Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square and Disney and all those other companies I can't think to name.
Warnings: Yaoi. Light bloody fights in later chapters.
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Gutter Snipe's annoyingly hard to write. xD Ah well.
I conveniently skipped over the weapon finding part. It'll show up later.
Thanks to everyone for the awesome reviews! It makes me super happy that people like it.
And here you go.
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Running With Scissors
-Chapter Six-
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White.
Bottle green irises forced a crack through resilient eyelids. Riku strained them closed again, more tightly than they had been in the previous relaxed state - because his eyes couldn't handle the pasty walls.
The scent of latex gloves filled the air.
So utterly white.
Sora had seen the twitch.
"Riku?" There was a shuffling. "Cloud! Hey, Cloud! Riku's awake!" The voice turned closer to the bed. "Come on, wake up!"
Shit.
"…Window?" His throat was dry, Riku noted.
Sora stared and traded quizzical looks with the older blond. "…Window? You want a window?"
Riku groaned, but the back of his mind did a mental laugh. "Shut it?" He cringed – his voice was raspy.
"Oh, gotcha." Cloud strode to the balcony-styled screens and, with a 'whoosh', draped the curtains shut.
He forced his eyes open again, this time halfheartedly raising an arm to rub at his lashes. This time, sapphire blue and a sunless tan blocked all the white. "…Sora, Kairi wouldn't be too happy about this."
Sora blinked. It wasn't until after Cloud's snicker that he realized where he was. "Oh – sorry." He backed away rapidly. A hand rubbed the flipside of his brown hair sheepishly. "Was so excited about you waking up and all."
Oh right. "Why am I in a hospital?"
"It's not really a hospita,." Cloud said, perching on the edge of Sora's abandoned seat. "More like one of those clinics on campus." He inclined his head toward the bandage around Riku's arm. "Anything hurt?"
Shrugging, Riku twitched his arm. It let out a sharp twinge, but hell if he was going to let anyone know that. They'd make him stay in the hospital longer. Carefully steeling his face, he grinned. "Nah, everything's fine."
Sora's hair was messed up and ruffled. In his newly awoken state, Riku couldn't help but compare their hairstyles. I wonder if they use the same gel…
The blond gave him a look. "If you're sure…"
"I'm sure. How'd I get knocked out?" Riku changed the subject quickly. He glanced at Sora.
"Oh – your new teacher did it." The brunet's blue eyes seemed to grin at him excitedly. Then his face changed to a puzzled look. "Then again, I'm not sure why he would beat up his student…"
His pride… "I wasn't beat up. I…er, let my guard down. That's all." He twisted his features into a soft glare. "Besides, you're the one I was talking to before it happened. It's your fault."
Sora actually blushed and looked sheepish. He walked a bit away, leaning on the door. There was a mutter of 'How long does it take to get drinks?'
"Yeah, he was a hell of a fighter. I had no idea that Sephiroth was even considering a teaching position here," Cloud said, ignoring Riku's comment.
Riku frowned, his tongue twisting as it tried to say the word. "Is that his name?"
"Yeah –"
"Riku!"
Cloud's loose clothing billowed as Kairi ran past him, along with his hair. He took a step back, startled.
On cue, his phone rang an odd, victorious sounding tune, and the blond stepped into the corridor leading to Riku's room.
The redhead paused, placing the tray she was carrying on the bed's end table before taking the few quick steps to the silver-haired teen's side. "You're awake! Are you all right? The nurse said to tell her as soon as he woke up!" She directed the last sentence to the other two in the room.
"It's all right." Riku made a show of flexing his arm to prove his wellness. "See?" A pang ran up his bicep, but his expression stayed the same.
Big, worried eyes looked into his, and her head nodded.
"Well…if you're sure. I'll go tell the nurse."
Riku noticed Sora's look. As Kairi stepped into the hallway, Riku made a comment. "Get yourself into the hospital. I'm sure she'll visit you, too."
Sora glared sardonically, but his grin ruined it. He picked up a Sprite from the tray and opened the top with a snap.
Riku left the hospital in the next hour.
He wasn't really hurt, but the doctor did ask him to come back if he had any problems.
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"Pillow!" was all Cloud heard before his roommate smothered himself in his nicely made bed.
Riku inhaled the nice, not-hospital scent of his sheets before sitting back up. "I missed doing that." He was feeling a bit…giddy about getting out of a place misted with rubbing alcohol.
The blond shook his head and grinned. In a high-pitched voice, he spoke. "Honey, I'm home!"
A laugh. And in a sultry voice. "Welcome home, darling."
"Thanks."
Riku and Cloud looked up in their fit of laughter to the almost smug voice. …Only to find that they had left the door open.
"Oh, Leon. Hey," Cloud managed to find enough air to say.
Leon nodded back, and then turned his gaze. "Riku, the principal wants you to meet your instructor. You're the only one that didn't get to yesterday." The because you were knocked out was left unsaid.
"Arrugh…" Whatever the teen said was muffled by a pillow thrown over his head.
Leon raised an eyebrow, sending a questioning look to the other in the room.
Cloud shrugged back. "Right now?"
Leon nodded again. "Yeah, sorry about the short notice." A shrug. "Ansem's nearly obsessive about times and all."
Cloud snickered. "I can imagine."
Riku shrugged, stood up and jammed his feet into his shoes. He put a hand on the doorknob to steady himself, and frowned when the door hinge wavered. We should get that fixed…
Leon walked out the door first, but Riku turned and gave Cloud a short wave. Funny how his roommate had grown on him in such a short time. "See you later."
"Yeah, late tonight probably." At Riku's look, Cloud grinned. "If I know him, Sephiroth's probably going to start today. Good luck."
"Today?" Riku mumbled as he closed the door. "Is he insane? I don't even have a sword on me."
Leon was waiting for him by the stairs. "I have a car waiting outside. Ansem's in his office - your tutor should be there, too."
"Gotcha." Riku couldn't help but stare as Leon walked in front of him. He shook his head to clear the images.
Stupid eyes. Stupid disobedient eyes.
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When they walked into the office, the first thing Riku did was stare at the two men in front of him. Especially the one with a wing – who wasn't sitting down.
Before Riku could help it, he reached out his hands – disobedient fingers – and grasped a lock of the man's hair.
…His hair was a soft as a girl's. Not that he randomly went around groping people's hair.
"Are you done?" Sephiroth asked, waving a hand over where Riku's was still attached. Riku blushed and looked away, back toward his principal.
Ansem was gazing at them in what looked like amusement. Then he turned to Leon. "I need you to file the documents in room A-11."
Leon nodded and, with another glance toward the silver-haired pair, walked out. His phone, which had previously been attached to his belt, was picked up and dialed.
But he left before Riku could hear anything.
"Now, Riku, was it?" At the teen's nod, the headmaster continued. "My name is Ansem. This will be your instructor for the semester." The amber-eyed man had a sultry tone. "You'll show him respect, won't you?"
Demanding. "Of course." Riku wasn't sure if the man had picked up on his sarcastic tone.
"Spectacular." Ansem nodded in approval and turned back to his files. The silent lack of attention all of a sudden obviously indicated that they were done.
As they were leaving, Riku couldn't help but think that words like 'spectacular' were only used by Disney.
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Riku looked around as they were walking, not recognizing the little, corner side area they were in. But there were lots of students around, running in and out of stores with odd devices and polish.
"…Are we going shopping?"
The taller man didn't spare him a glance.
Riku pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fine, don't answer."
Sephiroth smirked, still looking ahead. "All right." He stopped in front of a sparsely decorated door and walked in. "…Here it is."
The ring of a bell announced their entrance into the shop. Riku's eyes ran up the walls – they were framed and embellished with papers and boards laminated by glass. Here and there were notes and profile pictures.
…Where the hell were they?
"Hello, sir. How can I help you?" A young-but-not-quite-old man spoke from behind the counter, startling the younger teen. The elder shook his head. Too ignorant.
"I need a sword forged for this one." He didn't have to gesture, the man knew of who Sephiroth was talking about.
"Hm…" Critical eyes looked over the figure. "I can't do a check right now. I don't have the supplies."
"Then give him a blade he can train with."
"Of course. You may have your pick in the back room, child."
Riku glared and muttered 'Child, my foot.' under his breath. Honestly, he wasn't ten years old anymore…
Sephiroth followed.
…The basement had a lot more choice than the cute, decorative shop that Sora and Kairi had brought him to. It had a more…sinister feel as well. As if the building itself knew what it was doing.
It almost felt drenched. In what, Riku couldn't say.
The older man chose for him, having long evaluated what could fit his student – apprentice if it worked out – best.
"That one."
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Riku sat, occasionally kicking his legs into the air. They were dangling from his vantage point on the rail of the steps. His teacher was leaning against those same rails, taking no notice of the sporadic trembles from Riku's movements.
"I need to ask you something about yesterday. And you are going to answer truthfully."
The words were sudden, and it was a statement that could have been phrased as a question. But it wasn't. As if he had anything to ask about. "…You're the one that beat me up." It was acknowledgement.
"What was that tool you used to stop Sin Harvest yesterday?"
"Sin Harvest?" The words rolled over his tongue, like forbidden fruit.
"Yes." And no clarification.
"…" Riku shrugged, pulling his blade out of the sheathe with a hiss as metal slid against metal. "It's used to block magic. I bought it from a store near here – I have four more."
"Is that so?" Sephiroth said, more breathing than asking a question. "We'll visit that store someday soon."
"…Sure." Riku slid off the counter. There was a click as his shoes hit the floor.
"So tell me. What do you want in a teacher?"
…What did he want in a teacher? Someone to, well, teach him, sure. But he had a feeling that wasn't what Sephiroth meant.
"…I don't want to be held by the hand and led around," Riku replied, running a finger down his new hilt. It shined – his hand didn't leave any marks of dust or smears.
"Ah." Sephiroth nodded. "I'll try not to."
Riku looked up. Those few words sounded like a declaration to his ears.
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-End Chapter Six-
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…Short, happy, transition chapter. Yay.
Was this one a bit out of place? Seems like it. No Zell in this one. Ah well. And er…it's a closely knit school. Let's say that they all use first names for now. :D
No Gutter Snipe for you all. -.- I'm sorry, but I don't want to rush it, and there's no way I could get it done by tomorrow. …So wait a month until I come back. :x Or if I manage to get internet over there.
Anyway, read and review. You've gotten this far, what could it hurt? x3
To vacation! See everyone in August!
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