Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ A Fragmented Tale ❯ Revenge ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

A/N: I made changes, changing the main character's name to Aleron and changed the names of Riku's weapons. Thanks to Swordstuff!

A Fragmented Tale by cursed_l0ve

Chapter Three: Revenge

When they both entered the living room, both of the girls were awake. Aleron looked up at Riku. He approached her and handed her the hot cocoa. She smiled in return as he grinned.

"Thank you, Riku," she said, taking the mug.

"Anytime," he said, sitting down on the floor below her. He put his mug down in front of him. "Hey Sora, should we strike a fire?"

Sora had just handed Kairi's mug and sat down on the couch beside her. He looked over at Riku, then at the empty fireplace. He nodded and stood up again, placing his mug on the table next to the couch.

He found some logs in the corner and set them in a pile in the fireplace. Aleron watched as he drew his Kingdom Key and cast Firaga to it. Flames rose up and began to dance. He put it away and sat beside Kairi again, drawing the blanket over himself.

"How did you do that? Last time I remember, you didn't have the weapon or any magic!" Aleron said in awe. Sora looked at her. He took a breath, and then let it out.

`Why doesn't she ask me?' Riku thought sadly. He turned around, away from them and watched the dancing flames.

"Well, it's a long story, Aleron," Sora said honestly. He looked down at Riku, knowing why he turned away. "Why don't you ask Riku to tell it to you?"

"What?" Riku said, snapping his head at Sora. Aleron looked down at him with a smile on her face.

"Please Riku! I wanna hear it! I bet it'll sound better coming from you!" she begged. "Besides, you haven't talked much today! So tell!"

Kairi giggled and leaned her head on Sora's shoulder. She closed her eyes and began drifting away to sleep. Sora cuddled her close and began falling asleep, too. Oblivious to the other two, they were faking it.

Aleron was grinning at Riku, and then she looked at the couple beside her. Her grin faded when she noticed how happy they were and how she wouldn't be like that for a while.

Riku watched as she turned her glance away and noticed her smile die out.

'What is wrong with her?' he asked himself, moving his glance to where she was staring. He saw the happy picture. Suddenly, he realized she must have felt lonely. He wanted to pull her down to sit with him in his lap. 'Should I?'

Aleron looked past him and sighed. "So, are you going to tell me or not?" she asked, looking at the flames instead. She didn't want to look at him directly since he must have seen the way she looked at Sora and Kairi.

"Yes I will," he answered. "But... umm..."

She looked at him from the corner of her eye and wondered what he was trying to say. He looked at her and then looked down.

"Want to sit here?" he asked, forcing himself to have confidence. The worse that could happen would be a 'no' from her.

"What?" he heard her say. He looked back up at her.

"Do you want to sit right here?" he asked her again, patting his lap to clarify his question. She stared at him with surprise.

"Okay," she smiled shyly, slouching down the couch and sat in Riku's lap. Her heart was beating ferociously. She hoped he didn't feel it. She was also blushing. When she looked up, he was blushing, too, but not as much as she was.

'Okay, she IS sitting in my lap. Shit, Why is she making me feel this way?' he mentally yelled at himself. 'Riku, control yourself!'

"Um, so. Where do I start?" he said out loud, thinking. "Alright, I'll begin with the day before the adventures happened."

"Are you comfortable?" Aleron asked out of blue, looking at Riku.

"Huh? Why?" he looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Because you're stiff!" she sighed, standing up. "Come on, sit with your back against the couch." Riku shifted, so he was doing what she said.

"Well, maybe not. If the story is as long as Sora said, then the floor wouldn't be that comfortable."

Riku stood up and looked around the living room, "Then what do you have in mind?" He looked frustrated. He crossed his arms.

Aleron shrugged, "I don't know. We could just sit on the couch, but they took the whole space, see." She pointed at the couple sleeping. They changed their position when Sora noticed Aleron moved down to the floor. Riku sighed, letting his arms fall to his sides.

'I shouldn't have said anything... I WAS actually sitting in his lap,' she mentally groaned.

'Maybe I should take her to my house, but it's warmer here,' he thought. 'We could go up to Sora's room...'

"We could go upstairs?" Riku suggested, walking over to the bottom of the stairs. Aleron's jaw practically dropped.

"Upstairs?" she asked. Riku tensed.

"No! Not like that!" he yelled as quiet as he could, trying not to wake the others. Aleron relaxed. "We could sit on Sora's bed. It's softer than the floor, you know."

"Okay," she said, following Riku up the stairs.

They didn't see Sora smirking as he cuddled Kairi closer to him. His plan was working.

They got to Sora's room. It was a mess. Clothes scattered on the floor. Old wooden toy figures were on the table in the corner or on a shelf. Aleron looked up, there was a wooden ship containing two handmade dolls. She guessed they were Sora and Kairi dolls. She smiled.

Riku closed the door as they entered and went over to the bed. He shut the window that had the view of their hangout island. He bent down and made Sora's bed before sitting on it cross-legged and patted the spot next to him for Aleron.

She looked at him and climbed up slowly, and sat beside Riku. 'Why am I so nervous? It's not like we're doing anything!' she mentally screamed at herself. She smiled nervously.

"Is this better?" Riku asked her, feeling a little nervous himself.

"Yeah, better than the floor," she answered, slouching against the wall behind her. Her feet dangled over the side of the bed. 'Maybe if I made myself comfortable the way I would, I'd feel better...'

Riku watched silently as she made herself more comfortable. 'She must be as nervous as I am! Geez... It wasn't like than when we were younger...' he thought quietly. He felt the need to move after watching her shift. `But where and how?' He suddenly didn't feel too comfortable sitting the way he did.

"Still not comfortable, Riku?" she asked, definitely not feeling it herself.

"No…” he said, admitting it.

"Umm... sit over there," she said, pointing to the headboard of the bed.

"Eh, okay." He moved to one side of the bed and rested his back against the headboard. Aleron crawled over and sat right next to him. They were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. Their legs stretched out along the bed comfortably.

"Better, right?" Aleron grinned.

"Yup!" Riku smiled back. "Okay, now... where did I say I was going to start at?"

Aleron thought for a minute, "Umm, the day before the adventures began, I think."

Riku looked into the darkness ahead of him and nodded, "Oh yeah, okay. Sora and Kairi were fourteen and I was fifteen. That was about two years ago, but a few months before our birthdays."

"We were all sitting on the Paopu Tree like always. That day, we were talking of building a raft and setting out to visit other worlds, if there were any. We were to set out the next night, but a storm came."

"That time, I wasn't good at following my conscience, so I was falling into darkness. Sora went to the Secret Place first, where he found Kairi. It was just her heart though. She opened the strange door, and then disappeared. Sora came to my spot, and found me."

"Like I said, I wasn't myself. I let myself in to the darkness, so it consumed me. Sora came back with a keyblade in his hand. It's the same one you saw him carrying, the Kingdom Key. A huge orb in the sky swallowed the islands. So, it was gone."

Aleron jumped and turned to Riku, "Gone?" He chuckled.

"Yep, gone. I'm not finished!" he took a breath and continued. "Sora ended up in Traverse Town. It had three districts. I ended up in Hollow Bastion. Where Kairi was, no one knew. He met Cid, who gave him a Gummi Ship. It's a ship, almost like a plane, which allows him to travel to worlds. And he met Donald and Goofy in the third district. I followed him around with a witch named Maleficent."

"MALEFICENT?" Aleron gasped, staring at Riku with shock-widened eyes. Riku nearly fell off the bed from her scream. He caught her arm to stay in his place. "Sorry."

He looked at her with the same look, "Yes, Maleficent. I assume you know her from that reaction?"

"She's a cartoon, too," she admitted.

"I definitely need to get to your world,” he pressed. Aleron giggled and put her head on his shoulder. He looked down at her and smirked. "Anyway, I was with Maleficent. I admit that she tricked me, and I really regretted it. Sora continued going to worlds, where he learned he had to fight creatures called Heartless and lock the worlds with the keyblade. He was what you'd call a Keyblade Master. He went to the worlds. Once, he went back to Traverse Town, he bumped into me. I didn't stay long, because he seemed to have better friends than me, so I left. We met up again in Monstro. I tried to kidnap Pinocchio, so we could have his heart. Maleficent tricked me, she said everything I did would help me get Kairi back. I realized Sora still cared for me and was trying to get me back. 'You're on the wrong side!' he said. I pushed him away and left again."

"We met up on Captain Hook's ship. I finally found Kairi there. I tried to keep Sora from getting her, so I took her and left. I brought her to Hollow Bastion, which later I found out was her home. She had come here from there a year after you left."

"Anyway, I met Ansem, who gave me the power of the darkness before I got to Neverland. He possessed my body in Hollow Bastion. The huge scheme was; Ansem put Maleficent in charge, and made her go out and collect the seven princesses of heart to open the Door of the Dark. The princesses were Alice, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and of course, Kairi."

"Sora came, fought both Maleficent and Ansem. He defeated them. The thing was, it was Ansem in my body that he defeated. By that time, I realized my mistake and sought to fix it. So, I started fighting back. Sora finally found Kairi's body, and realized her heart was in his. He pierced his heart with my old keyblade given to me by Ansem. It was a blade that could open a heart to the darkness. Sora released both his heart and Kairi's. Kairi woke, and he turned into a heartless. Ansem returned to his original form and tried to come after her, but I stopped him."

"Kairi ran and Sora's heartless chased after her. She found who he truly was. She called his name, and he returned to his original form. He brought her to Traverse Town and returned to lock Hollow Bastion. He went on to defeat Ansem in the 'End of the World'. He fought his way until he found a place that was a replica of the Destiny Islands. There Ansem was, waiting in my form until he arrived, and transformed back. They fought. Sora defeated him every time. Finally, after the fourth time, he was defeated. The light that came through the Door of the Dark after Sora said Kingdom Hearts was Light consumed him. Sora went to close the door. We met there for the final time. I was sealed inside along with King Mickey. They both locked the Door of the Dark."

"Sora found Kairi, only to be separated again. Sora was stuck on a path. He watched as Kairi was left behind with Destiny Islands fixing itself whole. They left each other with a promise that they'd always be with each other no matter where they were. That was the end of the first adventure," Riku finally ended, yawning.

Aleron yawned after him, then giggled. She looked up at him with yawn-caused watery eyes.

"What happened next?" she asked, thirsty for more.

"I'll tell you another time. I'll fall asleep anytime soon," he said, yawning again.

"That was a very good story, Riku. And a romantic one for those two!" she praised him, and giggled again. She yawned, and then fell asleep right after.

Riku looked down at her and yawned again. He thought for a minute before sliding down and pulled her along with him. He turned on his side and felt her do the same. He wrapped an arm around her and rested his cheek on her forehead, falling right asleep.

Aleron woke the next morning, finding herself face-to-face with none other than Riku. His arms were holding her. Her hands were hanging to his shirt. She blushed and let go of the cloth. He felt her stir and opened his aqua-green eyes to find her blue ones staring back. He saw her blush tinting her cheeks. He realized how close they actually were. In seconds, his face felt hot.

"Uh... Good morning," Riku mumbled, grinning nervously.

"You too," Aleron whispered, her eyes slowly fell on his lips. He found himself looking at hers.

Sora barged in the room yelling, "Rise and shine! It's breakfast time!"

Aleron and Riku's trance was broken instantly. They both stared at each other in shock and pushed one other away, blushing madly. Riku fell on the floor. He stood up quickly and fixed his clothes.

Sora leaned against his doorframe; smirking with his arms crossed, "Kiss yet?"

"Don't be an idiot," Riku hissed, walking past him, smacking Sora in the head.

"You wish," Aleron sarcastically said, pushing Sora through the door. He lost balance and fell. She snickered and followed Riku down the stairs to the kitchen.

Sora came in grumbling and slumped in a seat at the table with the others. Kairi looked at him, wondering what happened.

"What's wrong, Sora?" she asked, handing him his plate of pancakes and bacon.

He pouted at her and pointed at the other two, "Ask them!"

Aleron and Riku looked at each other, only to quickly face away with color appearing in their cheeks. "Nothing," they said before looking at each other in surprise. They looked down at their plates afterwards.

"Probably 'cause Riku hit him, then I sent him flying in the hallway. That must be it," Aleron smirked, looking up from her plate.

"You what?" Riku said incredulously.

"Did you think I'd let him get away with that remark?" Aleron narrowed her eyes at Riku.

"No, but you sent him flying?"

"Well, I pushed him and he flew into the hall and fell on his ass. If you'd call that flying."

Riku started laughing until Sora threw a pancake in his face. It slapped him in his face, slid down, and landed in his plate with a 'plop'. The look on his face was priceless.

The three of them stared at Riku in surprise. Aleron started laughing so hard that her chair tipped and she fell backwards on the floor.

Sora and Kairi had laughed along with her, but then stopped. The three stared at Aleron, and then they all started laughing. Sora and Kairi stopped again, but Riku kept on. Aleron sat up on the floor, and glared up at Riku with her arms crossed.

'What should I do? He already got a pancake in his face... What to do? What to do?' she thought deeply. 'Ah-ha!' A light bulb went off in her head.

She stood up and went behind Riku. Sora and Kairi watched her, wondering what she was going to do. She motioned Kairi, who was seated beside Riku, to hand her the water pitcher. Their eyes widened once they got the idea. Aleron smirked at them and brought the pitcher up above Riku's head.

Riku had stopped laughing when he noticed she wasn't on the floor. He looked over to Sora and Kairi. They were trying not to laugh. He stared at them dumbfound.

"Where's she?" he asked. Kairi pointed at a spot above his head. He looked up and his eyes widened in surprise. Water soaked him from hair to toe. He burned a hole in the wall in front of him.

'She... IS... going... to get it, bad!' he mentally hissed. Aleron laughed so hard, so were the other two. Riku stood up and turned around to face her. The two stopped, fearing for Aleron's life.

Aleron stopped, and stared up at him. 'He sure is scary when he's pissed!' She kept staring at him for a minute, then thrust the pitcher into his chest and backed away. After a few steps, she turned and ran.

Riku smirked, then straightened himself. He turned around, put the pitcher on the table. Looked at Sora and Kairi, "Stay here if you know what's good for you."

The two gave him a nod and he ran in the direction she went. They started cleaning up the breakfast mess.

Aleron ran outside. She didn't know where to go, so she went straight down to the beach. Behind her, she saw Riku catching up with her. 'Oh shit!'

She looked left and right at the stretch of beach and found herself trapped. He was going to catch her sooner or later. But he was not going to get her now. She ran to her right and kept on, sending sand flying behind her. There was a path up ahead she went for it.

Once she was back on the road, she ran up the cobblestone street and turned right at the next turn. People were staring at her. 'Where do I go? I gotta hide!'

She looked behind Riku wasn't behind her. 'Huh? Fuck, where did he go?' she mentally swore. Panic rose inside her. She felt nauseous. What was he going to do to her when he caught her?

Finding an alley, she went into it, arriving to the other side. She ran straight on, past a school. Turned left, and went north, passing a grocery store. She turned right and went straight until she reached the East beach. She was getting tired.

She looked behind again he wasn't anywhere. She sighed. Maybe she lost him. 'No, don't think you lost him. He probably has a trick up his sleeve.' She panicked again.

Aleron ran down the beach for a good five minutes before falling apart. She fell to her knees, panting. She expected him to follow her. She would be lying if she said she didn't want him to catch her. 'Where the fuck is he?'

"Where the hell are you?" she yelled out loud, not expecting anyone to answer. She shifted her position and sat with her legs drawn to her and wrapped her arms around them. She rested her chin in-between her knees and let out a long sigh. Her heart was still beating fast from all of that running.

"Shit, I ran nearly everywhere on the island," she mumbled under her breath. She watched the horizon silently. She released herself and fell on her back, sprawling out on the sand. She found herself face to face with a pair of aqua-green eyes.

She screamed and shot up, turning around and backed away. He chuckled and then smirked, leaned forward to grab her. He pinned her on the sand beneath him, his hands in hers, his legs pushing hers together. He hovered over her; his silver hair tickled her face. She struggled to escape, but she was worn out from running. He chuckled again.

"What are you doing, Riku? You caught me. You win I lose. Now let me go already!" she yelled, trying to pull her hands out of his grasp. He only tightened his grip.

"Uh-uh? If I won, then what's my prize?" he said, smirking again. His eyes twinkled with a glint of amusement. "And what if I don't want to let you go... yet?"

She glared at him, "I don't know, what do you want?" He grinned dangerously.

He leaned forward until his nose touched hers. Her heart was beating more dangerously now. Her eyes widened and she turned her face away.

"I'll let you go for now, but next time, don't expect any mercy," he said coolly before licking her cheek and released her, standing up.

"Eww!" she yelled, wiping her cheek with the bottom of her tank top.

"That's what you get for messing with me," he said, plopping down on the sand, not looking at her.

She sent him a cold glare and looked away with her arms crossed. She stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye. 'And I thought he was going to kiss me... I wouldn't have minded, actually. Oh my god, Aleron, stop thinking about that! Why would he kiss you?'

She stole another glance. 'Well, I think we could have kissed this morning... then there was that just now, but he licked me! If I didn't turn away, would he?'

She looked at him, wondering what he was thinking. 'Nah!'

He turned to look at her. Their eyes locked. She blushed and turned away. He mentally sighed.

'She probably hates me now... I almost kissed her! I would have if she didn't turn away...' he stole a glance at her and caught her stealing one from him. 'She's doing the same thing as I am... Does that mean she likes me?'

He kept his stare on her. She didn't look again. 'She must know I'm watching her...' He chuckled.

"Hey..." he called out to her. "I'm sorry, do you wanna swim since we're out here?"

She glared at him, unsure. He guessed she probably didn't trust him yet. He didn't expect her to after what happened. But she shrugged and said, "Okay."

With that, she kicked off her sneakers and rushed into the water. He stared at her with amusement written all over his face. He stood up, took off his white t-shirt and sneakers and ran in after her.

"Is that all you're revenging me against?" she asked him, staying a good 10 feet away from him. He looked at her, noticing she was avoiding him.

"Yeah, just wanted to get rid of those two at the house," he answered, flashing her a grin.

She raised her eyebrows, "You chased me just to get rid of them?"

"I didn't expect you to run all over the island!" he said, waving his arm around at the scenery.

"True..." she said, then eyed him. "But why?"

He shrugged and then ducked under the water. She froze. What was he doing? She looked down, trying to see the water. She started to panic. She searched around frantically. She swam away, avoiding any places he could be. It was him versus her. Shark versus Dolphin. She backed into a hard chest. Strong arms quickly wrapped around her. She flinched, and then groaned.

"Hey again," Riku whispered in her ear.

"Yeah, hi," she said, sighing in defeat.

She heard him chuckle. He sat her down on his knee as they waded around in the water. It was calm, with small sets of waves. He held her there, resting his chin on her shoulder. It took a couple seconds before she relaxed against him completely. She leaned her head back on his shoulder.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he whispered in her ear.

She raised an eyebrow and gave a smile, "Maybe... Are you?"

He shrugged, "Maybe..."

They stayed like that for a while; a little longer than a couple minutes. Riku let her go, actually, more like dropped her, while standing up to stretch. She reached the surface, coughing out the salty water. She hid her disappointment, but he caught a flicker of it in her eyes. He snickered at her as he went to lie on his back, floating on the water.

Aleron crossed her arms and gave an 'hmmph' before wading back to the shore. He stood up from his floating mode and a thought crossed his mind. He splashed water after her, causing her to yell.

"Cut it out!" she hissed, raising her arms, defending herself. He stopped, but only to wade out after her. She put her arms down and found herself falling face down in the sand. She heard him snickering above her. She growled.

Riku sat down in the sand beside their things to dry off. He ignored her as she pushed herself up and glared at him. Aleron stood up and wiped the sand off of her face and went to retrieve her sneakers. She didn't glance in his direction and went down the beach before turning right onto a path leading to the streets.

Riku glanced up after she turned, watching her as she left. 'Geez, what's her problem?' he rolled his eyes, lying down on the sand.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Aleron hissed under her breath as she made her way. Some villagers were watching her. She ignored them. She crossed her arms, still holding her green sneakers in her right hand. She had an annoyed look on her face. "Stupid!"

'I'm SO confused...' she sighed. 'First he won't talk, then he tells me a story, we almost kissed, then he holds me. After that, he suddenly got mean!' Aleron's eyebrow twitched as she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. 'Why did I even like him in the first place?'

"Stupid!" she yelled to no one in particular.

"Who's stupid?" a voice called out behind her. "Are you calling yourself stupid? 'Cause if you did, then you got the right impression!"

If it was possible, anyone could have seen steam hissing out of her ears.

Aleron stopped walking, and turned on her heels. She faced him. "YOU are the one that's stupid! You... You..." she spat in his face. She gave a loud exasperated sigh and turned back around, adding more speed to her walking.

Riku smirked, 'I got her pissed! I bet I really got her thinking I liked her until I changed moods and fooled her!' He hid a mischievous smile as he followed her. 'Now, time to change moods again!'

"Hey! Wait up!" he called out, running to catch up with her.

She stopped again, tapping her barefoot on the cobblestone street. "What DO you want?" she asked sweetly, but sarcastically.

"I'm sorry. I was just playing around. Okay?" Riku apologized as nicely as he could. She glared at his face, checking for any signs that he was lying. She found none.

"Are you sure? That was really mean, you know!" she hissed, putting her fists on her hips.

He looked from her hair, down to her feet, then back to her face. She was really sandy. He had to hide his laugh.

"Yes, I'm really, really sorry! Is there anything I can do to prove it to you?" he asked, brushing some sand off of her hair.

She glared at him, and then sighed.

"Okay, okay! Um..." she gave in. "Just don't do that again! 'Cause you're really making me change my mind about you! I'd hate you and you wouldn't know!"

'Shit, all my tricks are affecting her for sure! I'll tone it down. I most definitely don't want her to hate me...' he mumbled in thought.

He put on a grin and grabbed her hand. "Okay! I'm sorry. I won't do that again. Let's go to Sora's?"

'Yeah, she won't know... I said that, which means whatever happened at the beach... I never meant I'd stop doing anything...' he began smirking.

"Yes, they're probably worried about ME! Last time I remember, you're supposed to kill me!" Aleron said, still holding a grudge. She held on to his hand.

"I wonder why it was snowin' last night..." Riku said suddenly.

"Yeah, that was strange. It's back to a normal weather today..." Aleron agreed.

The snow had melted during the night. There were no trances of it left. The sun melted it all away.

"Sora! They're back!" Kairi yelled into the house from the front porch.

Sora rushed out, and when he saw the sight of them approaching, and Aleron unharmed, he dropped his arms and sighed.

"Don't make us worry all day like that, idiots!" he yelled at the two. Aleron and Riku both looked at each other. Riku smirked, but Aleron was still pissed.

Riku looked up at Sora, "Chill out, I found her. And we went swimming, is all."

Sora 'hmmped' and walked back inside the house. Kairi put a hand over her face and shook her head. She let it drop and invited them in.

"So... what did you do out there?" Sora asked, with a mischievous grin. They all sat down around the kitchen table.

"Umm..." Aleron said, looking at the ceiling above Sora. "Nothing, he chased me around the islands until he caught me over at the East beach. I gave up. And we decided to go swimming. It's hot out, you know. And we needed to cool off from running!"

"Yep!" Riku agreed, putting his arms behind his head.

They did not lie. The whole thing was true. They only left out certain parts. They didn't want to share what happened between them.

Sora gave them an evil glare, "Well, okay. I believe you!" He leaned over the table. "But..."

Aleron went wide-eyed. 'But what?'

"Why were you two holdin' hands?" he smirked, leaning back in his seat. 'Got them!'

"Why not?" Aleron shrugged. "Friends hold hands all the time, too! Even WE did that a long time ago, remember?" It was her turn to smirk.

Sora sighed, "True... Damn it, I'll find something to prove that you two did something!"

Riku rolled his eyes, "Sure, be my guest."

Sora glared at him and crossed his arms. Riku smirked at him. They had a glaring match. Aleron sighed and went outside. Kairi followed behind.

After dinner, Aleron practically died from exhaustion. She walked over to the couch, and fell towards it, sprawling out on her stomach. Her eyes fell closed, and she was in a deep sleep.

That was where the others found her a couple minutes later. Sora chuckled. Riku was staring at her. Kairi smiled.

"Don't tell me you wore her out, Riku," Sora joked, punching him in the arm.

Riku jumped back, "What the hell?"

The brunette rolled his eyes, "I was kidding! Come on, Kairi. Want to get ice cream?"

Kairi grinned and nodded. He took her hand as they left the house. Riku stood there, confused by the way his friends were acting. 'Are they trying to hook me up with her? Geez,' he shook his head.

He looked at her and went to sit in the armchair near the window. He studied her as she slept. 'She's so beautiful...'

Riku thought back at the memory of the morning. 'Too bad she turned away...'

He slid down to the floor and crawled over to her sleeping silhouette. He drew his face close and rested his chin on the cushion. He reached for her hair and began playing with it lightly. She had let her hair down after swimming, drying it out. She was beautiful with it down. He brushed her blonde locks from her face as he studied it. 'But... she didn't try to escape after I held her... Did she like me?' His eyebrows furrowed as he traced his fingers down her jaw line.

He watched as she moved into his touch. He smirked. He turned his head so that it rested on the cushion and wrapped an arm over her figure. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. They both definitely wore each other out from playing Cat and Mouse.

"I knew it!" Sora punched the air. He smirked. "Kairi, we definitely have the proof!" He waved the camera in front of her face.

"Oh yeah! Let's go get it developed!" Kairi yelled, grabbing it and dragged Sora from the window.

They ran up the street and turned left at the next corner until they got to the Photo Shop. Sora was grinning mischievously and he clapped his hands together. Kairi handed the camera to the Lady at the counter.

"Just the last three, please!" she said, excitedly. The woman nodded and took the camera to the back room.

They went for ice cream as they waited. Kairi got vanilla with rainbow sprinkles, while Sora got chocolate with fudge.

"Hey Kai, you got some on your chin," he said, honestly.

"Where?" she said, trying to wipe it off.

"Let me do it," he said leaning in and licked it off. He jumped back in surprise when he realized what he just did. "Sorry!"

Sora scratched the back of his head and looked away, chuckling nervously. Kairi stared at him with a set of wide eyes. She started giggling and jumped on Sora, hugging him around the neck. He gasped and held out his ice cream, careful not to get it on her.

"Sora, you're cute when you freak out!" she giggled, letting go of him. He blushed.

"Th-thanks, Kairi," he said, staring at his melting, half-eaten ice cream.

She smiled and finished hers before looking at Sora again. 'He's so cute...' she mentally sighed. He finished his and stood up.

"Come on, let's get those pictures!" he said cheerfully, grabbing her and running back to the Photo Shop.

"Yes! Perfect!" Sora yelled, looking at the three pictures they took. He grinned evilly. Kairi nodded her head, grinning, too. She grabbed his hand and made their way back to Sora's.

They peeked in the dark window, checking to see if they were still there. Yep, they were in the same position. Aleron was still on her stomach, with Riku kneeling on the floor, with his head near hers, and his arm around her. The small difference was that she had moved her head closer to Riku's, her forehead on the top of his head. Her arm went under Riku's chin, hugging him around the neck, but hung limply. They smirked and stifled their laughter.

Sora led Kairi up to the front door. He stole a glance at her, and she was watching him, wondering what was wrong. He turned around to face her and put his hand under her chin.

'Wha...' she thought as he leaned in, closing the distance until their lips touched. Kairi unconsciously moved her arms up around his neck, still holding the camera and the photos in her hand.

Sora embraced her around her waist and brought her closer to him. Then he moved a hand to the back of Kairi's head and kissed her harder. Kairi started to play with his hair at the nape of his neck. He kissed her bottom lip softly before breaking away. He smiled a lazy smile, which caused Kairi to blush.

"Let's go inside," Sora whispered, his hot breath tickled her lips. She nodded and they drew out of their embrace. He took her hand and went inside, leading her upstairs to his messy room.

Kairi set the camera and the photos down on his dresser and sighed. 'Wow... My first one...' she thought dreamily. She felt Sora's arms encircle her from behind as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

They stayed there, standing in each other's company until Sora let her go and spun her around. He kissed her and pushed her back until they fell on his bed. Soon, they were making out, and then minutes later, they were asleep in each other's arms.

Aleron opened her eyes and found herself looking down at Riku's soft, sleeping face. She searched the surrounding and withdrew her arm. Her fingers brushed his cheek lightly by accident. Riku woke and stretched out his legs from under him and looked up at her. She glared at him sleepily.

"What are you doing? I don't remember saying you could sleep with me!" she hissed, turning her glare into a cold one.

He withdrew his arm from her and sat up. He lay down on the floor and stretched, yawning. "I was tired, okay?"

"Oh yeah, you could have slept on the chair or something instead of over here! With your arm around me, too!" she crossed her arms. 'I wonder why he did though...' she thought quietly.

"Don't ask me..." he began, then he glared at her. "Hey! Don't blame me, you had your arm around me, too!"

"Oh, well. I guess we're even," she shrugged, still frowning. "By the way, where's Sora and Kairi?" Aleron asked, sitting up.

Riku shrugged, "I don't know, last time I saw them, they went out for ice cream. Must be sleeping upstairs by now." He closed his eyes, still sprawled on the floor.

"Yeah... I wonder what time it is," she said stretching.

"Probably two in the morning."

"Wow... I napped that long?" she said incredulously.

Riku nodded and stood up, "Get up." Aleron looked up at him, puzzled. She stood up anyway. He lay down on the couch with his back against it. He patted the extra spot for her. She eyed him, and then lay down in front of him on her side, her back to his chest.

'Umm... I am definitely confused... Well, it's nothing... He's probably trying to get on my good side, and then push me down again!' she mentally hissed herself. 'Oh well... I can take advantage of this... I'll play his game, but he'll get it back in his face!' she smirked as she rested her head on his arm. She felt him bury his face in her hair, and wrapped an arm over her waist. Their legs were tangled since Riku barely fit on the couch. His legs went over the side, locking hers in-between his in layers. They slept like that until the sun rose.

"Rise and shine!" Sora shouted cheerfully, marching towards the two on the couch. He stood there, smirking down at them.

Aleron and Riku both yawned, and looked up at the brunette with sleep still in their eyes. Suddenly, they froze and sat up quickly. Riku accidentally pushed Aleron off of the couch, and she crashed face down against the hardwood floor. She stood up quickly and crossed her arms, facing away from both of them. She hid the pain in her eyes with a frustrated smile.

`So much for him being nice...' she sighed.

Riku sat up straight in his seat, yawning again.

"So..." Sora said slowly, still smirking. "Did I wake up to proof right in front of my face?" He eyed Riku, and bent down, so they were face to face.

Riku's figure froze, but his head backed away. Blush crept up on his cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something, but Aleron cut in.

She looked behind at the two. "Oh yeah, we fell asleep on the couch. How does that prove that something was going on?" She turned around, facing Sora with her eyebrow arched.

The spiky haired boy straightened himself and gave her a grin. Her face fell, 'Shit... I don't like the look on his face...'

"As a fact, I do have proof," Sora said, before catching both of Aleron and Riku's nervous smiles. He crossed his arms and looked at the hallway. "Hey Kai, bring in the proof!"

Kairi skipped into the living room with a bright smile on her face. She stopped beside Sora, with both of her hands behind her back. She bent down, her burgundy-red hair fell into her face. Then she jumped up, revealing three glossy piece of paper and waved them in front of Aleron and Riku.

"Ta-da!" she shouted, giggling.

"You took PICTURES of us?" Riku yelled, scowling. Aleron reached forward and grabbed them out of Kairi's hands. She put on an annoyed look and held them up for Riku to see. She kept a glare at Sora. Riku took them and looked at them. His eyebrow twitched. He handed them back to Kairi and crossed his arms. Both of them had the same look on their faces.

"Ha-ha! I told you I'll find proof soon!" Sora threw in Riku's face.

Riku closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He gave a frustrated smile as he bopped Sora in the head. "Idiot," he said, chuckling as he went towards the front door.

"What?" Sora said, rubbing his sore spot. "What's so funny?"

Aleron brushed past Sora, "Those pictures DON'T prove anything... There's nothing going on between me and Riku, so save your energy!" She laughed as she went outside. Sora sweat dropped. Kairi giggled.

"They just don't realize it! But, something must have happened. I noticed Aleron was mad when they got back. Knowing Riku, he probably did something harsh," Kairi said, matter of factly. She went out the door, leaving Sora stammering to himself.

"B-but..." he mumbled. Sighing, he ran his hands down his face and went to catch up with the others. 'I thought Riku said he liked her?' "I give up!"