Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Akirame Norwen ❯ Train To Transverse Town ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Squaresoft. I "own" (but am willing to share) Jerdania, Red, Akirame and Vanna. I don't own a Ferrari. I own a PS2.

CHAPTER 9

TRAIN TO TRANSVERSE TOWN

We (including Red) all assembled in front of Riku when he finally entered the center, his duffel bag over his shoulder. "I got everything planned out. Does anyone have anything to say before we head out?" He simply stated.

We looked at each other and then at him. "Good." He said when everyone remained silent. "Now, I have a special buddy-system I want us to follow through the rest of our mission. I decided to assign each one of you a partner that you will remain by faithfully until the end of the week, when we'll rotate. The matches are decided according to strengths and weaknesses. Don't argue with the match, just put up with it. You are never to leave your partner. Now, let's see…" Riku paused as he pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. "Okay, here we go… Kairi, you're going to be with… Jerdania." Irvine's jaw dropped in protest, but he just folded his arms and stuck out his chin as Jerdania shrugged and joined Kairi.

"Right, Irvine, you'll be with Sora." Sora was good friends with Irvine, so thankfully the two were compatible. "Erik, you're with Red, so that leaves me just me and Akira." Riku made eye contact with me, and I raised an eyebrow. What….ever.

We all joined our new buddies and followed Riku out of the door, Squall and Vanna coming along. The walk out of the school and toward the grassy plain was full of goodbyes from the SeeDs and chatter between us. I began to notice that Jerdania's long-absent clumsiness and buddy-buddyness was starting to show, mostly by how she was a little too cheerful while talking to Kairi, her eyes mostly on Irvine, and how she occasionally tripped over her words.

"So…" I began, looking at the silent Riku who walked aside me. "I get paired up with…a concrete block?" I said.

Riku looked at me, not understanding. "What…you mean…the prank?" He slowly asked, thinking about the…kiss… ick. Double ick. I lightly blushed, but managed to recover. "No… not really." I looked away. Things were still somewhat tense between us in that area.

I didn't attempt to talk to him again as we paused in the middle of the field, waiting while Irvine made a loud whistle and the Chocobos came running towards us. I felt a little awkward, pulling myself into the saddle and forced to hang onto Riku to stay on. Riku steered the Chocobo slowly around and looked out along the length of the beach. This would apparently be a long ride. "Squall, how far did you say we could go?" Riku asked as Vanna and Squall pulled up along us on their Chocobo.

"The Chocobos can take us the first 50 miles. As long as we keep the field on one side and the coast on the other while we're riding, we shouldn't run into any trouble whatsoever." Squall replied.

"All right then. Everyone, try and stay in two lines. Squall, lead the way." Riku said, waiting for everyone to attempt the formation and mostly succeeding, except for Jerdania, who was having a little trouble getting her Chocobo to stop picking at the sand.

Squall moved ahead of us and spurned the bird with his heels, moving it into a full gallop. Riku and the others quickly followed suit, bringing their birds into full speed. The feel of the bird's strange gait and the wind blowing my hair crazily in the wind felt strangely new to me, but the lack of humor from Riku was driving me nuts. Neither of us had really gotten over the brief battle we had had, and we never tried to talk it out. I leaned back in the saddle, trying to get comfortable and avoid full-body contact with the source of my aggravation. I looked over at Erik and Red, who now pulled closer to us on our side. "Hey!" I shouted, pleased when Erik smiled back and Red gave a little wave.

"Now, see Riku? Why can't you loosen up and have fun like them?" I said over Riku's shoulder.

However, Riku didn't respond, making me tense. I felt like…just hitting him, to do anything to get him to drop the mask he kept hiding behind. At least I never had a hard time telling people how I felt.

The rest of the ride wasn't as fun as I wished it would have been, and my legs began to feel sore. Squall slowed down and stopped, the rest of us following suit. It looked like the last ten miles would be unbearable. We had stopped in front of a long field dotted with sunflowers, with no way of being able to really tell were we were at, since the grass just kept getting taller, at least 6 or 7 feet in some places. "Great. So, how are we supposed to get through this?" I asked.

"Well, Squall knows this place pretty well. We shouldn't have a hard time as long as we stick together, preferably in single file." Riku said as he jumped off of the Chocobo and helped me off. At least he was a gentlemen.

"There are some monsters that like to hunt in this field, and the field goes for about five miles, so you all ought to gear up first." Squall said, waiting while we pulled our gear out of our packs and strapped up.

I felt strangely confident and safe as I slung my crossbow over my shoulder. Erik would have trouble fighting out here, since he had a whip, and there was no clearance out here. That's why he was apparently matched with Red, who now chose to remain human, but could easily change into a dragon and kick butt. So Riku really did have logic.

Squall then proceeded into the field, which now started out at a measly three feet tall, but gradually grew to where it was just below our chins. I felt a little uneasy, trying to stand on my toes and see where I was at. We tried to keep up with Squall's hurried pace, occasionally having to break into a jog. Jerdania and Kairi seemed to lag a little behind, Jerdania having problems stumbling over hidden rocks. I sighed and looked forward at Riku's back as I heard another "Ow!" from behind. She would be the death of us. Apparently she couldn't handle herself without her "Irvy".

Hmph. I could take care of myself if I had to. Well, if I wanted to, anyway. Suddenly Squall heard something and held up a hand, making us stop. Jerdania, now at the very end of the line, but trying to pass up Kairi for Irvine didn't see the signal…I turned back to watch her trip over something and watched her head disappear into the grass, Irvine and Kairi quickly following suit. After that the heads kept disappearing until Erik suddenly lost his balance as he was slammed into by Red, and fell on top of me, knocking me over onto Vanna. I looked up at Squall and Riku, who now were both shaking their heads and looking at the mess of tangled bodies. "We're all going to die out here." Squall said.

Riku sighed and nodded in agreement. "Well, now every single little monster should have been scared away, but I don't know about the bigger ones…" he trailed off, gripping the hilt of the Luna Luz.

Everyone struggled to get up, then turned to look at Jerdania, who was staring at the ground and blushing. Irvine, however, stood next to her in her defense. "Hey ya'll, it ain't her fault! Any one of you could've easily tripped over something out here!" he said, trying to comfort her.

We all sighed and turned back to look at Squall. "Let's get going. Jerdania, Kairi, you two move up with Irvine and Sora."

We then started off again, Riku now a little more tense, but I could see that he was trying his hardest to suppress a volley of laughter and his shoulders were shaking. The shaking subsided and I allowed myself to drift back slightly to were I was with Erik, but could see Riku without any trouble. "You've got some stuff in your hair." Erik said, pulling a piece of straw out.

"Hmm. Thanks." I said, enjoying his company, but constantly reminding myself to keep myself in check.

Suddenly the sound of something moving through the field from somewhere else unnerved me, causing me to stop. "Riku, hang on a minute." I said, running up to his side.

Squall and Riku both stopped and the party halted. "Shhh… I heard something." I said, lowering my head and listening.

I heard it again. The sound of scales against grass and dry soil reached my ears again, and now the others heard it as well. Squall and Riku both readying themselves, their hands both placed on their weapons, ready to fight. The sound stopped, not giving us any comfort. Suddenly there was a loud, high pitched shrieking sound, like a vulture. "Guys, LET'S GO!" Squall shouted at us, now turning and running through the field, all of us trying our hardest to keep the person in front of us in view.

The shriek rose again from the field, and the rushing sound was getting louder and faster. I tried to run even faster, and could see strange, green and red sails slicing through the plain like shark fins. The fins were moving ahead of us. "Riku! It's going to try and cut us off!" I shouted.

Riku nodded and readied himself, pulling out his sword. The fins disappeared in front of Squall. Suddenly a huge cobra-like creature rose out of the grass, opening its mouth and releasing another shriek. "It's an Anacondaur!" Squall shouted, raising his gunblade.

I stood next to Riku and loaded my crossbow with an arrow and tried to find a weak spot. "Riku, I don't think it has a weakness." I shakily said, my eyes straining to see a chink in the chain mail coat of scales that protected the monster.

"Right there! Wait for it to open its mouth, then try to hit the roof of its mouth!" Riku told me, preparing to rush forward.

I nodded and prepared, trying to keep the snake's weaving head in view. Riku rushed forward with unbelievable speed with Squall to make an aggressive attack. I stayed in my spot, muttering under my breath as the snake began to make more erratic movements, whipping its entire body around to cut Squall off from Riku, who managed to avoid being crushed by another slithering coil by leaping over it. The snake opened its mouth to strike, and I quickly aimed and pulled the trigger, watching as the arrow flew up and missed as the monster whipped its head around to oppose Riku.

The snake looked toward me and began to slither towards me. I began to shake as I fumbled with an arrow. The snake brought its tail around from the side like a whip and knocked my crossbow to the ground. It opened its mouth and I could see a strange black shimmering liquid build up in its mouth as it began to make strange gurgling sounds. A drop of the liquid dribbled down its jaw and landed on a rock next to me, making a loud hissing sound as it began to eat away at the stone. "Riku! It knows how to spit acid!" I shouted, backing away and looking for somewhere to hide.

Riku suddenly leapt up out of the grass and slashed at the snake's neck with his sword, his eyes glowing with an aqua fire as he sliced the snake's head from its neck with unnatural strength, gracefully beheading the animal. The snake's body continued to squirm uncontrollably in death spasms in the grass, and I barely managed to avoid the whip-like tail as I retrieved my crossbow.

"We'd better get out of here! The other monsters will be here any moment." Squall shouted, waiting for us to regroup before breaking into a full run.

We didn't even look back or slow down, fearing the sounds of unknown scavengers now descending upon the body of the dead Anacondaur. The sounds put fear into my heart. I realized that I was now in the outside world, far away from my island home, and now in the home of blood thirsty animals that would make short work of me. I looked up at Riku, whose face showed no sign of panic, but determination, small beads of sweat now forming on his forehead, his breathing steady. If it weren't for him, I would be completely defenseless. The same person whose come-ons I tried to desperately avoid. The world was based on pure irony.

The field began to ebb away, and we found ourselves on top of a hill, overlooking the short distance to Balamb, a somewhat small looking city with an ocean port and a train station. I let out a deep sigh of relief. We were finally on the home stretch. I took another look at Riku. His eyes had stopped glowing, and now seemed to slightly illuminated with the embers of the fire I had seen earlier. "How…" I began as we began to walk downhill towards the city.

"I don't know." Riku said, still looking ahead.

I bit my lip as I tried to put the matter aside. Riku seemed to have sobered tremendously. There was something pressing on him, I could see it by the way he seemed to be overly focused on what was ahead of him. Hmmm….

Balamb proved to be a semi-quiet town, and the train station was fairly busy, but no real hustle and bustle. Riku approached the ticket booth while the rest of us waited. Riku got a nod from the woman sitting inside and he led us up a set of stairs up into the train station, where two large, blue trains were loading. Squall shouldered a small pack he carried and said something to Vanna under the loud sounds of the train's hydraulics, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before loading onto one of the trains. Riku waited and then led us onto a different train parallel to it.

The room we entered was completely empty except for a door in one side. Kairi walked over and tried to open it. "You need the ticket to open it." Vanna said.

Kairi took the tickets from Riku and fumbled with them, and was rewarded with a small click and the door opened for her. "All right!" She said, running in.

I shrugged and followed her into a hallway lined on one side by windows. "Hmm… I wonder if they have a room where we can just sit or something." I said, following her down the hall.

We entered the next car and I got my wish: a room with tables and comfortable chairs with plenty of windows and light. I eagerly sat down in a chair and looked out the window, waiting for the train to start moving. The car jolted, and a loud hissing sound from outside signaled the train's departure. Kairi happily began to read a magazine and I was content just watching the city of Balamb move away. We were quickly joined by the others, who now decided to rebel against the partner rule Riku had established and now went off their own ways. A cheesy "ding" sound came over a hidden intercom and a man's voice arguing with some one in the back ground caught our attention. We strained our ears but could only make out "no…wait a minute…this isn't tea!!!….what do you mean? this isn't coffee either!! Well, where did you find it? WHAT!?…oh…what do you mean the intercom light is on? I didn't turn it on…. Oh…"

Everyone in the car began to laugh. The man on the intercom cleared his throat. "Right…um…we will be arriving in…Timber…no, wait, I mean Transverse Town in…3 hours. As Transverse Town is on another continent, we will be using the underwater passageway, where we may experience a brief black out due to the ocean's currents. When we use the tunnel we request that you remain in your seat and do not attempt to go anywhere, as you may just as well end up falling off the roof of the train. We will notify you when we approach the tunnel in…an hour. Thank you." The man on the intercom had apparently decided to resume his conversation with the person in the background. "….Lori…has anyone told you how pretty your eyes are…" girlish laughter. "…you know…we do have an entire hour to ourselves…" Everyone began laughing, but tried to hold their breaths so they could hear more. "….Have I introduced you to my stuffed moogle, Mr. Bob?" The room was filled with laughter.

We could hear the sound of a door opening over the intercom. "…oh, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, sir." A new, higher male voice said. "…what is it?….Sir, the expected black out in the tunnel is going to be longer than we thought…" the younger man paused, and then whispered something. "…What?…I left the intercom on again? What… let me see…oh….oops…ummm….okay, hang on." I couldn't stop laughing, and desperately tried to catch my breath as the conductor tried to gain his dignity.

"Um…passengers, we would like to inform you that we are only ten minutes from the tunnel. Due to weather, the black out in the train will last at least ten minutes. We will keep you updated…." His voice faded. "…this time I'll make sure its off…" The intercom finally turned off.

I couldn't stop from laughing, and looked to see that Riku was getting up and was heading back toward the other car. I looked at the others and decided to follow him when no one was looking. Riku had stopped in front of a door in the hallway and entered in, closing the door quietly behind him. I paused in front of the door, trying to resist the temptation to look into the small window at the top of the door. At last I gently knocked, and was rewarded by Riku's muffled voice.

I opened the door and saw that the room was simple, just a two booth-like couches and a bunk bed. Riku was sitting on one of the couches, staring at the floor as he absently ran the fingers over the palm of his right hand.

"Riku…are you okay?" I asked, sitting on the other couch across from him after closing the door behind me.

"I…hmm…" He trailed off.

"You've been acting really…weird lately. What is it that's been bothering you?"

"……" I hated it when Riku answered me like that.

"Riku…"

Riku finally looked up at me, the trance-like look in his eyes finally breaking. "I've…been having this…voice in my mind…telling me what to do…" God no. Riku was a psycho, and now he was going to take his sword and start killing people.

I stood up and carefully edged toward the door, ready to make an escape. "No, not like that!" Riku said, shaking his head. "It's not like some weird voice telling me to kill people…its just…I had this dream a couple nights ago…after, well, you know. The prank." Riku said. Wow. Riku had nearly spoken two whole complete sentences. What an improvement.

"Dream?" I asked, sitting back down again. "You wanna tell me about it?"

Riku sighed and leaned forward. "Well…It's really weird."

"Riku, I doubt anything you tell me could be any weirder than you forcing a kiss on me." I said.

"Yeah…I guess so." I was pleased when I got that smirk on his face. "Well…all I can remember is that I was standing outside in this strange place…" Riku trailed off as he closed his eyes, re-experiencing it.

"There's this tower, and I walk in, and at the top there's this…I think it was a woman, but I couldn't see her face, and she told me where to go…and she gave me this scar on my hand." Riku began to trace his palm with his fingers again, then opened his eyes. "I don't know why…but she told me something about `you're my only hope.' And that `he' was coming." Riku shook his head.

"This is crazy. I can't believe I'm actually following her directions. And now…sometimes, I don't know how but…I can hear her voice or feel feelings in me that aren't my own."

I looked at Riku, completely serious about what he was telling me. "What kind of things…does she tell you?" I asked, trying to understand exactly what mental illness Riku had contracted.

"Oh…she warns me when something's about to happen, she keeps telling me to hurry, that `he' is coming…" Riku trailed off again.

I waited, knowing that there was something more by the way he now looked at the floor and shifted in his spot. I patiently waited. "One time…I tried to talk back to her, you know, mentally…she actually answered me, just talking…it didn't last long. She went back to `he' is coming…" Riku was finished, and now looked sheepish. "Do you think I'm crazy?" He asked me.

Yes Riku, I think you're absolutely out of your mind. Now, where did I put that straight jacket… "No. I don't think you're nuts. A little weird, but you've always been that way." I said.

Riku looked relieved, and gave me a small smirk. The idiot on the intercom came on again. "Attention…we are now about to enter the tunnel. In about ten more minutes we will be entering a `black out zone', so we suggest that you go to your rooms or elsewhere and remain there. We will be powering up our back-up generator to turn on the lights and heat. That is all…." The man managed to make his fist successful intercom announcement and remembered to turn it off when he was done.

Riku and I now were both staring at the floor. "Hey…um…Akira…" Riku said, shifting his gaze away from me.

"Yeah?"

"Um…about the pranks…look…I'm sorry…about what I did to you…that I embarrassed you…"

"Oh, Riku. It's alright. I didn't enjoy the fact that you actually did that to me but, I forgive you."

"Thanks…" Riku trailed off and went back to staring at the carpet.

I wondered to myself how many fibers he had counted by now. Suddenly a question popped up in my mind, nagging me. I didn't want to ask, but my tongue had a mind of its own. "…Riku?"

"Hmm?"

"Uh…you know…when you…er…kissed me?" I asked, blushing madly and trying not to look at him.

"…yeah…" Riku seemed more relaxed about it. Darn him and his smooth demeanor!!!

"I….um…oh, geez…I…kinda felt something go into my mouth….what…um…was it?" I asked. I was about to die.

I finally managed to look at Riku. His gaze had now moved sideways to another section of the carpet, and a smirk slowly crawled into the corner of his lips as he silently laughed. "….my tongue…" He said.

I thought to myself for a moment. His tongue….it was…his tongue? But…how….why?…Um…what?

Riku instantly picked up on my confused state and looked at me. "It's called French kissing." He told me, a teasing smirk on his face making his eyes sparkle mischievously, tying a knot in my stomach. "You've never kissed someone before, have you?" He asked me, leaning forward, his voice now teasing me even worse.

I shifted in my spot, setting my feet on the couch. "No…" Why did people keep asking me these weird questions? How come I never got to corner people like that?

Riku leaned back and silently laughed at me. Jerk. "Well, what? Have you ever kissed someone?" I asked back, hoping to make him squirm in his seat.

Instead Riku simply leaned back and tilted his head back, closing his eyes and relaxing as he put his arms out on the top of the couch. "Nope."

Hmph. What…ever! "Geez, Riku. You're such a….a…" I searched my mind for the correct word. Slicker? Cheese? Player? Woah…where did that word come from?

Riku just smirked. One day that smirk would cost him dearly. I leaned back and tried to relax, realizing I was about to be stuck in a room alone with Riku in a black out for the next ten minutes. Better brace myself.

Erik watched as Akira followed Riku out of the common room into the next car. Curious, he got up and followed them, silently watching as she went into his room. He briefly fought with his conscience as he slowly peered through the window. They were just sitting and talking. Erik's face was knit with concern and slight suspicion as Riku leaned forward and gave Akira a teasing smirk.

Erik sighed and bit his lip as he walked away back toward the common room, sat in a corner next to a window by himself and began to think, watching as the tunnel approached.

I was caught off guard when suddenly we entered the tunnel and everything went pitch-black in the room. I could hear Riku getting up and searching for something, and my face flooded with relief when a light in the room came on. "Well, I guess we got ten more minutes then." Riku said, sitting back down.

"Hmm."

"Hmm."

"……."

"……."

It was agony. I looked up and for a brief moment I thought I could see Erik's face in the window in the door, but shrugged it off. What did Erik have to do with anything?

I sighed and closed my eyes, waiting for Riku's inevitable flirting to start. It had to sooner or later, right? I was surprised when I opened my eyes and saw Riku just sitting there, looking at nothing. Boy. At least now I knew how he had managed to survive his boredom on the island. He counted all the sand on the beach. Suddenly Riku cleared his throat. "So…"

"Yeah…"

"Erik…."

"What about him?"

"He's not really…you know…"

"No."

"Hmmm….so are you two…."

"Nah. Just friends."

"Really?" there was a look of concern on his face.

"Yeah." Now it changed to relief.

"What are you so worried about?" I asked him.

"Nothing. I was just curious."

"Riku, we're just friends too. I'm not chasing after anyone here. I'm completely neutral."

Oops. Wrong word. "So you're available, then?" Riku asked, now leaning forward.

I rolled my eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "Geez! What is with you people? I'm not looking, Riku."

"But single."

"Augh!" I gave up and tilted my head back to look at the ceiling.

The light suddenly went out, leaving me and Riku in pitch black. I suddenly noticed how hypersensitive my hearing had become. I could hear Riku breathing softly, his mind deep in thought…I hoped. The train's intercom came on. "Dang…is it supposed to be this dark?…..oh, um, Passengers, the generator is starting up and the power should start up in about…" I waited for him to say ten minutes. "…nine minutes." Whatever.

"Great. Now what are we supposed to do?" I asked the dark, boredom slowly ebbing at me.

I could hear Riku moving around, and was suddenly aware that he was moving closer to me. "Don't. Even." I firmly said, reaching out into the dark to push him back.

I must have been an idiot to follow Riku. Darn, I could have waited until after the tunnel, even. I wondered if I should look for a flashlight and try to escape to the common room where everyone else was…wait…would they notice that we were both gone?

I could hear Riku sigh and sit down on the couch next to me, but not close. "Now what, Riku?" I asked, now sitting up.

No response. That was bad. He was scooting closer. And a little closer. Closer still….I could feel his jacket brush against my shoulder….why me? Oh…why me? "Riku…" I said, my voice hinting my suppressed anger, giving him a chance to back off.

His arm went behind my head. "Riku…" my voice got more tense.

Riku was such a blockhead. No wonder he never needed a helmet. You could drop him twenty feet onto a concrete sidewalk on his head and he would be fine. I wondered about trying it at thirty feet as he crossed his legs towards me. "Riku…" I didn't even bother hiding how ticked off I was. This guy was just looking to get killed.

Riku simply tried to hug me closer. "Riku, are you suicidal, or simply brain dead?" I asked, trying to push him away.

Riku gave a small chuckle and let his head rest on my shoulder. I quickly stood up, and heard the sound of him falling on the floor. At that moment the back-up generator finally kicked in and orange light filled the room, dimly illuminating everything. I could now see Riku sprawled out on the floor, trying to get up. "Riku, what is your real reason for chasing after me like this? Are you just trying to get what you want, or is there actual attachment involved here?" I asked him, pinning him on the floor with my hiking boot for good measure.

"Come on, Akira, let me up!" Riku said, not really trying when he struggled against me.

"I want an answer, and then I'm leaving, because I'm sick and tired of feeling like everyone's trying to take advantage of me." I said, giving voice to my frustration.

"I'm sorry Akira…I was just teasing you…It's what I live for…to see you get frustrated." Riku said, trying to be playful as I crushed him.

"You had better be telling the truth, buddy, or else you're dead meat. I'll sic the entire gang on you." I told him, finally letting him up.

After that Riku tried to pass the time by engaging in a friendly, one-sided conversation. Way out of character, considering, but it made sense when I thought about it, and tried not to answer most of his questions. Time passed quickly enough, and the tunnel finally ended, and daylight filled the room. "Thank Cetra!" I shouted, standing up.

Riku looked up at me, a look of disappointment on his face. "Awww…do you have to?" He asked, trying to be cute.

"Riku…please. What in the world am I going to do in here? Let you continually hit on, or, as you put it, `tease' me, and keep knocking you to the floor?" I asked him, hands on my hips.

"No…I've got stuff we could do." What was with the pre-schooler voice?

"Like what?" I was getting edgy.

"Oh…you know. Stuff." A…seductive smirk? But the relentless teasing glimmer was in his eye. Yeah, he was teasing me.

"Dear Cetra!" I shouted, finally leaving the room, not even looking back.

I walked hastily down the hall and was surprised when I ran into Erik. "Oh, hey Erik. What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I was just coming to let Riku know that they're giving away free pizza in the snack car. What are you doing here?"

"Oh…Riku had something important to tell me."

"Concerning our unknown mission?"

"Duh! What else would he be telling me? The guy's a brick wall, all he can talk about is the mission." I quickly said, now walking past him to the next car.

"Oh… okay. That's cool. So, um…I guess I'll see you there."

"Yeah."
I practically ran to the common car, where the group wasn't. Following signs on the walls I found my way to the snack car, where the entire group was, happily munching on pizza and soda. I watched as Sora held a piece of pizza up to Red, who sniffed it and turned his head away in disgust. Irvine got in on it too, waving a piece around and closing his eyes in bliss as he bit into it. Red wasn't convinced. Finally Kairi walked up, stepped on his foot, making him open his mouth to shout in pain. She then took a slice of pizza and shoved half of it into his mouth and made him chew it. Red grimaced at first, and then, slowly, discovered the hidden bliss of pizza.

"What's this? Trying to give Red a taste of our culture?" I laughed as I sat down at the table to join them.

"Oh, hey there Akira, where you been at, girl?" Vanna asked, using a fork and knife to cut through all of the gooey cheese on her pizza.

"Looking for you guys." I simply answered, not surprised when Riku came running at top speed through the door, Erik right behind him.

The group burst into laughter as Riku tripped over a crack in the floor and Erik fell on top of him. The two began to struggle to get up, Erik getting up first and barely making it to the pizza before Riku. "Oh, Riku. You're getting soft." I teased him.

Riku tried to act cool, as usual. "Nah, he just had a head start, that's all."

"Yeah, whatever." The whole group said.

Riku and Erik both sat on either side of me, making me feel slightly self-conscious, and I felt the group's eyes on me. I looked up from my pizza and glanced over at Jerdania, who was now completely absorbed in a conversation with Vanna. Irvine took advantage of her distraction and gently pulled her plate away and began to eat her food. I rolled my eyes and tried not to laugh. Irvine was trouble to the core. Poor, poor Jerdania, caught up in his web… where did that come from?

I looked up and saw that Erik was staring at Riku, who raised an eyebrow in question. Erik simply nodded back. I felt uncomfortable, and tried to start a conversation with Kairi. "So Kairi, wazzup?"

"Oh, nothing really. Um…Akira…" Kairi pointed down.

I looked down at my plate to see Erik's hand trying to slowly pull it away. I stabbed the plate down with my fork and turned to confront him. "Erik!!"

Suddenly Riku reached over and picked a slice of pizza from my plate up and held it over my head. "Riku!! Give it back!" I yelled at him, snatching it from him as Erik reached around and took my entire plate.

"Augh!!" I tried to get my plate back while Riku took the slice out of my hand.

I stared Riku directly in the eye, giving him a death stare as he held the piece up to his mouth, then pointed behind me. I turned and saw that Erik had already finished half of the pizza. I whipped back and saw that Riku was finishing his as well. I sat down in my seat and hit my head on the table, not moving.

After Riku and Erik had finished they both gave each other high-fives and left the snack room, leaving me with my face resting on the cheap linoleum. "Now….what…was…that?" Irvine's voice asked.

"Long lived rivalry." I said into the table.

"Wow…I mean, I would never expect Riku to pull something as classic as that off…does he only do this to you?" Irvine quizzed me.

I finally looked up at him through strands of my hair. Red was standing behind him, giving me a knowing look. Oh, man! "Unless you do something to him, yeah…he always tries to get something started with me first." I said.

"Oooh….I see. Those guys like you, don't they?" Irvine teased me.

I could imagine myself kicking Irvine in the head. I tried to control myself. "No."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Hey, Erik was involved too, you know."

"But the fact is that Riku did that in front of all of us. I've know Erik for a while, and I know lives for making a fool out of himself in front of all of us…but a recluse like Riku? Come on!"

"They're both just competing for attention." Kairi said, coming to my defense. "They could have been doing that for any of us."

"Whatever. If I am correct, Kairi, Akira here is the only untaken one here." Irvine had a point there.

"Yeah, you're right. Why is Kairi by herself, anyway?" Sora suddenly asked, scooting closer to Kairi.

"If any one of you even so much as thinks about hooking me up, I will personally see to it that your life is made a nightmare."

I was saved as Riku and Erik made their grand re-entry, and the group (excluding me) applauded them. "See Riku? Now my pranks are far superior to yours." Erik said, puffing himself up as he sat down.

"What makes you so sure?" Riku asked as he sat down next to him.

"Oh great, another battle to become alpha male." Sora muttered.

"Well, at least you three boys aren't ashamed of being self-acclaimed betas." Kairi said aloud.

The reaction from the three boys was instant. "Are you saying that we're second-place material?!" Red snapped.

"So you think you got what it takes to be an alpha?" I said, getting Kairi's drift.

"Nope." The three said, catching us off guard as they all sat back.

"Oh, Geez, you sissies." Kairi teased.

"And proud of it." Irvine said, lifting his soda in salute.

After we had finally finished our food we headed back to the common room, where after only an hour, Irvine was already slumped in his chair, playing with strands of his hair. "Man, I am so bored." He suddenly spoke aloud, catching most of us off guard, making us jump.

Suddenly Vanna smirked. "I know, let's play Round-up." She said, hinting at something.

Irvine began to shift uncomfortably in his chair. "What's that?" I asked, enjoying the torment I was causing him. Hey, I can't help it. I love putting guys in agony, especially if they annoy me!

"It's Irvine's favorite game. In fact, he made it up." Vanna said with a smile, making Irvine groan and put his head in his hand.

"Tell us about it." Sora said.

Irvine was starting to look highly embarrassed. "Well, once upon a time Irvine was signed up to be a teacher's assistant, and one day he got lucky when the gym teacher for one of the girl's divisions got sick." Vanna began to explain.

Irvine's face was starting to turn pink, and he did everything he could to not look at Jerdania, pulling his hat down over his eyes.

"So Irvine took the girls into the training center and decided he was going to teach the girls both evasive skills as well as the patterns of predatory monsters at the same time." Vanna began to laugh, having to stop to get her breath.

Red and Erik both began to turn red as they tried to suppress their laughs. Vanna continued, "So…he got all the girls in there, and began…(more laughter)…to chase them around, trying to corner them…" Vanna couldn't finish, and she was about to fall on the floor.

Erik caught his breath and helped her finish. "And so, the girls all ran out of the program room, and Irvine managed to herd them all into this storage closet…and he went in after them, like he had just trapped them….and when headmaster Cid heard all of the screaming, he found him in there…" Erik was now laughing so hard he had to kneel on the ground.

Irvine looked like he was dead, hiding underneath his hat and coat. Jerdania was laughing as well, but was trying her hardest to stop. "Oh, come on guys, Irvine's all right." Jerdania said, slowly wrapping her arms around him.

"But what exactly was he doing to the girls in there?" Sora asked, leaning on Kairi for support as he slowly got his breath back.

"What does it matter, what he did in there?" Jerdania said, now slightly rocking him.

"Well, it was bad enough that he got knocked off a rank and got his position as teacher's assistant taken away." Vanna clued.

"What did you do?" Jerdania asked him, trying to find his face.

Irvine muttered something incoherent, and Jerdania's face stayed expressionless, then suddenly a huge smile and tearing eyes told us that he had done something…bad. I found myself on the floor clutching my sides in pain from the laughter. "No more, please!" I begged, trying to get up.

After that the trip was a little bit more interesting. Erik shared accounts of his various escapades, Red started to show Sora various martial arts techniques, Irvine recovered and had chased Jerdania into another car, and I found myself admiring the view outside the window, watching all the trees and strange animals pass by, not really noticing when Jerdania ran back through the car closely followed by Irvine, both of them being hounded by angry train personnel. I suddenly found myself getting drowsy and closed my eyes, sinking into sleep.

All right! That's the end of Chapter 9… In the next chapter, the actual plot will be revealed… come on people! Keep on reviewing, reading! Drawing! Emailing! Cafeteria Team, hide the hot dogs in the secret storage area! Leave nothing for the enemy!