Chapter 3
Sora looked up at Yuffie and smirked, seeing she was very much in the same out of breath shape as he was.
Yuffie looked at Sora, and noticed the smirk. She stuck her tongue out at him as she slumped to the ground next to him. "I second that," she moaned in-between gasps.
Sora rolled over in the sand, getting more of it up his shorts. "I can’t believe we’ve been dueling for three hours!" Three hours of dueling! Sora couldn’t believe how much time had passed. As soon as he stopped chasing Yuffie, he gave her a wooden sword, and they went at it. Yuffie was pretty good, and most likely had training of some sort.
Yuffie nodded, reaching out and flicking some sand off Sora’s face, "I know! And I can’t believe I beat you! Four times!" Yuffie smirked. Her training with her father had really paid off. Of course she was trained in the ninja arts. But Sora needn’t know that.
Sora pouted, "hey, I beat you three times." He forced himself into a sitting position, "and all the rest were draws."
Yuffie set up, wincing in pain, "owie, I’m going to be feeling these bruises for days. Daddy will think some island bully beat me up."
Sora puffed out his cheeks, "that’s me! The island bully," Sora growled in a deep voice! Sora was trying to look very fierce, but it looked more cute, then scary.
"Ah haha ha ow!" Yuffie laughed, moaning in pain. "Very funny. Somehow I can’t picture you as the island bully."
Sora shrugged, "Squall might say different, though he’d say I was the island pest."
"Squall?"
"My older brother," Sora said, standing up. He reached down, helping Yuffie to her feet.
"Oh, are you a pest?"
Sora laughed, "not really. Squall and I usually get on well. But everyone once in a while he yells, ‘Sora you pest, stop stealing my hair gel’"
Yuffie bent over laughing, "I was wondering how your hair got so spiky."
"I don’t use a lot of gel. Feel it." Yuffie did as she was told and was surprised that his hair was smooth and soft. It didn’t feel gelly at all.
"Then how . . . "
"Dunno, it just goes that way."
"That’s freaky, but at least it looks cool."
Sora smiled, "thanks . . . I think." She just called my hair freaky. Then she said it was cool. Okay . . .
"Sora, it’s late." Yuffie walked over to the weapon storage bin, and put her wooden sword away. "Dad will be worrying, so I better go back to Round Island."
Sora nodded. His mom and dad would be starting to worry as well. "I better get back as well." Sora walked over to the bin, and put his wooden sword away.
"Race you to the boats," Yuffie yelled. "On your mark get set . . . " Yuffie started to run on the word ‘set.’ "GO!" She yelled behind her.
"Hey! No cheating," Sora yelled, running after her.
---
"Ow. Ow. Ow," Yuffie yelped, each step causing pain in her side. She looked behind her and giggled, Sora was catching up. "Oh! No you don’t!"
A few more steps and she’d be at the boats. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Yay! Made it," Yuffie slumped against her boat, sweat pouring down her face.
It was a good thing Sora wasn’t interested in girls, because Yuffie didn’t take in consideration that when wearing a white shirt it became see through, when wet. And wet it was. Dueling on the beach for three hours, in the hot island sun caused the girl to perspire enough to soak the front of the shirt.
"Um Yuffie," Sora came up to Yuffie, and noticed the state she was in. He didn’t think twice before he took off his own shirt, handing it to a confused Yuffie.
"What," Yuffie looked down at his shirt?
"Your shirt."
Yuffie looked down, and turned blood red. "Ahhh!" Yuffie yelled, pulling Sora’s shirt over hers. It was a tight fit. Sora was after all, smaller then Yuffie, and then there was her chest. Not really big, but certainly bigger then Sora’s "I’m so embarrassed!"
"It’s fine."
Yuffie rolled her eyes, "easy for you to say. I’m the one that just flashed someone."
Sora rolled his eyes, "it’s not like I’ve never seen a girl’s chest before."
"You’ve seen one before," Yuffie asked, while untying her boat? The boat started to bob up and down, and would of floated away, if Yuffie hadn’t had such a tight grip on the rope.
"Sure. Selphie had a bathing suit malfunction. Lucky for her the other guys were further down the beach and didn’t see."
"How did Selphie react," Yuffie asked, jumping in her boat? The boat rocked, and she almost fell over, but with her ninja reflexes, she was balanced in matters of seconds. She carefully set down, grabbing the oars.
Sora untied his boat, and climbed in. He wasn’t as graceful as Yuffie and fell, smacking his butt hard. Luckily the boat only wobbled and didn’t tip over. Sora winced in pain, as he grabbed the oars. "She freaked out and started to cry. But as soon as she realized I wasn’t gawking, she calmed down."
"You’re a real gentleman, huh Sora," Yuffie turned in her boat, and looked at Sora?
Sora laughed, "not really. It was just like seeing my sister’s chest." Sora shuddered.
"Oh. It didn’t float your boat . . . er . . . well you know what I mean," Yuffie returned her attention to her rowing. She was new at this. And it took her a few minutes to get the hang of things. Put pretty soon she was rowing straight, and not around in circles.
"Nope, no boats floating," Sora chuckled, his cheeks turning red.
"So I can run naked in front of you . . . and your boat wouldn’t float," Yuffie teased?
Sora blushed. Not because of the thought of Yuffie running naked, but because of the subject. "No it wouldn’t. Can we stop talking about my boat?"
"What, would you rather I say di . . . "
"Shush!" Sora turned bright red, and he glared at Yuffie’s back.
"Sora is a prude, Sora is a prude!"
"Yuffie! Shush! We’re almost to Round Island."
Yuffie looked up, and sure enough they were almost there, "oh, oops. I’ll be quiet."..."Prude," she whispered. Because the sun was so hot, and she wasn’t being active, Yuffie’s shirt had dried. Yuffie paused her rowing, and tugged Sora’s shirt of. Grinning, she threw it, hitting Sora’s head.
Sora rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but smile, "I heard that." Sora pulled his shirt on, glad to cover his naked stomach.
"Sorry," Yuffie said, as her boat hit shore. She jumped out of her boat, and at once a cute blond teen wearing a yellow shirt vest, that showed off his tanned, muscled belly, and blue jean shorts, ran up to her, helping her pull her boat and tie it to the board walk.
Another guy. A redhead, wearing a green shirt vest, that reveled his larger, tanned, muscled stomach, and blue jean shorts, ran up to Sora and helped him get in.
"Gee, thanks," Yuffie gasped. "That’s a heavy boat."
"No problem," the blond replied. "You new?" Yuffie noticed how blue the boy’s eyes were. They were almost unnatural. Yuffie had a thing about eyes. And this boy had beautiful eyes. Sora’s eyes are pretty amazing as well. Blue as the ocean.
Yuffie shook her head, clearing her thoughts, "yes, I’m Yuffie." The boy extended his hand and Yuffie grasped it.
"Tidus. That’s Wakka," Tidus pointed, with his free hand, to the redhead, tying Sora’s boat up.
"Thanks guys," Sora and Wakka walked over to Yuffie and Tidus. "So how did practice go," Sora asked?
Wakka’s face fell, "not enough budget. They canceled the season." Yuffie was once again, staring, lost in someone’s eyes. This boy had brown eyes. Not an ugly, muddy brown, but a wonderful peaceful, yummy, chocolate brown. He was very soft on the eyes.
"Oh. Wakka, I’m sorry." Sora knew how much Blitzball meant to the redhead. "So what did you two do instead of practice?"
"Oh, we just hung out," Tidus said.
"Threw the ball around, and dueled." Wakka stretched, looking up, noticing how late it was. "I have to get back. It’s my turn to make dinner." Like Chappu ever cooks, even when it is his turn.
"Oh. Okay, have a good one." Sora and Yuffie waved bye, as Wakka started to walk away.
"Wait!" Wakka stopped, and turned around, seeing Tidus running up to him, "I’ll walk you home." Tidus smiled, a brilliant smile, showing his pearly white teeth.
"Okay," Wakka smiled, a slight red tinge covering his nose.
"Great." Tidus didn’t think twice and swung his arm around Wakka’s shoulder. Nothing wrong with that. Wakka was after all his best pal.
---
Sora and Yuffie watched as the two boys walked away together. "Did ya see that?" Yuffie looked at Sora.
"See what," Sora asked, not thinking it was a big deal. He and Riku were like that too. The boys stopped at holding hands, like the girls did. But they didn’t think anything was wrong with putting their arms around each others shoulders. They were the best of friends. At least they are at the moment. Sora felt that as soon as Riku found out about him, their friendship would be over.
"Oh . . . um never mind," Yuffie smirked. She was going to have to play match maker. Oh yeah! He likes Tidus, he likes Tidus! Tidus likes him, Tidus likes him! Oh, of course I could be reading into this too much.
Sora gave Yuffie a confused look, "the sun getting to you?" She was starting to act strange.
It looked like she was chanting under her breath, and she had a happy, pleased look on her face.
"Oh . . . um yeah, that must be it."
Sora laughed, "well then, come on. Lets go see if my mom has anything cool to drink. Then I’ll walk you home."
"Aww, and you say you’re not a gentleman."
"Who’s that," Yuffie whispered in Sora’s ear, as they came up to his house?
Sora looked to who she was talking about and rolled his eyes. It was his older brother. The tall dark, handsome guy, most girls tried to throw their selves at.
Squall was sitting on their porch swing, his heads in the clouds. He did look rather cute, with that little pout on his lips. He was lazily pushing with one foot, making the swing sway slightly. His other foot, was beneath him. Squall sighed, brushing his dark brown hair out of his eyes. In a few seconds that cute pout was back.
"Squall," Sora whispered to Yuffie, "my older brother." Hmm, he must be thinking about something . . . or someone.
"Oh. He’s cute."
Sora rolled his eyes, "don’t bother going after him."
"Why," Yuffie mock pouted?
"Just don’t. He won’t be interested."
"Oh, am I too young for him?"
"No, it’s not that. Well, yes, you might be too young for him. How old are you anyway?"
Yuffie turned to Sora, looking at Squall out of the corner of her eyes, "I’m fourteen. And I’m not truly interested in him. But he is cute."
Sora smiled, "he takes after dad. He’s seventeen, I’m fourteen."
Squall looked up, finally noticing the whispering teens. "Sora."
Sora jumped, and looked at his brother, "oh, hey Squall. This is Yuffie," He nudged Yuffie forward, "she’s new on the island."
Squall nodded at Yuffie, slightly waving a hand. He then turned and walked back into the house.
Yuffie blinked a few times, "does he hate me?"
Sora laughed, "no. Something is on his mind. And he’s a really quiet person."
"Oh! Okay," Yuffie smiled, glad to hear that. "So about that cold drink . . . "
"Oh yeah. Come on in." Sora grabbed Yuffie’s hand and pulled her along.
"Gentleman," Yuffie whispered. "Taking my hand and leading me around."
"Ha ha ha," Sora muttered, dropping her hand. "You do want that drink, don’t ya?"
"Yessir! Sorry sir!" Yuffie saluted, standing at attention. "I won’t mention your gentlemenniness again, sir!"
Sora snorted, "you made that word up."
"No, it’s a real word, used by all hyper people."
"Whatever," Sora laughed. Haha, now Squall’s going to yell, ‘stop stealing my catch phrase!’
---
"Is that you, Sora," A female voice called from the kitchen?
"That’s my mom," Sora whispered to Yuffie.
"Yeah it’s me mom. And I brought over a new friend." Sora and Yuffie walked over to the kitchen, entering it. Inside they saw a cute brown haired women, scurrying around, making dinner. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun, to keep it out of her eyes.
"Oh hello dear. Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes." Rayne smiled at Sora, then turned to Yuffie.
"Hello darling. What’s your name?"
"Yuffie Kisaragi, ma’am."
"Oh don’t call me ma’am. Please call me Rayne."
Yuffie nodded, holding back a smile. Rayne had flour all over herself.
"Mom we were hoping to get something cool to drink. We’ve been dueling on Play Island, and are very..."
"Oh my dears, yes." Rayne walked over to the fridge and took out a pitcher of something. "I just made tea. Is that okay?"
Sora nodded. "Yes ma...I mean Rayne," Yuffie took a glass Rayne held out for her, and waited while she poured her some of the tea. Once her cup was full, Yuffie took a huge grateful gulp.
"Like it," Rayne asked, as she poured some for Sora?
"Yes! It’s very good."
Rayne smiled, "thanks. Make sure you’re washed up before dinner, Sora."
"Okay mom," Sora sighed, feeling the nice coolness flow down his throat. The tea was a big relief. "I’m going to walk Yuffie home first though."
"Okay, be quick."
"Will do."
"Nice house," Sora said, looking up at the one story. It look like it was recently built, and had a nice fresh coat of white paint.
"Yeah. They finished building it a few weeks ago." Yuffie, walked through the white picket fence gate, holding it open for Sora. "Come on in, you can meet daddy."
Sora nodded, and followed Yuffie up the small cobble stone path, to the door.
When they got close to the door, both teens yelped, jumping out of the way, when a guy in his twenties came running out of the house. He was tall and blond. He would be very handsome, if it wasn’t for the crossed expression on his face.
"Who..." Yuffie muttered, as the guy stormed pass them.
"Huh, what’s he doing here," Sora watched as the man jumped into a white car and speed off?
"Who is he," Yuffie looked at Sora, seeing his confused expression?
"Oh, a friend of Squall’s older brother, Rin."
"DAD," Yuffie ran into the house, and Sora meekly followed. "WHAT’S GOING ON!"
A tired looking man, came walking out of one of the rooms. He was tall and very handsome. His hair was much darker then Yuffie’s.
"Don’t worry about it. Just a misunderstanding."
Yuffie sighed. She knew her father wouldn’t tell her what was really wrong. "Dad this is Sora. Sora this is my dad, Auron."
Auron looked at Sora, "nice to meet you."
Sora blushed, "yeah, same here. I’ve got to be heading back." Sora looked at Yuffie, "say, Yuffie are you free tomorrow?"
Yuffie looked at Auron, who nodded, "yes, it looks like I am."
"Good. Do you want to meet me at the dock? Me and my friends are heading to Play Island, you could meet them."
Yuffie grinned, "really! Thanks, that would be great!"
"Okay, meet us at 10am"
Yuffie nodded. After they said goodbye, Sora headed for home, his thoughts on tomorrow.
When Sora neared his house, he smiled, hearing the faint sound of his sisters band coming from his neighbors house. The song playing was one of Shiva’s Song’s newest hit.
Everyone on the island were fans of the band. He smiled, singing along with Riku’s radio, as he walked into his house. The words to the song meant something to him. He after all wrote it. Ellone had found the poem, and begged him to use it. Nobody but him and Ellone knew he wrote it. Sora had made sure Ellone took the credit for it.
I wrote the words "I miss you" in the sand
The blue of the sea that day was too dazzling
I wander alone, searching for you
Among the passing crowds in the bustling cities
I turned as though I faintly heard
A voice calling for me, but no one was there
Such painful feelings are just hard to bear
The sun burns as it shines down on me
I wrote the words "I miss you" in the sand
The blue of the sea that day was too dazzling
When I whispered the words "please get my message"
The shade of the clouds that day was too sorrowful
"There's no such thing as a never-ending story"
You murmured as you looked away
Now that I understand the meaning of those words all too late
You aren't here
I finally realized that these days of playing dress-up
Over and over again are just pointless
Wanting to tell you those words of "thank you"
I ran through the crowd at sunset
My heart is shouting out its need to cry
The sun is laughing as it looks down on me
I miss you I dream, wondering if you will come for me
While I've fallen asleep, worn out from crying; I miss you
I wrote the words "I miss you" in the sand
The blue of the sea that day was too dazzling
If I bring myself to say the word "goodbye"
I wonder if I can relieve these heartbreaking feelings?
A/N I hope this chapter is better. I tried to add more detail. Did ya like it? Good? Bad? Blah?
Song credit: Rikku's Image Song Music: Noriko Matsueda & Takahito Eguchi Lyrics: Noelle Vocals: Marika Matsumoto
Another poll:
Squall: Who should he be paired up with?
A. Cloud (Love)
B. Sephiroth (Love)
C. A female (Don’t love as much, but who? Remember Ellone is his sister.)
D. Nobody, he’s better off alone. (Nah uh, he needs someone)
Answers may or may not affect the fic.
Here’s something for ya to think about: Why was Rin at Auron’s house? Mwah ha ha.