and silly he was feeling inside. Riku's hard kiss sent shivers down Sora's spine, the changing pressure on his lips driving him to forget everything that had happened that day.

That was what Riku did.

Sora gasped for air as Riku moved away, studying Sora for a moment. He knew that if he opened his mouth to speak a word he would probably screw everything up again. The half-naked, flushed Sora in front of him, driving his tongue to be clumsy, also echoed that sentiment, but Riku had to risk it. Those deep blue eyes begged for it.

"I'm sorry," Riku whispered hoarsely, his hands traveling all over Sora's flesh. He captured the brunette's lips in yet another passionate kiss, dragging the boy across the room. The kiss only broke off when Riku stumbled backwards, tripping over Sora's back pack. He caught the easy smile on Sora's face and decided to shrug it off, running a hand through his hair to maintain some sort of façade of his dignity.

He quickly threw his shirt off and crushed Sora against him, moving his quick kiss from the brunette's mouth all over his face and then neck, expertly ravishing the boy, who became mush in his arms.

Sora sighed, a mixture of desire and resignation. He couldn't fight off Riku's affections. His body wouldn't listen to any of that nonsense that came from his brain.

He moaned softly as Riku sucked on his pulse point, as if he was collecting Sora's breath before it reached his lungs to make him feel light headed. Sora gripped at Riku's chest and then his hips, feeling Riku press against him. He was only dully aware that he was only dressed in boxers.

Sora felt himself being lowered onto his bed with a gentle push by Riku, who didn't even pause in his attention to Sora's neck. He was only half-aware of what was happening around him.

He didn't know how to react, mostly because no one had ever put him on a bed like that. Ever. He hadn't done that before. Sora looked up at Riku, wondering if he was serious about the whole thing.

Riku looked at Sora for a moment, thinking he looked a little sad. He hoped it wasn't from him and his actions. He kissed the younger boy's neck softly, holding each kiss for a moment and taking in Sora's scent and the feel of him under him. His hands explored Sora's body, keeping away from the ticklish parts, which was harder to do than say.

He moved his gentle kisses upwards, back to Sora's lips. Riku slipped his tongue into Sora's mouth with a comforting tone rather than the openly dominant and frustrated exchange of before. He was rewarded with Sora hesitantly returning the kiss, and then with growing confidence.

Sora whined softly when he felt Riku slipping off his boxers. Now, he was totally uncovered under the white haired boy and it terrified the logical part of his mind that he didn't care. He leaned up and brought Riku into a kiss, demanding more passion than before.

Riku grinned mentally. If he was allowed to do this on the same day Sora said he hated him, then he wanted Sora forever.

However, the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs broke the moment off instantly. Sora stared at Riku in fright. He knew his mom was going to check on him. He started to panic, squirming under him and glaring at Riku to have some common sense.

"Alright, Alright, I'm going," Riku sighed, kissing Sora softly on the lips, "Goodnight."

In a silent flight, Riku went through the window and scrambled down the tree as fast as he could. On the ground, he finally noticed that he was grasping something in his hand. He looked down and laughed sharply, slumping against the tree half-exhausted.

He had Sora's boxers in his hands, like treasure from a plundered port. He also noticed he had forgotten his shirt on Sora's bedroom floor.

Riku decided it was a fair trade.

Catching his breath, Riku wandered back home to sneak into his own bedroom, glad no one was waiting for him inside for an explanation. Comfortable under his blankets, he shoved Sora's boxers under a pillow, thinking it had been a half successful night. Although it could have been better.

Mothers, Riku thought with disgust, always ruining things for their children.

.:---:.

Sora rushed to the desk and flicked off the light before his mother would be able to notice. He dove back under the covers and promptly pretended to be asleep, thankful, for once, for his amazing ability to sleep in any situation.

Since he could fall asleep through any radio, no matter how loud, and since it was almost impossible to wake him, he knew that if he faked being asleep his mother wouldn't investigate it.

Kohana looked in her son's bedroom and frowned. Did it get messier every time she looked inside? She walked in the dark room and turned off the blaring radio, then leaned over her sleeping son to shut the window a bit more. It was wide open and the breeze from the ocean was cool. Ruffling Sora's hair, Kohana left the room and went back downstairs.

Sora was ready to fall asleep himself and forget about the day, the good, the bad and the downright confusing. He wrapped himself more securely in his blankets.

He paused as he realized he was missing something important. Sora threw the covers up and found he was without his boxers. He looked around the bed and didn't find them anywhere.

He groaned and fell backwards, remembering that Riku's busy perverted hands were to blame. Crawling back under the covers, Sora plotted revenge until sleep overtook him.

Riku would pay.

.:---:.

:Riku screams in the background:

Sora: He hasn't stopped doing that since the end of the chapter. I'm scared.

Kari: Yeah. I think he's freaking out about the whole sex thing.

Sora: If sex was like horseshoes, almost would count.

Riku: BUT IT'S NOT!

Kari: Calm down. You'll get your way.

Sora: reviewing the outline yeah… eventually.

Riku: :twitch::twitch: You'll both will die at my hands.

Sora: Oh, you want to be a necro?

Kari: If the person wasn't willing in life, would it be post humus rape?

Sora: Good question!
Riku: ARRRRRRRRRRRGH!

Sora: I better handle this… :huggles: Riku I wuv you.

Riku: :twitch::drags Sora away:

Kari: Way to take one for the team Sora!