Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Akirame Norwen ❯ Induced Sleep ( Chapter 13 )

Disclaimer: I don't own London, don't own France, and these are not my *censored* huh?

Chapter 13: Induced Sleep

Akirame felt tired after the long day's chocobo ride. It was finally the end of the third day, and Akira watched the sky slowly turning orange from her saddle, not minding when her newly assigned partner, Erik, leaned slightly against her and sighed. Riku and Irvine finally led the group of weary chocobos and their riders to a halt at the remains of an old campsite in the middle of a wide, hilly plain, closely bordered on the left by a thick forest which they would soon have to face.

"Okay guys, this looks like a good place to stop and rest." Riku announced, much to his companion's relief.

Slowly the group climbed off the yellow birds and began to stretch their sore legs and yawn. Sora couldn't help but voice his opinion that it was Riku's turn to gather wood. "Come on Riku, I did it the last two times, it's your turn." The brunette whined.

The group flinched, waiting for Riku's usual fiery comeback. Instead, Riku shrugged. Suddenly, Irvine was hit with one of his brilliant ideas. "You know what, I think tonight deserves to be a celebration." He voiced, looking to the others.

"What's to celebrate?" Sora skeptically asked. So far Sora had been the only one who hadn't learned how to properly ride a chocobo, leaving him with blisters on nearly every square inch of his lower body, as well as his attitude.

"Well, tomorrow is the day we finally reach Winhill!" Irvine happily replied, trying to get back the same enthusiasm.

"And?"

"And, well…we could certainly afford to loosen up a bit, tell stories, and Jerdania hasn't had a real chance to lay on her cooking."

"Hyne, I'd do anything right now for some of Jer's party brew." Kairi said, licking her lips.

"So, how `bout it Riku, can we have some fun tonight?"

"Yeah, please?"

"Please Riku?"

Riku sighed and rolled his eyes. "Are you gonna need a bonfire?"

"Woohoo! Par-tay!"

"Come on Irvine, let's go get that wood."

"Why me?"

"Because it was your idea."

The two mounted their chocobo, taking along an extra one to carry the wood. The trees spread their lofty branches overhead, creating a ceiling that completely shrouded out the light. Riku reached into the satchel the extra chocobo was carrying and pulled out a glass lantern, and with a light tap, a bright light appeared within it, lighting the area.

The two boys went on, collecting small bunches of tinder, batches of sticks and a good number of logs. When they had gathered as much as they thought they would need, they loaded the wood onto the extra chocobo and headed out of the forest, disappointed when the flies descended back into the bushes when they exited the thick forest and back into the open plain.

It was much darker now, and the two boys rushed back to the campsite, which by now had been diligently set up. Riku frowned when he remembered that there were only two tents. He'd have to spend the night outside, mostly because he needed to help keep watch, and also because it was his turn. Looking up, Riku was grateful for the clear sky, knowing that tonight the weather would be warm again, and that he might have the help of the full moon.

Sora immediately set up the wood and quickly started the bonfire while Jerdania all sorts of ingredients and a large cooler and began to make a batch of punch. The others gathered together around the quickly growing fire and began to happily chat and tell jokes, waiting mostly for Jerdania to finish. Irvine sneaked behind the group and went over to where she had already laid out several cups, and was getting ready to start pouring the sweet smelling concoction. "Psst…Jer!" he whispered into her ear.

"What?"

"I got this great idea for a joke we could play on Riku and Akira!"

"What? Why would we want to do that?"

"Face it. Riku needs to lighten up, and those two should really get together. They're perfect."

"But….what about Erik? Erik said he liked Akira too, you know."

"Yeah…but Erik doesn't really…I dunno. I think it's Riku that should have Akira."

"Well….what are we going to do to them?"

"Just drug them both, put a couple pinches of sleep powder in their drinks, and I'll serve them up!"

Jerdania raised her eyebrow for a moment, trying to decide what to think. "And then what will we do when they're unconscious?"

"Just leave that to me. Now, hurry before they notice!"

Jerdania rolled her eyes and pulled a large plastic container out of her backpack and carefully opened it. Irvine eagerly took a spoon laying nearby and carefully spooned small amounts of the yellow contents into two of the cups, and mixed it with the punch. "There, that oughta do it. When they're K.O.'d, I'll explain the rest."

With that Irvine cheerfully took the two cups over to his victims, who sat next to each other, talking quietly about something, unlike the rest of the group, which was getting rambunctious. "Here ya go. Enjoy!"

Riku and Akira took the cups without the slightest hesitation, and sipped the drinks. Riku then took a large gulp, enjoying how the punch fizzed in his mouth, slightly noticing how the drink seemed intoxicating.

From the other side of the fire, Irvine had taken a hot dog and had began roasting it over the fire on the end of a stick, stealing glimpses of his unsuspecting friends quickly downing their punch. "Five…four…three…two.." Irvine mentally counted down, and as if on cue, the two were now effectively feeling the effects of the powder.

"Hey, you look kinda tired there, Riku" Irvine said, now walking over to them.

"Yeah…just a little." Riku could barely keep his eyes open, and Akira was now leaning against him.

"Why don't you two lay down for a bit? There's a sleeping bag right over there." Irvine eagerly offered.

"Yeah, that sounds great." Irvine had to half-carry Riku over to the sleeping bag, which lay close to the fire, and lay Riku on top of it.

Meanwhile, Akira had started swaying back and forth, and lost her balance on the log, falling over backwards and out of sight. The other members of the group heard the "Oof!" followed by light snoring.

"Woah, what happened here?" Kairi said, rushing to her friend's side.

"I drugged her and Riku." Irvine proudly said, starting to scoop up the sleeping log.

"What? Why'd you do that?!" Sora quickly challenged.

"For a prank, no duh."

"What are we going to do to them?" Erik asked, a little hesitant, his mind quickly putting things together.

"Well," Irvine began, quickly laying Akira on the wide sleeping bag next to Riku, "I always figured these two were meant to be together."

"Oh, come on Irvine, don't you think we've pushed that issue enough already?" Kairi said, thinking of the hundred-or-so times Irvine had tried to put them up together.

"Hey, it's a win-win situation! It could either result in them gettin' together, or we might get a good laugh out of it."

"Well…." Kairi began, looking at the two sleepers, who now had their backs to each other. "They do look…kinda cute together…."

"Yeah, but it would look better if Riku was facing the same way…" Sora said, rolling the dead-asleep leader over.

"And if Akira were closer…"

"Yeah, and put his arm over her waist…"

"Someone get a blanket and a pillow!"

By the time they were done, Riku and Akira were carefully posed, and wrapped up under a blanket, sharing the same pillow. "So…how long does the sleeping powder last?" Sora asked.

"As much as Irvine gave them, they won't be awake until tomorrow morning." Jerdania said, looking at her watch.

"Man. What do we do till then?"

"Party, what else?"

Erik looked up at the star spangled sky. The party had ended about two hours ago, and he had decided to take over guard duty, sitting up on a hill just next to the campsite. His eyes slowly descended from star to star until they landed on Akira. He smiled as he watched her sleep peacefully beside Riku. The same feeling that overcame him in the shop some days ago was now present, but he chose to ignore it.

"If those two are meant to be together…there's nothing I can do." He thought for a moment about this as his eyes shifted from Akira to the other members of their group. He had developed a bond between each and everyone of them. Riku was like a brother to him, Irvine was his partner in crime. Red, who now lay in his dragon form next to the dying fire, was more like his conscience at times. Jerdania was his idol; no one could cook better than her, Kairi was to him, the best of friends, and last but not least was Sora… well at least Erik felt smart beside him. Then there was Akira. Though he had created a bond with everyone in the group, with her it was something… special.

He remembered the thought that had crossed his mind instants before. "If those two are meant to be together…there's nothing I can do." He placed his hand over his chest, dug for something inside his clothes and clutched it. He held it tightly, the small token that stood near his heart, reminder of a long, lost past that would never again be his. Why did he have to loose everything in his life?

He stood up and started walking from side to side as he lost himself in his thoughts.

"I lost my mom…and that girl, was she my sister?"

A vision of a young beautiful woman appeared before him clearly. The young woman held in her arms a girl, no more than 4 years old wrapped in blankets. She seemed to be crying, with one hand she held the girl while the other remained stretched out towards him. He could hear her desperate cries, and each one of them struck his heart with great sadness.

He had seen this…vision countless times before, in his sleep, while he ate, while he trained, every time he was alone. But he was still not used to it. Quickly following the same routine he ran towards the woman trying to take both, lady and child, in his arms… but then HE appeared. From out of the blue came his so-called `father.' The ghastly figure took Erik by the arm and kept him from advancing to the weeping woman. Erik pounded his father angrily, but his fists went right through him, he knew that it was only a mirage but he couldn't help it.

"I lost them, whoever they were…and I lost HIM too."

He was now standing up, still in the same place on the hill. He stood there for a moment, trying to regain his bearings. A cold breeze flew into his open vest, running its chilling fingers over his body, making him shiver. He wrapped his vest around his body, trying to regain warmth. Then he remembered, the infinite nights he had spent alone in his house as a child. He formed two fists with his hands as he started punching the air with un-sighted fury.

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!?!?" His chest burned, and he felt like screaming out loud, but knew he would instantly stir each and every one of his friends if he did so. He continued throwing punches in the air until he grew tired and sat back down.

"All I have is this." His hand once again found its way to his chest, and he seized the small pendant.

Erik heard someone stirring nearby, and quickly let go of the memory as he looked to see who it was. Red was approaching him, his amber cat-like eyes glowing slightly. "Erik, what troubles you?"

Erik sighed and shivered as night grew colder, his eyes focused on something he couldn't see. "It's Akirame."

Red sat down behind the boy, Erik never looking back but still focused elsewhere. "Ah…she is quite a beauty, no?"

"I don't know whether or not…I'm in love with her…I feel protective of her, but otherwise…"

Red laid down, sharing his body heat with his shivering friend. "Women…they cause us to do the strangest things." Red commented, allowing Erik to lean against the dragon's side.

"I just want to get this over with as soon as possible so I can find the woman and the girl."

"I promised you I would help you find them, did I not?"

"Yes…but why am I here with this group? What do they have to do with my vision?"

"You'll see soon enough. I love you like a son, and I would not deceive you." And with that, the dragon brought his wing down around Erik and proceeded to keep watch over the slumbering teens.