Post by Rain on Jul 19, 2012 11:58:31 GMT -6
I would like to make a little post of this right here: THIS WILL NOT AFFECT THE RP, THIS WILL NOT AFFECT THE RP, THE WILL NOT AFFECT THE RP!!!
I guess you can call it headcanon... about an OC. Whatever, it's here.
Some might be wondering why this is chapter 3 and not one. Well... This is the part where it gets fun.
The rest before this is set up and background information. The important things you need to know for this are:
This takes place between KH II, and 3D.
Mani is a girl that Tidus has romantic interest in. Because in KH, Yuna is a teeny-tiny fairy on a completely different world. Thus, creative licenses were taken.
Riku does not trust Kiri, because he thinks she's going after him and is putting the world in danger by opening the door again. And he thinks she threatened to kill him on a windowsill. Long story behind that one.
Sora smacked Kiri in the head with a ball when she walked by the game he was playing with Tidus and Wakka in the park.
Kiri will go by "Kiry" when she's under disguise because... well, actually that's kind of a lengthy explanation that I don't want to go into right now, BUT just know that there is a reason for it.
And finally, this whole outing, while inspired by Kiri, was a result of Selphie's hair-brained scheme. She's Kiri's tutor and they fell in to talking and brainstorming, and this was the result.
And the DDR knockoff... I wish I had a video to show. I looked, I really did, but there's nothing. All I can do is show you the song I had in mind.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=upvHNBjzeF0&feature=related
I was trying to show Sora and Riku's biased for Kairi... but I think I failed in that department. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.
Now, without further adieu, read on!
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The next day was bright and balmy with a few innocent clouds, giving a good indication of the day to come. Yet Kiri's eyes were dark and solemn as she looked blearily at her reflection in the mirror. She played it safe and wore a white blouse beneath her blue blazer, and a dark violet skirt, but wore lace-up knee length brown boots, that boosted her height a full two inches. Cherryll would have killed her if she saw the ensemble. Kiri sighed very softly through her nose and rubbed her eyes with her palms.
"Stay awake," she chanted to herself. "Stay awake…" She dropped her hands and looked back up at the mirror. "You can do this. You can do this. You can-"
The doorbell rang and Kiri jumped before running to the door, but suddenly, traitorously, her eyes went to her desk. Temptation glinted in the light from her window. After an internal battle, she lunged forward and grabbed her good luck charm.
"Have a nice day, honey," came her mother's call once she reached the hallway.
"Thank you. Bye everyone," she saluted quickly without looking at her family, and all but ran out the door.
Selphie greeted her with a wide smile. "Hi! Ready to go?"
Kiri nodded quickly. She matched her eager smile. "Yes!"
"Perfect! I already picked up Sora, so we'll meet the others at the ferry."
Kiri's smile dropped as she saw the boy standing farther ahead, out of sight of the door, but clearly waiting for them. He noticed her stare, and grinned brightly as he waved.
"Hi, Kiry! Ready for today?"
She let out a discreet sigh and resigned to her fate. "Sure."
As ready as she would ever be.
The Plaza was not actually a part of the main island, but rather a construct on one of the smaller islands that had developed into an almost completely retail-based area. The only thing separating it from the mainland was a five minute ferry ride from the east shore. When the three arrived, the others were already talking by the gate. The one exception was Riku, who was leaning against the rail and watching the others. He looked their way and locked eyes with Sora for a moment before looking to Kiri. She finally looked away from him as she approached. Kairi and Tidus broke out of conversation with another girl, and gave them all a smile.
"Hi Sora," Kairi greeted. "Hi Selphie. Hello, Kiry."
"Hello," she said, and smiled as well, though it was a smaller one. "Uh, how are you?" she said awkwardly.
"I'm fine, thanks. And you?"
"I'm fine," she shrugged, and let the subject drop.
"Hey, looks like everyone's here," Tidus said. "Kiry, this is Mani. Mani, meet Kiry."
She was a small girl, with a sweet face and cute nose, with beautiful bright green eyes that had just a hint of teal. She had modest, but shapely curves for a girl her age. She had a white knee-length skirt, and a sleeveless top that matched her eyes, but what snagged Kiri's attention was her hair. She was a watermelon-dirty-blonde. That meant pink ribbons of hair curled around her shoulders and fell down her back midway. Kiri resisted the urge to moan in longing, wishing her hair was half as pretty as Mani's.
"Hello," Mani greeted in a small voice, and she glanced up a moment, though looked back down to the little purse in her hands. "It's nice to meet you, Kiry. We didn't meet yesterday, but I go to the same school. I'm in 2A."
Kiri was wide-eyed as she looked over Mani, and the others waited expectantly. Riku figured she was just going to give a polite first greeting, so was surprised when she actually spoke.
"Thank you," she said, and Kiry's smile brightened instantly. "It's very nice to meet you too. You look absolutely adorable today."
Mani's eyes sparkled at the sudden praise. She smiled shyly, and looked back up. "You think so? I wasn't sure what to wear today." She swished her skirt a bit before holding it out. "Does it look good? I was afraid it was too simple."
"It's perfect. I mean, just look at me," She put one hand on her hip, and made a half spin to swish her own long skirt, before flipping back her hair. "No fashion sense."
Most watching had to work to keep a straight face at the blunt self-jab, and Mani held back her chuckles. Riku wondered what had prompted the sudden cheer.
"Oh, I think it still looks good," Mani said. "You can say you're ahead of the crowd."
"If there were a crowd to follow. I tend to throw things together for comfort more than anything." She grinned. "Of course, someone as cute as you could probably make even this outfit look good."
The girl giggled, even as her hand went to her pink face. "Stop it, you're making me blush."
"Sorry." She winked. "But I meant what I said."
"Hey man," Wakka whispered to Tidus. "You better watch it, yeah? She's flirting with your girlfriend better than you are."
"She is not," he muttered back.
"Yeah well, even if she wasn't, try her hair. Girl's love that."
"Last call for this ride," yelled the pilot for the boat.
"Okay everyone, on we go," Selphie directed.
Sora, Riku and Kairi took seats at the end of the ferry benches. Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus took the other side, with Mani sitting down next to Tidus and Kiri taking a seat beside her.
"Hey," Tidus said to Mani as the engine started up. "I know I didn't get the chance to tell you yet, but, uh… your hair looks really good today."
"You mean you noticed?" One finger went up to twirl a lock in front of her shoulder. "You really think so?"
"Oh yeah, definitely. It looks cute."
Mani did not say anything, but the way her face lit up made the effect of his flattery clear as crystal. They both missed the thumbs up Selphie sent to Kiry. Kiry smiled back, and resisted the urge to bounce. She was practically giddy with her first success.
"Well," Kairi murmured, "she seems friendly, don't you think?"
"To Mani, at least," Sora muttered back. "She wouldn't even talk to me when we were walking." He glanced to his opposite side. "What do you think?"
"She knows how to talk with others." Riku shrugged, and glanced over to Kiri when he felt her eyes. She looked away quickly and went back to her conversation with Mani.
The waters were calm since Destiny Island had no high waves, and the boat steadily cut through the surface. The wind turned just a few degrees colder out on the sea, and sent everyone's hair and clothes into frenzy. The smell of sea salt permeated the air, and the open space just hyped up the excitement everyone was feeling for the trip. Selphie watched Kiri and Mani delve into pleasant small talk for the trip, and let her mind drift to her visit yesterday. It had gone rather well, obviously, since Kiri was here with them without a hitch. The only thing that bothered her was the conversation at the end of the visit, when Kiri's mother had spoken with Selphie privately after the meal.
Selphie, tell the truth, did she eat lunch at school today?
No, but she said she was expecting to eat at home. Why?
It's just… no reason. Can you do me a favor? Make sure she eats a little something tomorrow?
Sure, I suppose I could. We were planning to have lunch anyway.
And keep an eye on her. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but Cherryll won't be there, and I'm worried.
It's all right, I understand. I'll keep an eye on her tomorrow, okay?
It was just… strange. It was a perfectly innocent request, but something about it just set her at odds. Of course Selphie was worried about the girl, but she did not expect to be appointed as an actual babysitter. Maybe she could try to bring it up gently, when the others were busy. Though could not think of when they would be alone.
"Selphie?" Kairi spoke from across the ferry. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh no, I'm fine. Just trying to think of what to do first."
"We'll figure something out. Don't worry about it too much."
"I know. I won't."
Well, she figured it was best to try to let things run their course. And be ready to steady them if need be.
Little tots tended to go with their parents to the playground or the park. Kids often went to the beach, and the few adventurous ones would go off to the deserted little island, but the Plaza was where the teens thrived, and everyone who lived in Destiny Islands knew it. Even the moment the passengers for the ferry got off, The Plaza lived up to its expectations. A giant archway with the namesake emblazoned in bright paint greeted the newcomers, with smaller signs advertising different shop names, all surrounded by flowers and tropical plants native to the Island. Sora picked up a brochure.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about those," Kairi said. "We know our way around pretty well."
"Force of habit," he shrugged, and opened it up anyway. "I like to have a map on me."
Kiry wondered why he would possibly make a habit out of taking maps. Did he travel around a lot? She lost nerve to ask, and went back to her curious gazing, but she stayed close to Mani. There were a lot of bodies milling though the square and between the shops, and the last thing she needed was to run into anyone.
All the buildings were different shapes and sizes, and connected to each other in a ring. In the center of the main ring, a wide, shallow fountain shot jets of water into the sky in alternating patterns, amusing the smaller kids a couple families brought along in their shopping spree. The theater was almost directly after the entrance to their left, and the teens gathered below the white lined billboard on top of the ticket office to view the titles and times.
"All right, the movie starts at five," Selphie said, "which gives us a few hours of fun to work with. So, who votes for eating now, and who votes for later?"
"Now, please," Tidus raised his hand. "I'm starved."
"Well, I'm hungry too," Kairi admitted. "It is almost our usual lunch time."
"True," Selphie conceded. "Is that all right with everyone else?"
There were general assents of agreement, so they began their day of fun with a journey to one of the most imperative locations of the Plaza: the food court. The main square had two breaks in the ring that led to smaller lots and more shops. Kairi, Wakka, and Tidus led the others down the first one. The trip itself took nearly a half hour. The path was short and straight, but the shops were ideally set for window shopping, which distracted almost every person at one point or another. Mannequins displayed new clothing fashions; jewelry sparkled in the sun, and novelty shops displayed their enticing knickknacks on miniature shelves right behind the windows.
Through the walk, everyone switched sides and partners without keeping track, but only the three carefully observing Kiry noticed that she kept a certain distance from her watchers. Whether it was just on the opposite side of the group, or stopping behind them every time they halted, she seemed to keep a barrier of distance between them.
"Oh, it's so cute," Kairi cooed when she saw a shining little bird in the window. She stepped up beside Kiry, "Don't you think?"
She shifted almost immediately at the sudden proximity. "Yes, it's very cute." She looked to the side and took a few steps to the other side of the window. "I think I like this one better though."
For a second, Kairi stared. "You mean the 'for sale' sign?"
"No, no, next to it."
After another moment of searching, she saw the creature just below eye level. "Oh, you mean the lizard?"
"Right. The lizard." She stepped back and retreated to the middle of the walkway again. "That's probably just me though."
Odd, Kairi could have sworn Kiry's eyes had been focused up. Kairi thought it must have been her imagination, but she still felt like Kiry was making an extra effort to stay away from her. The animated conversations she had first with Mani, then Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka seemed like a stark contrast to the clipped dialogue she had with her.
It was only when everyone finally arrived to the food court that they realized they could not agree on what they wanted to eat. After a few moments of squabbling, Kairi came up with the idea to just split up, get what they wanted and meet back at a table. It looked like a long rectangular one was free, so they agreed to meet there.
"I'll save it," Kiry spoke up. "To make sure no one else takes it while we're gone."
"Are you sure?" Selphie said uncertainly. "I could wait with you so we can get lunch together."
"No, it's fine. I'll just wait until someone comes back. I don't really know what I want anyway yet."
"Okay. Well, if you're sure, then I'll try to hurry back."
"It's all right," she smiled easily. "I can wait."
She chose a chair at the end of the table, and settled down, propping her chin on one hand, and almost instantly staring sightlessly out in the open. Everyone split to their destinations, Mani and Tidus going together, as well as Sora and Kairi, but everyone else stayed single. Kiry lost track of time, but she still felt it was a very short while before the first person returned. She realized why when she saw Riku approach with nothing but a large drink.
As soon as he sat down, she sat up straight, and even leaned back into her chair, but he did not look at her, sipping his dark soda. She blinked at him initially, before she looked at his large white cup.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Kiri asked.
"Not hungry."
She looked at the large cup, as though trying to decide what she thought of it. Riku knew he must have been reading her expression wrong when he deciphered it. Was that a hint of jealousy?
"Oh." She tried a small smile. "Waiting for popcorn at the movies?"
"Maybe. We'll see how I feel then."
He gave no other attempt at conversation, and her smile dropped, and she glanced away. "I see."
The two sat in awkward company, both feeling the tension, but unsure how to dispel it. She took a hesitant glance, and studied him, and after only a second, he caught her eye. She looked down again to hide her crime, and did not move her gaze from the table, even when he went back to his drink.
'Say something,' she scolded herself. 'Say something! Now is the perfect opportunity! You are fearless, fearless!'
"Um, is your hand okay?"
He stopped mid-sip and looked at her. She glanced up at him again, and his eyes were hard with suspicion and caution. She wilted after a few moments of eye contact, and brought her hands down to her lap under the table.
"You don't have to answer," she said softly. "I just noticed that you were holding your left hand very close, and that you were wearing an arm warmer. I thought maybe you had gotten an injury."
He had to admit it was a good save, to use simple observation like that. After all, she had never actually seen him before. Sora and Kairi realized it, but only because he told them. Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka would not have noticed unless they actually paid attention, like she had. She was risking a lot incriminating herself like that. Though it was funny she was actually showing "concern" like this.
"I'm fine," he answered. "This is normal for me."
"Oh," she said and half shrugged. "Never mind then."
Despite her brush off, he kept his gaze on her. Kiri curled her boots under the seat, and her fingers met in a wheel.
"So, Selphie told me yesterday," she started out carefully, and braved the waters to look up again. "That you're actually an old friend of hers, and you've been gone for a year. So, where did you go? On a trip?"
Because they made eye contact, she saw the change; that almost undetectable shift in steeled emotion that belonged to a person that had heard a painful question many times before, and had learned to deal with it.
"You could say that," he said, and looked down to his drink. "I left the Island for a while, but I didn't like what I saw. So I came back."
He did not make eye contact, but she could still clearly see his eyes, because of his height and angle. She got lost in trying to read them, and the tension left her body as she felt something unfortunately familiar.
"I'm sorry."
He looked up at her, and knew that this time he heard correctly.
"What for?"
She swallowed once, and fidgeted, before she caught movement in her peripheral vision, and she looked up to see Kairi and Sora nearing them.
"Nothing, never mind," she said quickly, and stood. "I should go get lunch now."
She hurried past them without so much as a glance, but still gave them a wide berth that they both could not help but notice. Kairi turned to her.
"I'll be sure to save your spot, okay?" She called as she took a seat next to the chair she had been sitting in.
Sora took a seat beside Riku, and opened up the foil wrapping for his lunch. "So," he started casually. "Anything new?"
Riku finally took his eyes off of Kiri, before shifting back into his seat. "She seems concerned about my well-being."
Both of them looked to him in question, but knew it would have to wait until later when they saw Wakka approaching.
Kiri strolled along the restaurants, mulling over the absolute failure of her last encounter and the implications, until Tidus and Mani happened to exit the place they had chosen, and told herself to get back to being outgoing. Tidus saw Kiry, and flashed a toothy grin in greeting, and Mani gave a little wave. She waved back, and noticed the orange tray with a small green salad and tiny drink. Kiry looked at it, and caught Mani's eye.
"That's all you're getting?"
"Yes," she said.
"Guess she's like Sora," Tidus shrugged. "Really likes salads."
'Sora likes salads'? It sounded wrong, somehow, like it conflicted with an assumption Kiri had known for a while. She was not sure why the statement sounded odd to her, but she batted it away for the situation at hand. Mani shrugged a little helplessly, and sent her that knowing smile. Kiri watched the two as they left. She fought with herself a moment, before making a decision, and going back to her hunt.
Kiry returned to the table with a white paper bag in time to see Tidus guzzling down his drink, and Mani patting his back awkwardly.
"Man, don't kill yourself," Wakka laughed.
Selphie sighed. "Slow down when you eat."
Kiri could not understand what Mani could possibly see in Tidus. It could not say very well for her if the boy she liked was too stupid to eat. She saw a save, and went for the seat across from Mani.
"Oh, Kiry," Kairi called out. "Your spot is still here."
"Oh, don't worry about it," Kiry said quickly. "I just want to talk more with Mani. I hope you're not offended."
"Oh, none taken," she waved off, and watched as she went for the other end of the table. She looked at the two across from her, and lowered her voice. "Does she seem to be avoiding us to you?"
"Maybe," Sora muttered, and glanced to Riku. "What do you think?"
The moment she sat down and Tidus finally put the drink on the table, there was another cough, and a jerk and the others turned in alarm.
"You too, Riku?" Selphie said in exasperation.
"I didn't mean for you to answer right away," Sora whispered in amusement as he clapped his back.
Kiri turned away and stared dryly heavenward for a moment, before sighing and taking out her food. "Thank you, karma," she whispered.
"You say something?" Selphie asked.
"Oh, it's nothing," she smiled charmingly, and brought out her large drink, mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce, large tray of seasoned curly fries, and foot-long Philly cheese steak sandwich with tomato, lettuce and onion.
Those sitting immediately around her stared at the feast before her, and watched in rapture as she opened one half of the sandwich, and drizzled on spicy barbeque sauce. She picked up one half of her sandwich, pressed the bread together, and stretched her jaw almost impressively to get the whole bite in her mouth. Selphie tilted her head warily as she chewed quickly and swallowed.
"Isn't that a bit much?" she asked uncertainly. "You didn't have to get all that…"
"I always eat a big lunch," she said innocently. "I only have one meal a day, so I tend to eat a lot at once." And this time she stretched her mouth to take an even bigger bite. She chewed as quickly as she dared and swallowed. "Which kind of sucks, because my parents aren't always around when I eat, so they think I starve myself." Another bite. "Thish 'ish good," she said over her mouthful.
"How do you do that, though?" Tidus asked. "I'm starving by lunch, and I could never go to bed without dinner."
"Works for me," Kiry shrugged, then pulled down her sleeve to show her forearm. "Not skin and bones. I'm just fine."
"If you say so."
"Are you really going to eat all that at once?" Mani asked in awe, as though seeing a fantastic circus performance.
She pouted, took a gulp of her drink, and huffed in offense. "Of course, that's why I got it." She stared down at Mani's plate. "But is that going to be enough for you?"
Mani bit her lip as she looked down at her small salad, and blushed when everyone was now looking at her.
"I don't really eat that much," she assured.
Kairi and Selphie sent her empathetic glances, Wakka rolled his eyes and bit down on his burrito, and Kiri took out the extra napkins that came with her meal, and poured almost half of the fries on one, and placed a few sticks on the other. Mani jumped.
"Oh, Kiry, please don't," she begged as she realized her intention. "I'm really not that hungry."
"Well, then you can throw them out later," she pushed both trays near Mani's plate and kept the napkins for herself. "They're yours now."
"But, what if you're still hungry?"
"I have a whole sandwich, I'll be fine. I might have gotten more than I need anyway." She took a stick and dipped it in the marinara before taking a happy bite. She daintily covered her mouth as she spoke around her food. "'Sides, we'll be eating later anyway, right? Come to think of it…" She took her uneaten half of sandwich and broke off a piece and put it over another napkin. "I'll save this for you later, just in case."
Mani looked to the fries and sticks uncertainly, afraid to reach out and touch them and give in.
"You should take 'em."
Mani looked with surprise to Tidus.
"I mean hey, she offered, and free food, right?" he grinned at her. "And I don't know how you do it, but a salad would never be enough for me. Might as well take a few."
She still seemed uncertain, but eventually caved. "Well, if you insist." She took a fry, and nibbled on it. "These are good. Thank you, Kiry."
"You're welcome," she smiled.
Kairi and Selphie smiled at each other, and Wakka raised one impressed eyebrow at the girl next to him. Tidus went back to eating. Sora looked to his friend in confusion, sensing he had just missed out on something, but did not want to ask what it was. Riku provided no respite, and just went back to his drink, wondering if he was thinking too much into it when he suspected that Kiry had planned to force the food onto her in the beginning.
"But man, I gotta say," Wakka looked down, "I don't think I've seen anyone that small eat so much."
"I'm a growing girl," she countered. "I need to keep up my strength and get my nutrients."
"From a cheese steak sandwich and fries?" Tidus looked like he was about to laugh.
"Sure," she pointed to each food item as she named them. "I have protein from my meat, dairy from my cheese, carbs from my bread, lettuce, onion, and tomato for vegetables, starch from my fries, and more carbs and dairy from the cheese sticks, in case it wasn't enough."
"I probably shouldn't ask this, but…" Selphie tilted her head slowly. "Where does that logic come from?"
"Friend of mine. He was always trying to make his lunches wholesome. He tried to make an argument once that pie was a legitimate form of breakfast food."
"Are you serious?" Sora could not help but ask. "How?"
"Well, as he put it, waffles and pancakes were originally a dessert item, but somehow turned into a breakfast food. And a lot of people put extra sweet stuff on it, like syrup. So he figures that if people are allowed to eat waffles and pancakes for breakfast, then 'people should leave him well enough alone and let him eat what he'... 'wants'."
"Lose your train of thought?" Wakka said in amusement.
"I had to censor myself." Kiry defended. "He's a little colorful."
"Should've brought him along." Wakka said. "I coulda gotten along with him."
She blinked. "Actually, I probably could have. No, wait, he's always busy on the weekends."
"Doing what?"
"Um… personal projects."
"That's too bad," He took a bite of his burrito. "Let's see, I got… flour for the tortilla, right? There's my grains. Beans got plenty of protein, and there's lots of lettuce too. Plus I got chicken, so hey, I'm pretty sure I'm good on this."
Sora looked down at his hot dog in sudden thought. "I don't even know what's in this."
"Nobody does," Selphie pointed out.
"But hey, I know its meat, so it's still gotta have protein in here, right?"
Kairi laughed. "All the protein's probably been ground out by now."
Riku swirled his cup. "You'd have a better chance with the beans from Wakka's burrito."
"True. Hey Wakka-"
"No."
"Stingy!" He countered, making the rest of the table snicker.
"I've been meaning to ask," Tidus piped up. "Did you turn vegetarian or something? You practically eat salad everyday at school."
"Well, sort of," Sora hedged. "I've been kind of losing taste for most meats."
"Except hot dogs."
"Except hot dogs," he affirmed. "Because they're the best." And he took a large bite to revel in it.
"You should try duck."
Everyone swiveled around to stare at Kiri.
"I tried it once at a restaurant," Kiri elaborated. "Not a lot of people try it, but it's pretty good."
Sora had his mouth frozen in mid chew, but Riku and Kairi's faces were almost identical with worry as they looked at each other. Sora tried to go back to his chewing, but the hot dog suddenly felt heavy in his mouth, and even when he finally swallowed, he put down his food, and looked almost longingly at his plate.
"I just lost my appetite."
Riku put down his cup. "It's not even duck."
"Hot dog."
Kairi got up to get next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," he brushed off. "Just not really hungry anymore. Maybe I'll get something later." He sighed and buried his face in his hands. "Of all the suggestions she had to give," he muttered.
"I'm… sorry," Kiri offered awkwardly. "I just thought he would have tried chicken already, so I thought it would be a better alternative. It's a little oily, but its dark meat is pretty good, and it's not too tough."
With each passing word, Sora seemed to take on a shade of green and at one point put a hand over his mouth and jerked like he was about to heave.
"Come on," Kairi said quickly, and pulled his arm to lead him to where he needed to go.
Everyone stared after them. Kiri hunched over more and more in her chair, and got very still, hoping no one would notice her.
"Is he… going to be okay?" Mani asked hesitantly.
"Uh, sure, I think…" Tidus said.
"Well," Selphie started out. "Kairi has him, so he should be fine."
"Right, you know Sora, he'll be bouncin' back before we know it." Wakka assured, and glanced at the almost frozen Kiry. "Erm, you okay?"
"I should have gotten a salad." She murmured. "Stupid sandwich is what started everything in the first place. I should have just kept my mouth shut and avoided this whole thing."
"Hey, lighten up," Tidus said. "I mean, I'm the one that kind of opened up the whole thing in the first place."
"Yeah, don't be so hard on yourself," Wakka clapped the back of her shoulder. "It's not like we knew that would happen either. He's only been like that since he got back." He turned to Riku. "Right?"
"Right." Riku played with his cup again, a little tense. "He kind of… picked it up while he was away."
Kiri scuffed her shoes a moment, before forcing another bite of sandwich into her mouth, and did not say another word as the others managed to find other topics to work out. Maybe her idea of being more 'helpful and outgoing' was not as great as it first seemed to be. Since they were so engrossed in conversation, almost nobody noticed when she carefully ripped off small chunks of her sandwich and placed them in her bag. Riku watched the curious behavior and wondered if she was trying to act like she was sorry for what she did. It was a bit of a stretch to assume she lost her appetite because of genuine guilt. Though it was also a bit of stretch to think the whole thing had been part of some diabolical plan to render the keyblade master inoperable, only because she was not taking advantage of his absence in any way. Yet even as he looked at it, she would have been the only enemy that had made Sora run the other way without even drawing a weapon.
He took a sip of his drink to hide the smirk, and berated himself for finding amusement at a time like this.
When Sora returned, he was just as bouncy and energetic as ever, and even joked about the whole exchange. Kiri kept her eyes down and still did not speak a word, not until everyone finally stood to leave and throw everything away. Wakka looked down at her.
"You actually ate the whole thing?"
She threw her bag into the trash, leaving none the wiser. "I said I would."
"Nice."
"Well, that's good," Selphie popped up. "I guess that means we don't have to worry about you starving yourself. Come on, everyone, where to first?"
Tidus looked to Mani. "Uh, any place you want to go first?"
"Not really. I'm fine with wherever everyone else wants to go."
"Well," Wakka started out. "This is supposed to be a hangout, right?" He crossed his arms, and smirked down at Tidus, then Kairi. "And where's the best place to hang out on a Saturday afternoon?"
Kairi and Tidus took one look at Wakka, then at each other, then grinned and said simultaneously: "The arcade!"
Slephie sighed affectionately. "You three and your games."
"I didn't know you liked games, Kairi," Sora said in surprise.
"You never asked," she laughed. "Come on, I need to show you and Riku around."
"Is that okay with you?" Tidus asked Mani.
"I've never been in one before," she admitted. "I'm kind of curious."
"What about you, Kiri?" Selphie asked.
"It's fine."
"It's decided then, yeah?" Wakka said. "To the arcade!"
The arcade was dark, loud, and crowded. But at least it had variety.
After grabbing their tokens, the group split into three troupes. Tidus and Mani went away to play the claw grabbing game, Kairi dragged Sora and Riku away arm-in-arm-in-arm to tour the back, and Wakka brought Selphie and Kiri to a fighter game toward the front.
Selphie was not one for video games, but she managed to succeed a bit under Wakka's careful tutelage. It reminded her of when they used to play as kids, and she got a bit more skilled in learning the combos. After three rounds, she had managed to actually get good enough to make Wakka try to win. Kiri was not so fortunate. No matter how she tried, the buttons were strange to her, the graphics confused her, and it was something she just could not seem to get a handle on.
"Eh, it's not for everyone," Wakka shrugged. "Maybe you'd like to try a racing game instead."
That was what Sora was doing. There was a motorcycle racing game Kairi showed him, and he jumped at the chance for it. He managed to get third place on his first try, and steadily kept in first place all the subsequent games. Kiri, however, kept her eyes on Riku as they approached. When he finally felt her stare, he turned, but she dropped her eyes quickly.
"The controls are okay," Sora said as he got off after winning the virtual cup. "But really delayed, and the graphics are terrible."
"Sure, compared to what you're used to playing," Riku pointed out. "This is an arcade, remember?"
Kiri frowned a bit in confusion. Where else could you play a game besides an arcade?
"I know," Sora shrugged, "but you can't even attack the other players. That's half the fun."
"You're not supposed to," Kairi laughed.
"You should. How else can you get rid of the competition? I swear they were trying to run me off the road."
"And you say I complain," Riku said.
"I'm not complaining, I'm critiquing."
'Yeah right,' Kiri thought. 'That was so complaining.'
"Well, how about it, Kiry?" Kairi asked. "Want to try?"
She managed to hide her flinch, and smiled nervously. "No thanks," she said. "I'll leave the racing games to Sora."
"And you, Riku?"
"I'll do the same. Doesn't look too appealing."
"Come on, Riku, you still haven't tried anything. You need to play something."
"Nothing's interested me. If I find something that does, I'll try it."
"All right. But until then, I want to play," Kairi said. "I've been itching to try to reach my goal."
"Really?" Sora looked to her in interest. "What game do you play, Kairi?"
"That one there."
Selphie turned around to look. "Oh. It looks like Mani's already playing it."
It was a strange looking game. A pair of rectangular machines stood at least six feet tall right beside each other, with enough space for the narrow speakers down the side of the machines. Each had a screen that took up nearly half of the surface, with glowing neon orange disks parallel to the floor; one pair across from each other at the top level of the screen, and another pair at the bottom level. The three newcomers got the benefit of figuring out the purpose as they saw Mani play. It was a dancing game that utilized both the player's hands; the movements of which were caught by the machine's sensors as the player attempted to coordinate their hands to flashing rings sliding to the four corners of the screen. When Mani finally finished her song, the score screen went up, and showed a flashing "C" in the top box, with the list of her combinations below.
"That's better, right?" She asked Tidus.
"Oh yeah," he assured. "Believe me, you're doing great."
"I'll say," Kairi said as she saddled up. "You're doing better than I did my first time."
"Really?"
"Yeah. How many more rounds do you have?"
"I have one more."
"Wow. I'm sure you'll master this game in no time."
"Are you going to try to play Xepher, Kairi?" Slephie asked.
"Yep." She smiled. "I'm going to try to master it today."
"Good luck," Wakka said. "I'll be sure to clear the room for you."
"Huh?" Sora eloquently inquired.
"Kairi's, like, crazy good at this," Tidus explained. "There's this song she's been trying to master that's super hard."
"But it's a lot of fun," she assured. "I just want to try to get good at it. Today feels like a good day."
"We'll be cheering for you," Sora offered.
"Thanks. I'll be ready after Mani plays."
Mani chose her song, and went to work, and while she played, Kairi took the time to stretch out her arms. More people were paying attention to the display as Mani played. It was a ridiculously catchy song with a bizarre video about a girl with aqua-teal pigtails trying to sell some kind of vegetable juice. Sora leaned over to Kairi.
"What are those numbers on the screen?"
"They're combos. It keeps track of how many perfects you get in a row without missing them."
"So the more you get, the higher your score, right?"
"Right."
Mani tried her best, though the pressure from the new audience had her on edge, and she got a "D" at the end of her effort.
"Guess I messed up." She shrugged.
"It's fine," Kairi pat her shoulder. "Like I said, you did better than me. We all have to start somewhere. Okay," she rolled her shoulders briefly. "My turn. Time for my warm up."
She inserted the tokens, and scrolled through the songs on the screen until she reached the ones she wanted. The first two songs were on Hard Mode with difficult combinations, making Sora, Riku, and Mani more than curious to know what her actual play would be. Kiri shook her head briefly and blinked to attempt to watch, but had to look away every now and then at the bright colors flashing on the screen. As an expert player, Kairi's hands instinctively stayed near the middle sensors, and flew above and below them, helping her hit those fast notes. The first one Kairi scored double A, the second she played to triple A, and when she selected the third song, she moved the difficulty to Expert, clicked it, and readied her stance.
"Okay." She shook out her wrists, and flexed her hands. Her brow was already glistening, just slightly. "Here goes nothing."
"Break a leg!" Selphie cheered.
'Break an arm' would have been more accurate. Just the slow, organ-like intro to the song was fast and flashy, but Kairi hit a perfect each time, the combo quickly climbed up in the center to just barely over two hundred by the time the pause arrived. Even Sora and Riku, who had seen many strange and fantastical things, could not help but be impressed. They could hardly follow the rings, let alone actually hit them. She was still for the tense moment when nothing happened and the music went low. Then the song exploded and she flew into a frenzy.
Jaws dropped. Well, Sora's and Mani's did; Riku was impressed, but his expression hardly changed. Her arms were a blur as they whipped around the sensors. Probably one of the more amazing things was the fact that although her arms were flying, her body was grounded even as it bounced to the beat, and her elbows were more or less in the same spot, keeping each chop perfectly controlled and on time. It went without saying her focus was phenomenal.
Toward the end she had to move her body a little more, since the doubles were calling for hands above and below the sensors, forcing her to reach across. The chorus reached a crescendo, after which the song slowed. Finally, it picked back up racing to the ending, a flurry of combos and singles ever increasing in complexity blurred across the screen. Kairi met the demand head on, and plowed through the homestretch. She slashed through the final few moments, ending with a top ring combo, leaving her arms up triumphantly.
She dropped her arms and panted as the screen went black and tallied up her score. She wiped her brow and looked behind her.
"I wasn't paying attention to the combos. Did I break it?"
"Not that I could see," Selphie admitted. "I'm sure you did perfect."
"Well, let's see," she sighed as she glanced back. "Some of those felt awfully close."
"I don't think so," Mani said softly. "I think you did perfect too. Right, Kiry?"
"Huh?" She blinked and snapped her head up where she had been looking the ground. "Oh, yes, of course, you did great." She smiled at Mani. "I'm sure with plenty of practice; you'll get it in no time."
Everyone in hearing distance- in other words, all of their friends- turned to look at her. Mani hesitated.
"I was talking about Kairi… she was the one that's been playing…"
"She… oh!" She gasped, and then she covered her face with her hands. "I-I'm so sorry, I must've misheard you. Kairi was great, really."
Stupid, stupid mouth! Now she looked like a fool, and she wished nothing more than to disappear. Sora and Riku took one slow look at each other. Most of the others looked at her in disbelief. Kairi's expression was caught between confusion and offense, wondering if the answer meant she was not paying attention, or just did not care. Selphie winced, suspecting something amiss, and tried desperately to think of a way to save her. The flashing "AAA" gave her the answer.
"Kairi, look!" Selphie cheered, and jumped. "You finally got a perfect score!"
"I did?" Kairi followed her eyes, and lit up instantly. "I did!"
"Congratulations!" Selphie grabbed her hands, and the two joined in a celebratory spring. "You've been working so hard!"
"Wow," Mani breathed, "You're really good."
"Well, I probably played this more than I should have," she admitted. "It still took me almost two months to get this good."
"You know," Sora started out slowly. "That explains a lot."
Kairi grinned at him and winked as she flicked back her hair. "Practice makes perfect."
"Better watch out, Sora," Riku said. "Otherwise she'll get stronger than you."
"What? No way," he insisted, and then faltered. "Can she?"
Kairi chuckled and flushed happily as she looked up to Riku. He met her eyes, and he relaxed his expression into the tiniest of smiles. Kiri stared at him. He felt her stare, and glanced back to her, losing the smile instantly. She turned away and hurried off. Selphie watched her go in worry, and Sora happened to see her in his line of sight. He tilted his head.
"Anyone else notice that she moves around a lot?"
Wakka followed her to the table she had stopped to look at.
"See you found table hockey. Wanna try?"
"I don't know. I'm trying to figure it out."
"Well, there's a sign right here," he pointed.
"There is?" She followed his finger. "Oh… so there is."
"Let's see what it says," Sora decided, and bent down to read the diagrams and instructions. After a few moments of scanning the list, he grinned, and straightened. "Hey, Riku, I'll play you this. I bet even you might like this."
"You sure about that?" He followed and looked down at it. "Doesn't look too appealing right now."
"Well you have to try it first."
"Hey," Wakka said suddenly. "Ladies first, the girl called dibs."
"I know that, I meant after."
"Oh, no, that's fine, really," she insisted. "I learn better if I watch first anyway."
Wakka shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll play you next, if you want. I'll go easy on ya 'til ya learn the ropes."
She smiled gratefully. "Thanks."
Sora had been putting his tokens in the moment Kiri gave her consent. The token slots were on the side of the table, and once he pushed them in, a thin orange puck slid out of the dispenser beside them. The scoreboard was a hunk of machinery held up by curved support beams in the middle of the table, and flashed two zeros on both sides. Under the scoreboard, the lights blared on the table, making the blue surface and tiny plastic walls reflect from the light. Sora slid to his designated side, with Riku taking up the other. He noticed his handled piece sliding across the porous surface, and picked it up curiously. Sora did the same, and tentatively put the puck down to glide it across with his finger.
"Cool…"
"The game?" Tidus reminded.
"Oh, right! Rules are simple," he began and picked the puck back up. "Basically, guard your goal while trying to make it into mine. We only use these," he waved the piece. "First one to score seven wins."
"What goals?"
"These goals," he tapped the top of the slit on his side. "So it's gotta stay on the surface. Ya got all that?"
"Yeah, I got it. But it's probably a different story with you." He placed his handle piece on the surface.
Sora smirked. "We'll see about that." He warned, dropped the puck, and struck it fast, but Riku deflected it.
"Be careful, you two," Kairi warned.
They both started hard, instantly going for the other's goal. They went straight forward, trying to cut down the middle of the arena with quick movements as they tried to get used the foreign equipment and controls. Until Sora scored the first goal.
Then there was no movement as the scoreboard flashed "0 1", and Riku slowly picked up the puck from his slot. He stared at Sora's smug expression evenly, and held up the puck like a card.
"You, are going down." He stated as a matter-of-fact.
Sora grinned. "You'll have to score first."
Then the puck went down, and the game was on. Their movements were so fast that you could miss a strike if you blinked. They stopped just trying to cut down the middle, and started shooting at angles of the wall to try to outsmart each other, but their reflexes were quick to save. Riku did manage to get the next goal, and the one after, but Sora got the next, making them tie. They were so focused on their game, they did not even hear their friend's cheers, or notice when even strangers stopped by to watch, enraptured by the moves they were seeing. Sora caught one of Riku's strikes, and shot it up. The puck ricocheted off the wall, and went sailing out of the arena, until Riku caught it between his first two fingers. Everyone's jaw dropped in awe, especially the stranger's.
"Hey," Sora complained. "No hands."
"Then keep it on the surface," he scolded, and put it back down to shoot it off again.
Understandably, the game had effectively stolen everyone's focus. The only word that could describe this phenomenon was, unarguably, 'epic'. Kiri was interested in who would win, but she was so tired the moves were an indistinguishable blur. The last thing she wanted was to separate from everyone when they were in a group, but keeping stationary was not helping her stay awake. Why was she so drained all of a sudden?
The meal. She held back a groan when she realized she had just sabotaged herself, and cursed her overworked conscience. She blinked a few times, and eased out of the crowd. She had to walk around and find something to do, to keep herself occupied a bit longer.
Kiri glanced around the games and found something that she had not noticed before. She looked to the peculiar machine, and reached out to feel the curtain. A covered game? Well, not like it would do anything different anyway. She was hopeless in a place like this. She was going to just walk around to get her energy up, but she nearly ran into someone. Oh, crud she must have been really tired.
"Oh no, I'm sorry," she murmured. "I wasn't-"
"Oh, shoot, I'm sorry, are you okay?" he asked in a high voice. "Ugh, stupid new frames."
She looked up in surprise at the honest apology. He was an average looking guy, with a messy mop of dirty blonde hair, and too many freckles over his nose, which made the brown of his eyes even more apparent. He had a white shirt with a faded logo and simple black shorts, in all, nothing spectacular. She watched him adjust the glasses that had slipped, and she grinned, her excitement taking over.
"Yeah, I'm great, really," She pointed to the machine. "Can you tell me what this is?"
The boy finally got the spectacles on straight and peered in the direction of her pointing. "The Expedition? Well, it's a hunting game. You poach animals with a crossbow."
"Really?" She looked to it curiously. It was certainly unexpected. And if it was a hunting game, then… "If it's not fighting, it shouldn't be too bad…"
He finally looked at her, and suddenly felt tongue tied. There was a cute girl, right here, wanting to play a game! She was not actually laughing at it. Oh man, he thought he had just died and gone to heaven. He blinked and got his senses back.
"Er, actually, you might not want to play that game. See the sign? It's kind of violent."
"It is?"
She looked at the booth uncertainly, and the boy could feel his excitement diminishing. Oh, who was he fooling? She'd never be interested in him.
"Right, um, good luck, sorry again," he said quickly and tried to get past.
"What's your name?"
He stopped. "Um, Gelick."
"Can you help me, Gelick?" She said suddenly. "I really want to play this."
"Oh, you want me to teach you?" He asked in surprise.
"Something like that. I'd really appreciate the help."
He blushed. "W-Well, I just used the last of my tokens…"
"That's okay, I'll pay. Come on."
She took his wrist and jumped into the machine and he stumbled in after her. She fished out her tokens from her blazer pocket.
"So how do you play?" She asked.
"Well, it's pretty easy to get. You just take the controller here like this, see?" He pulled out the plastic rendition from the cradle, and moved it around in demonstration. "And point it at the screen. You just need to pull the trigger here, hit the targets, and you get points depending on how close you make it to the heart."
"Okay then. That sounds easy." She retrieved the crossbow control. "Hey Gelick, can I ask you a favor?"
"Yeah, sure, anything."
"This is something I really need to do, but some people will get angry at me if they find this out… so, just for my sake," she focused in on him, and he was suddenly tongue-tied as her single brown eye bore into his, "Could you not tell anyone what I'm about to do?" she smiled, put a finger to her lips, and winked. "It'll be our little secret, okay?"
His entire face bloomed scarlet, and his glasses steamed. "Yeah, sure, of course, my lips are sealed!"
"Sh," she said playfully. "Not so loud. Here, let me get those," she chuckled, and slipped off his glasses to clean them.
"Ah, please be careful, I really need those, or I can barely walk…"
"Don't worry, they're cute, but I promise I'll put them back," she teased as she wiped them with her sleeve. "Thank you, Gelick. I'm really grateful."
Gelick had to lean against the back of the booth, so that his weak knees would not send him to the floor.
Back at the game of table hockey, the game had gotten more intense, yet both opponents refused to back down, putting all of their focus into the pieces and maneuvers. The score was six to six, and everyone was on the edge of their seats and held their breath to see who would lose the edge and go down. They went harder, faster, the puck zooming across the table in the arena and baffling the onlookers. It seemed like the game would be going on forever.
Then Riku stopped when he felt something, and the puck went in.
"Score!" Sora cheered when the buzzer went off.
There were cheers from the onlookers, and some gave their congratulations. Riku did not say anything, but looked at the crowd where his friends were standing, and started when he realized there was a face missing. He glanced around, but still did not see her.
"Hey, nice game man," someone said from behind him. "That was some serious playing."
Riku looked behind him in confusion, and figured they must have been talking to Sora. He looked out to the crowd again. "Where's Kiri?"
Sora winced, before smiling apologetically to the stranger, who shrugged at his companion and took his leave.
"She's right…" Wakka stopped when he realized the girl had disappeared. "Where'd she go?"
Gelick stepped out of the booth, his eyes glazed and out of focus.
"I've seen hell," he murmured, "and she wears a blue blazer."
"Gelick?"
"Yes!" He jumped when she practically popped up next to him.
"Here," she giggled when she held out the glasses. "It's like you for…" she stopped and yawned. "…forgot all about them. Sorry, I can barely keep my eyes open."
He gawked, wide-eyed at her. She was tired?
"Uh, yeah," he carefully retrieved them, and slipped them on. "Thanks, glad you had fun, I have to go now."
"Thanks again," she waved. "Good-bye."
He fast walked out of the establishment, and ran into another person on his way out.
"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "But I really can't help you!"
He dashed out of the doors. Tidus looked after him, and frowned.
"Sheesh, talk about rude. The least he could have done was ask if I was okay."
"I guess courtesy has gotten rarer," Mani said.
The others shrugged.
"Kiri!" Selphie called out. "There you are. Where'd you go?"
"I was just talking to my new friend. He's really nice, he helped me out."
"All right," Wakka said as they approached the covered machine "I see you found the Expedition! Now this is my game. Three weeks of keeping in the top score, and no one's been able to pass it yet."
"That good, huh?" Sora grinned. "Well, let's see if I can come close then." He glanced at the side of the machine where a white board said "WARNING: MATURE PLAYERS ONLY". Well heck, he could be mature. Seemed like a funny sign to put on a game.
"You're welcome to try," he offered, and swept the curtain aside. "Here, I'll show you the controls and- sweet mother of pearl!"
"What is it?" Tidus asked form outside.
"It's over nine-thousand!"
"What?" Sora asked in confusion. "Your score?"
"No!" He pointed to the screen at the top of the list. "That one! I'm the one right under it."
He peeked inside and followed his finger, where the four-letter code read "Waka" with a score of seven thousand something-or-other, and looked to the name right above it with nine-thousand something or other. He blinked at it, and tilted his head as he looked at it in confusion. "Who's Kirx?"
"Keerx?" Tidus asked. "How's it spelled?"
"K-I-R-X."
"At least you can pronounce it."
Riku went over the letters again in his head, and when he did, his eyes slid over to Kiri. She was looking at the booth curiously, like a spectator at an unfolding event. No wait, that could not be right, they were saying before how she could not play very well. But before, he could have sworn he felt-
No, no, that was impossible. What had she done, used the power of darkness to help her win a videogame? It was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard of. Was something wrong with his senses for a second? She shifted her gaze to him, saw he was looking at her, and they locked eyes a moment before they both looked back. Still, she did use an "x" for part of the name… he might have been paranoid, but that was a little too much of a coincidence.
"Whoever he is, he is going down! Sorry, Sora," Wakka said as he slid past Sora to put in his coins. "I have a title to uphold!"
"Um, sure, I'll just watch the first round," he offered, more than a little surprised at his sudden enthusiasm.
Tidus laughed. "You wouldn't know it, since he's usually a really good sport about polo games, but when it's against himself, he really takes a lot of pride in his work."
"I guess." Sora shook his head. "Didn't realize it was such a big deal."
"I don't care if he beat me," Wakka explained as he took the crossbow and the screen started up. "I care that I've never even seen this guy's name on the list until now, only to have it above mine. He is not getting away with this. I'm knocking this son of a-"
"Wakka!" Selphie chastised. "Language! We're in public!"
"Well… go Wakka." Sora offered, and closed the curtain behind him as he stepped inside to watch.
About one minute in, Sora had to step outside. He seemed to lose a little color- no, he lost normal color, and gained a little green. The others who were outside saw his state, and became alarmed.
"Sora, are you all right?" Kairi asked.
"There's blood. Blood, everywhere…"
"Well, it's a hunting game." Riku pointed out. "And the sign warned you."
"They're just graphics, Sora," Kairi tried to comfort. "It's not real."
"Kairi, they're animals from the jungle," he beseeched. "From the Sahara."
Kiri blinked at him, and tilted her head a little to the side.
Kairi's eyes widened. "Really?"
"He killed a warthog without a second thought." He breathed in horror. "The second the merecats popped out they were annihilated. Blood, and guts, were everywhere." His voice did not get louder, but slowly climbed in pitch. "There was even a tortoise in there, and then he wheeled around and shot down the birds. The Chipmunks. He killed the chipmunks!"
"What are chipmunks doing in the Sahara?" Mani whispered to Selphie.
"Not sure. Probably just threw them in there to throw people off."
Kiri scrutinized him to see if he was faking for sympathy, or if he was genuinely upset about everything. He must have been a really, really avid animal lover. With a really, really weak constitution. No wonder he was a vegetarian. Just what had he been doing while he was gone? The more time she spent with him, the more she realized: He was confusing. No, not confusing, but a mystery. Sora was a very mysterious character.
"And then he came across the lion's pride." He looked like he was about to cry. "All the lionesses didn't stand a chance! They just fell down, one by one like ragdolls." He grabbed onto Kairi's shoulders desperately. "He, killed, the, cubs!"
Kiri stared, absolutely dumbfounded. But the more she looked at him, the more she could not help but think: he's for real.
Kairi looked to him sympathetically, and drew him into a hug to pat his shoulders. "There, there."
"It was awful. I saw my life flash before my eyes," he murmured. "It was a reel I couldn't stop. All of their smiling faces kept haunting me…"
"It's okay," Kairi cooed. "It's over."
Kiri's eyes went wide she blinked quickly, and covered her mouth to hold in her reaction.
"Hey," Riku said, and put his hand on the back of Sora's shoulders. "Let's wait outside until the others are done. Some fresh air might help."
"No, I'm fine, just need a few minutes."
"Don't push yourself. If it's bothering you this much, just take a minute to pull yourself together." he said.
"Right, we'll just be a few minutes," Kairi assured, and already started pulling him along.
"Air sounds good," he murmured, and let himself be led outside. He sighed softly. "Thanks, guys."
Kiri swiftly shuffled behind the booth. Riku saw the movement and looked in her direction. He shoved the curiosity to the back of his mind and went back to escorting the two out of the building.
I guess you can call it headcanon... about an OC. Whatever, it's here.
Some might be wondering why this is chapter 3 and not one. Well... This is the part where it gets fun.
The rest before this is set up and background information. The important things you need to know for this are:This takes place between KH II, and 3D.
Mani is a girl that Tidus has romantic interest in. Because in KH, Yuna is a teeny-tiny fairy on a completely different world. Thus, creative licenses were taken.
Riku does not trust Kiri, because he thinks she's going after him and is putting the world in danger by opening the door again. And he thinks she threatened to kill him on a windowsill. Long story behind that one.
Sora smacked Kiri in the head with a ball when she walked by the game he was playing with Tidus and Wakka in the park.
Kiri will go by "Kiry" when she's under disguise because... well, actually that's kind of a lengthy explanation that I don't want to go into right now, BUT just know that there is a reason for it.
And finally, this whole outing, while inspired by Kiri, was a result of Selphie's hair-brained scheme. She's Kiri's tutor and they fell in to talking and brainstorming, and this was the result.
And the DDR knockoff... I wish I had a video to show. I looked, I really did, but there's nothing. All I can do is show you the song I had in mind.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=upvHNBjzeF0&feature=related
I was trying to show Sora and Riku's biased for Kairi... but I think I failed in that department. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.
Now, without further adieu, read on!
------------------------------------------------
The next day was bright and balmy with a few innocent clouds, giving a good indication of the day to come. Yet Kiri's eyes were dark and solemn as she looked blearily at her reflection in the mirror. She played it safe and wore a white blouse beneath her blue blazer, and a dark violet skirt, but wore lace-up knee length brown boots, that boosted her height a full two inches. Cherryll would have killed her if she saw the ensemble. Kiri sighed very softly through her nose and rubbed her eyes with her palms.
"Stay awake," she chanted to herself. "Stay awake…" She dropped her hands and looked back up at the mirror. "You can do this. You can do this. You can-"
The doorbell rang and Kiri jumped before running to the door, but suddenly, traitorously, her eyes went to her desk. Temptation glinted in the light from her window. After an internal battle, she lunged forward and grabbed her good luck charm.
"Have a nice day, honey," came her mother's call once she reached the hallway.
"Thank you. Bye everyone," she saluted quickly without looking at her family, and all but ran out the door.
Selphie greeted her with a wide smile. "Hi! Ready to go?"
Kiri nodded quickly. She matched her eager smile. "Yes!"
"Perfect! I already picked up Sora, so we'll meet the others at the ferry."
Kiri's smile dropped as she saw the boy standing farther ahead, out of sight of the door, but clearly waiting for them. He noticed her stare, and grinned brightly as he waved.
"Hi, Kiry! Ready for today?"
She let out a discreet sigh and resigned to her fate. "Sure."
As ready as she would ever be.
The Plaza was not actually a part of the main island, but rather a construct on one of the smaller islands that had developed into an almost completely retail-based area. The only thing separating it from the mainland was a five minute ferry ride from the east shore. When the three arrived, the others were already talking by the gate. The one exception was Riku, who was leaning against the rail and watching the others. He looked their way and locked eyes with Sora for a moment before looking to Kiri. She finally looked away from him as she approached. Kairi and Tidus broke out of conversation with another girl, and gave them all a smile.
"Hi Sora," Kairi greeted. "Hi Selphie. Hello, Kiry."
"Hello," she said, and smiled as well, though it was a smaller one. "Uh, how are you?" she said awkwardly.
"I'm fine, thanks. And you?"
"I'm fine," she shrugged, and let the subject drop.
"Hey, looks like everyone's here," Tidus said. "Kiry, this is Mani. Mani, meet Kiry."
She was a small girl, with a sweet face and cute nose, with beautiful bright green eyes that had just a hint of teal. She had modest, but shapely curves for a girl her age. She had a white knee-length skirt, and a sleeveless top that matched her eyes, but what snagged Kiri's attention was her hair. She was a watermelon-dirty-blonde. That meant pink ribbons of hair curled around her shoulders and fell down her back midway. Kiri resisted the urge to moan in longing, wishing her hair was half as pretty as Mani's.
"Hello," Mani greeted in a small voice, and she glanced up a moment, though looked back down to the little purse in her hands. "It's nice to meet you, Kiry. We didn't meet yesterday, but I go to the same school. I'm in 2A."
Kiri was wide-eyed as she looked over Mani, and the others waited expectantly. Riku figured she was just going to give a polite first greeting, so was surprised when she actually spoke.
"Thank you," she said, and Kiry's smile brightened instantly. "It's very nice to meet you too. You look absolutely adorable today."
Mani's eyes sparkled at the sudden praise. She smiled shyly, and looked back up. "You think so? I wasn't sure what to wear today." She swished her skirt a bit before holding it out. "Does it look good? I was afraid it was too simple."
"It's perfect. I mean, just look at me," She put one hand on her hip, and made a half spin to swish her own long skirt, before flipping back her hair. "No fashion sense."
Most watching had to work to keep a straight face at the blunt self-jab, and Mani held back her chuckles. Riku wondered what had prompted the sudden cheer.
"Oh, I think it still looks good," Mani said. "You can say you're ahead of the crowd."
"If there were a crowd to follow. I tend to throw things together for comfort more than anything." She grinned. "Of course, someone as cute as you could probably make even this outfit look good."
The girl giggled, even as her hand went to her pink face. "Stop it, you're making me blush."
"Sorry." She winked. "But I meant what I said."
"Hey man," Wakka whispered to Tidus. "You better watch it, yeah? She's flirting with your girlfriend better than you are."
"She is not," he muttered back.
"Yeah well, even if she wasn't, try her hair. Girl's love that."
"Last call for this ride," yelled the pilot for the boat.
"Okay everyone, on we go," Selphie directed.
Sora, Riku and Kairi took seats at the end of the ferry benches. Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus took the other side, with Mani sitting down next to Tidus and Kiri taking a seat beside her.
"Hey," Tidus said to Mani as the engine started up. "I know I didn't get the chance to tell you yet, but, uh… your hair looks really good today."
"You mean you noticed?" One finger went up to twirl a lock in front of her shoulder. "You really think so?"
"Oh yeah, definitely. It looks cute."
Mani did not say anything, but the way her face lit up made the effect of his flattery clear as crystal. They both missed the thumbs up Selphie sent to Kiry. Kiry smiled back, and resisted the urge to bounce. She was practically giddy with her first success.
"Well," Kairi murmured, "she seems friendly, don't you think?"
"To Mani, at least," Sora muttered back. "She wouldn't even talk to me when we were walking." He glanced to his opposite side. "What do you think?"
"She knows how to talk with others." Riku shrugged, and glanced over to Kiri when he felt her eyes. She looked away quickly and went back to her conversation with Mani.
The waters were calm since Destiny Island had no high waves, and the boat steadily cut through the surface. The wind turned just a few degrees colder out on the sea, and sent everyone's hair and clothes into frenzy. The smell of sea salt permeated the air, and the open space just hyped up the excitement everyone was feeling for the trip. Selphie watched Kiri and Mani delve into pleasant small talk for the trip, and let her mind drift to her visit yesterday. It had gone rather well, obviously, since Kiri was here with them without a hitch. The only thing that bothered her was the conversation at the end of the visit, when Kiri's mother had spoken with Selphie privately after the meal.
Selphie, tell the truth, did she eat lunch at school today?
No, but she said she was expecting to eat at home. Why?
It's just… no reason. Can you do me a favor? Make sure she eats a little something tomorrow?
Sure, I suppose I could. We were planning to have lunch anyway.
And keep an eye on her. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but Cherryll won't be there, and I'm worried.
It's all right, I understand. I'll keep an eye on her tomorrow, okay?
It was just… strange. It was a perfectly innocent request, but something about it just set her at odds. Of course Selphie was worried about the girl, but she did not expect to be appointed as an actual babysitter. Maybe she could try to bring it up gently, when the others were busy. Though could not think of when they would be alone.
"Selphie?" Kairi spoke from across the ferry. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh no, I'm fine. Just trying to think of what to do first."
"We'll figure something out. Don't worry about it too much."
"I know. I won't."
Well, she figured it was best to try to let things run their course. And be ready to steady them if need be.
Little tots tended to go with their parents to the playground or the park. Kids often went to the beach, and the few adventurous ones would go off to the deserted little island, but the Plaza was where the teens thrived, and everyone who lived in Destiny Islands knew it. Even the moment the passengers for the ferry got off, The Plaza lived up to its expectations. A giant archway with the namesake emblazoned in bright paint greeted the newcomers, with smaller signs advertising different shop names, all surrounded by flowers and tropical plants native to the Island. Sora picked up a brochure.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about those," Kairi said. "We know our way around pretty well."
"Force of habit," he shrugged, and opened it up anyway. "I like to have a map on me."
Kiry wondered why he would possibly make a habit out of taking maps. Did he travel around a lot? She lost nerve to ask, and went back to her curious gazing, but she stayed close to Mani. There were a lot of bodies milling though the square and between the shops, and the last thing she needed was to run into anyone.
All the buildings were different shapes and sizes, and connected to each other in a ring. In the center of the main ring, a wide, shallow fountain shot jets of water into the sky in alternating patterns, amusing the smaller kids a couple families brought along in their shopping spree. The theater was almost directly after the entrance to their left, and the teens gathered below the white lined billboard on top of the ticket office to view the titles and times.
"All right, the movie starts at five," Selphie said, "which gives us a few hours of fun to work with. So, who votes for eating now, and who votes for later?"
"Now, please," Tidus raised his hand. "I'm starved."
"Well, I'm hungry too," Kairi admitted. "It is almost our usual lunch time."
"True," Selphie conceded. "Is that all right with everyone else?"
There were general assents of agreement, so they began their day of fun with a journey to one of the most imperative locations of the Plaza: the food court. The main square had two breaks in the ring that led to smaller lots and more shops. Kairi, Wakka, and Tidus led the others down the first one. The trip itself took nearly a half hour. The path was short and straight, but the shops were ideally set for window shopping, which distracted almost every person at one point or another. Mannequins displayed new clothing fashions; jewelry sparkled in the sun, and novelty shops displayed their enticing knickknacks on miniature shelves right behind the windows.
Through the walk, everyone switched sides and partners without keeping track, but only the three carefully observing Kiry noticed that she kept a certain distance from her watchers. Whether it was just on the opposite side of the group, or stopping behind them every time they halted, she seemed to keep a barrier of distance between them.
"Oh, it's so cute," Kairi cooed when she saw a shining little bird in the window. She stepped up beside Kiry, "Don't you think?"
She shifted almost immediately at the sudden proximity. "Yes, it's very cute." She looked to the side and took a few steps to the other side of the window. "I think I like this one better though."
For a second, Kairi stared. "You mean the 'for sale' sign?"
"No, no, next to it."
After another moment of searching, she saw the creature just below eye level. "Oh, you mean the lizard?"
"Right. The lizard." She stepped back and retreated to the middle of the walkway again. "That's probably just me though."
Odd, Kairi could have sworn Kiry's eyes had been focused up. Kairi thought it must have been her imagination, but she still felt like Kiry was making an extra effort to stay away from her. The animated conversations she had first with Mani, then Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka seemed like a stark contrast to the clipped dialogue she had with her.
It was only when everyone finally arrived to the food court that they realized they could not agree on what they wanted to eat. After a few moments of squabbling, Kairi came up with the idea to just split up, get what they wanted and meet back at a table. It looked like a long rectangular one was free, so they agreed to meet there.
"I'll save it," Kiry spoke up. "To make sure no one else takes it while we're gone."
"Are you sure?" Selphie said uncertainly. "I could wait with you so we can get lunch together."
"No, it's fine. I'll just wait until someone comes back. I don't really know what I want anyway yet."
"Okay. Well, if you're sure, then I'll try to hurry back."
"It's all right," she smiled easily. "I can wait."
She chose a chair at the end of the table, and settled down, propping her chin on one hand, and almost instantly staring sightlessly out in the open. Everyone split to their destinations, Mani and Tidus going together, as well as Sora and Kairi, but everyone else stayed single. Kiry lost track of time, but she still felt it was a very short while before the first person returned. She realized why when she saw Riku approach with nothing but a large drink.
As soon as he sat down, she sat up straight, and even leaned back into her chair, but he did not look at her, sipping his dark soda. She blinked at him initially, before she looked at his large white cup.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Kiri asked.
"Not hungry."
She looked at the large cup, as though trying to decide what she thought of it. Riku knew he must have been reading her expression wrong when he deciphered it. Was that a hint of jealousy?
"Oh." She tried a small smile. "Waiting for popcorn at the movies?"
"Maybe. We'll see how I feel then."
He gave no other attempt at conversation, and her smile dropped, and she glanced away. "I see."
The two sat in awkward company, both feeling the tension, but unsure how to dispel it. She took a hesitant glance, and studied him, and after only a second, he caught her eye. She looked down again to hide her crime, and did not move her gaze from the table, even when he went back to his drink.
'Say something,' she scolded herself. 'Say something! Now is the perfect opportunity! You are fearless, fearless!'
"Um, is your hand okay?"
He stopped mid-sip and looked at her. She glanced up at him again, and his eyes were hard with suspicion and caution. She wilted after a few moments of eye contact, and brought her hands down to her lap under the table.
"You don't have to answer," she said softly. "I just noticed that you were holding your left hand very close, and that you were wearing an arm warmer. I thought maybe you had gotten an injury."
He had to admit it was a good save, to use simple observation like that. After all, she had never actually seen him before. Sora and Kairi realized it, but only because he told them. Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka would not have noticed unless they actually paid attention, like she had. She was risking a lot incriminating herself like that. Though it was funny she was actually showing "concern" like this.
"I'm fine," he answered. "This is normal for me."
"Oh," she said and half shrugged. "Never mind then."
Despite her brush off, he kept his gaze on her. Kiri curled her boots under the seat, and her fingers met in a wheel.
"So, Selphie told me yesterday," she started out carefully, and braved the waters to look up again. "That you're actually an old friend of hers, and you've been gone for a year. So, where did you go? On a trip?"
Because they made eye contact, she saw the change; that almost undetectable shift in steeled emotion that belonged to a person that had heard a painful question many times before, and had learned to deal with it.
"You could say that," he said, and looked down to his drink. "I left the Island for a while, but I didn't like what I saw. So I came back."
He did not make eye contact, but she could still clearly see his eyes, because of his height and angle. She got lost in trying to read them, and the tension left her body as she felt something unfortunately familiar.
"I'm sorry."
He looked up at her, and knew that this time he heard correctly.
"What for?"
She swallowed once, and fidgeted, before she caught movement in her peripheral vision, and she looked up to see Kairi and Sora nearing them.
"Nothing, never mind," she said quickly, and stood. "I should go get lunch now."
She hurried past them without so much as a glance, but still gave them a wide berth that they both could not help but notice. Kairi turned to her.
"I'll be sure to save your spot, okay?" She called as she took a seat next to the chair she had been sitting in.
Sora took a seat beside Riku, and opened up the foil wrapping for his lunch. "So," he started casually. "Anything new?"
Riku finally took his eyes off of Kiri, before shifting back into his seat. "She seems concerned about my well-being."
Both of them looked to him in question, but knew it would have to wait until later when they saw Wakka approaching.
Kiri strolled along the restaurants, mulling over the absolute failure of her last encounter and the implications, until Tidus and Mani happened to exit the place they had chosen, and told herself to get back to being outgoing. Tidus saw Kiry, and flashed a toothy grin in greeting, and Mani gave a little wave. She waved back, and noticed the orange tray with a small green salad and tiny drink. Kiry looked at it, and caught Mani's eye.
"That's all you're getting?"
"Yes," she said.
"Guess she's like Sora," Tidus shrugged. "Really likes salads."
'Sora likes salads'? It sounded wrong, somehow, like it conflicted with an assumption Kiri had known for a while. She was not sure why the statement sounded odd to her, but she batted it away for the situation at hand. Mani shrugged a little helplessly, and sent her that knowing smile. Kiri watched the two as they left. She fought with herself a moment, before making a decision, and going back to her hunt.
Kiry returned to the table with a white paper bag in time to see Tidus guzzling down his drink, and Mani patting his back awkwardly.
"Man, don't kill yourself," Wakka laughed.
Selphie sighed. "Slow down when you eat."
Kiri could not understand what Mani could possibly see in Tidus. It could not say very well for her if the boy she liked was too stupid to eat. She saw a save, and went for the seat across from Mani.
"Oh, Kiry," Kairi called out. "Your spot is still here."
"Oh, don't worry about it," Kiry said quickly. "I just want to talk more with Mani. I hope you're not offended."
"Oh, none taken," she waved off, and watched as she went for the other end of the table. She looked at the two across from her, and lowered her voice. "Does she seem to be avoiding us to you?"
"Maybe," Sora muttered, and glanced to Riku. "What do you think?"
The moment she sat down and Tidus finally put the drink on the table, there was another cough, and a jerk and the others turned in alarm.
"You too, Riku?" Selphie said in exasperation.
"I didn't mean for you to answer right away," Sora whispered in amusement as he clapped his back.
Kiri turned away and stared dryly heavenward for a moment, before sighing and taking out her food. "Thank you, karma," she whispered.
"You say something?" Selphie asked.
"Oh, it's nothing," she smiled charmingly, and brought out her large drink, mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce, large tray of seasoned curly fries, and foot-long Philly cheese steak sandwich with tomato, lettuce and onion.
Those sitting immediately around her stared at the feast before her, and watched in rapture as she opened one half of the sandwich, and drizzled on spicy barbeque sauce. She picked up one half of her sandwich, pressed the bread together, and stretched her jaw almost impressively to get the whole bite in her mouth. Selphie tilted her head warily as she chewed quickly and swallowed.
"Isn't that a bit much?" she asked uncertainly. "You didn't have to get all that…"
"I always eat a big lunch," she said innocently. "I only have one meal a day, so I tend to eat a lot at once." And this time she stretched her mouth to take an even bigger bite. She chewed as quickly as she dared and swallowed. "Which kind of sucks, because my parents aren't always around when I eat, so they think I starve myself." Another bite. "Thish 'ish good," she said over her mouthful.
"How do you do that, though?" Tidus asked. "I'm starving by lunch, and I could never go to bed without dinner."
"Works for me," Kiry shrugged, then pulled down her sleeve to show her forearm. "Not skin and bones. I'm just fine."
"If you say so."
"Are you really going to eat all that at once?" Mani asked in awe, as though seeing a fantastic circus performance.
She pouted, took a gulp of her drink, and huffed in offense. "Of course, that's why I got it." She stared down at Mani's plate. "But is that going to be enough for you?"
Mani bit her lip as she looked down at her small salad, and blushed when everyone was now looking at her.
"I don't really eat that much," she assured.
Kairi and Selphie sent her empathetic glances, Wakka rolled his eyes and bit down on his burrito, and Kiri took out the extra napkins that came with her meal, and poured almost half of the fries on one, and placed a few sticks on the other. Mani jumped.
"Oh, Kiry, please don't," she begged as she realized her intention. "I'm really not that hungry."
"Well, then you can throw them out later," she pushed both trays near Mani's plate and kept the napkins for herself. "They're yours now."
"But, what if you're still hungry?"
"I have a whole sandwich, I'll be fine. I might have gotten more than I need anyway." She took a stick and dipped it in the marinara before taking a happy bite. She daintily covered her mouth as she spoke around her food. "'Sides, we'll be eating later anyway, right? Come to think of it…" She took her uneaten half of sandwich and broke off a piece and put it over another napkin. "I'll save this for you later, just in case."
Mani looked to the fries and sticks uncertainly, afraid to reach out and touch them and give in.
"You should take 'em."
Mani looked with surprise to Tidus.
"I mean hey, she offered, and free food, right?" he grinned at her. "And I don't know how you do it, but a salad would never be enough for me. Might as well take a few."
She still seemed uncertain, but eventually caved. "Well, if you insist." She took a fry, and nibbled on it. "These are good. Thank you, Kiry."
"You're welcome," she smiled.
Kairi and Selphie smiled at each other, and Wakka raised one impressed eyebrow at the girl next to him. Tidus went back to eating. Sora looked to his friend in confusion, sensing he had just missed out on something, but did not want to ask what it was. Riku provided no respite, and just went back to his drink, wondering if he was thinking too much into it when he suspected that Kiry had planned to force the food onto her in the beginning.
"But man, I gotta say," Wakka looked down, "I don't think I've seen anyone that small eat so much."
"I'm a growing girl," she countered. "I need to keep up my strength and get my nutrients."
"From a cheese steak sandwich and fries?" Tidus looked like he was about to laugh.
"Sure," she pointed to each food item as she named them. "I have protein from my meat, dairy from my cheese, carbs from my bread, lettuce, onion, and tomato for vegetables, starch from my fries, and more carbs and dairy from the cheese sticks, in case it wasn't enough."
"I probably shouldn't ask this, but…" Selphie tilted her head slowly. "Where does that logic come from?"
"Friend of mine. He was always trying to make his lunches wholesome. He tried to make an argument once that pie was a legitimate form of breakfast food."
"Are you serious?" Sora could not help but ask. "How?"
"Well, as he put it, waffles and pancakes were originally a dessert item, but somehow turned into a breakfast food. And a lot of people put extra sweet stuff on it, like syrup. So he figures that if people are allowed to eat waffles and pancakes for breakfast, then 'people should leave him well enough alone and let him eat what he'... 'wants'."
"Lose your train of thought?" Wakka said in amusement.
"I had to censor myself." Kiry defended. "He's a little colorful."
"Should've brought him along." Wakka said. "I coulda gotten along with him."
She blinked. "Actually, I probably could have. No, wait, he's always busy on the weekends."
"Doing what?"
"Um… personal projects."
"That's too bad," He took a bite of his burrito. "Let's see, I got… flour for the tortilla, right? There's my grains. Beans got plenty of protein, and there's lots of lettuce too. Plus I got chicken, so hey, I'm pretty sure I'm good on this."
Sora looked down at his hot dog in sudden thought. "I don't even know what's in this."
"Nobody does," Selphie pointed out.
"But hey, I know its meat, so it's still gotta have protein in here, right?"
Kairi laughed. "All the protein's probably been ground out by now."
Riku swirled his cup. "You'd have a better chance with the beans from Wakka's burrito."
"True. Hey Wakka-"
"No."
"Stingy!" He countered, making the rest of the table snicker.
"I've been meaning to ask," Tidus piped up. "Did you turn vegetarian or something? You practically eat salad everyday at school."
"Well, sort of," Sora hedged. "I've been kind of losing taste for most meats."
"Except hot dogs."
"Except hot dogs," he affirmed. "Because they're the best." And he took a large bite to revel in it.
"You should try duck."
Everyone swiveled around to stare at Kiri.
"I tried it once at a restaurant," Kiri elaborated. "Not a lot of people try it, but it's pretty good."
Sora had his mouth frozen in mid chew, but Riku and Kairi's faces were almost identical with worry as they looked at each other. Sora tried to go back to his chewing, but the hot dog suddenly felt heavy in his mouth, and even when he finally swallowed, he put down his food, and looked almost longingly at his plate.
"I just lost my appetite."
Riku put down his cup. "It's not even duck."
"Hot dog."
Kairi got up to get next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," he brushed off. "Just not really hungry anymore. Maybe I'll get something later." He sighed and buried his face in his hands. "Of all the suggestions she had to give," he muttered.
"I'm… sorry," Kiri offered awkwardly. "I just thought he would have tried chicken already, so I thought it would be a better alternative. It's a little oily, but its dark meat is pretty good, and it's not too tough."
With each passing word, Sora seemed to take on a shade of green and at one point put a hand over his mouth and jerked like he was about to heave.
"Come on," Kairi said quickly, and pulled his arm to lead him to where he needed to go.
Everyone stared after them. Kiri hunched over more and more in her chair, and got very still, hoping no one would notice her.
"Is he… going to be okay?" Mani asked hesitantly.
"Uh, sure, I think…" Tidus said.
"Well," Selphie started out. "Kairi has him, so he should be fine."
"Right, you know Sora, he'll be bouncin' back before we know it." Wakka assured, and glanced at the almost frozen Kiry. "Erm, you okay?"
"I should have gotten a salad." She murmured. "Stupid sandwich is what started everything in the first place. I should have just kept my mouth shut and avoided this whole thing."
"Hey, lighten up," Tidus said. "I mean, I'm the one that kind of opened up the whole thing in the first place."
"Yeah, don't be so hard on yourself," Wakka clapped the back of her shoulder. "It's not like we knew that would happen either. He's only been like that since he got back." He turned to Riku. "Right?"
"Right." Riku played with his cup again, a little tense. "He kind of… picked it up while he was away."
Kiri scuffed her shoes a moment, before forcing another bite of sandwich into her mouth, and did not say another word as the others managed to find other topics to work out. Maybe her idea of being more 'helpful and outgoing' was not as great as it first seemed to be. Since they were so engrossed in conversation, almost nobody noticed when she carefully ripped off small chunks of her sandwich and placed them in her bag. Riku watched the curious behavior and wondered if she was trying to act like she was sorry for what she did. It was a bit of a stretch to assume she lost her appetite because of genuine guilt. Though it was also a bit of stretch to think the whole thing had been part of some diabolical plan to render the keyblade master inoperable, only because she was not taking advantage of his absence in any way. Yet even as he looked at it, she would have been the only enemy that had made Sora run the other way without even drawing a weapon.
He took a sip of his drink to hide the smirk, and berated himself for finding amusement at a time like this.
When Sora returned, he was just as bouncy and energetic as ever, and even joked about the whole exchange. Kiri kept her eyes down and still did not speak a word, not until everyone finally stood to leave and throw everything away. Wakka looked down at her.
"You actually ate the whole thing?"
She threw her bag into the trash, leaving none the wiser. "I said I would."
"Nice."
"Well, that's good," Selphie popped up. "I guess that means we don't have to worry about you starving yourself. Come on, everyone, where to first?"
Tidus looked to Mani. "Uh, any place you want to go first?"
"Not really. I'm fine with wherever everyone else wants to go."
"Well," Wakka started out. "This is supposed to be a hangout, right?" He crossed his arms, and smirked down at Tidus, then Kairi. "And where's the best place to hang out on a Saturday afternoon?"
Kairi and Tidus took one look at Wakka, then at each other, then grinned and said simultaneously: "The arcade!"
Slephie sighed affectionately. "You three and your games."
"I didn't know you liked games, Kairi," Sora said in surprise.
"You never asked," she laughed. "Come on, I need to show you and Riku around."
"Is that okay with you?" Tidus asked Mani.
"I've never been in one before," she admitted. "I'm kind of curious."
"What about you, Kiri?" Selphie asked.
"It's fine."
"It's decided then, yeah?" Wakka said. "To the arcade!"
The arcade was dark, loud, and crowded. But at least it had variety.
After grabbing their tokens, the group split into three troupes. Tidus and Mani went away to play the claw grabbing game, Kairi dragged Sora and Riku away arm-in-arm-in-arm to tour the back, and Wakka brought Selphie and Kiri to a fighter game toward the front.
Selphie was not one for video games, but she managed to succeed a bit under Wakka's careful tutelage. It reminded her of when they used to play as kids, and she got a bit more skilled in learning the combos. After three rounds, she had managed to actually get good enough to make Wakka try to win. Kiri was not so fortunate. No matter how she tried, the buttons were strange to her, the graphics confused her, and it was something she just could not seem to get a handle on.
"Eh, it's not for everyone," Wakka shrugged. "Maybe you'd like to try a racing game instead."
That was what Sora was doing. There was a motorcycle racing game Kairi showed him, and he jumped at the chance for it. He managed to get third place on his first try, and steadily kept in first place all the subsequent games. Kiri, however, kept her eyes on Riku as they approached. When he finally felt her stare, he turned, but she dropped her eyes quickly.
"The controls are okay," Sora said as he got off after winning the virtual cup. "But really delayed, and the graphics are terrible."
"Sure, compared to what you're used to playing," Riku pointed out. "This is an arcade, remember?"
Kiri frowned a bit in confusion. Where else could you play a game besides an arcade?
"I know," Sora shrugged, "but you can't even attack the other players. That's half the fun."
"You're not supposed to," Kairi laughed.
"You should. How else can you get rid of the competition? I swear they were trying to run me off the road."
"And you say I complain," Riku said.
"I'm not complaining, I'm critiquing."
'Yeah right,' Kiri thought. 'That was so complaining.'
"Well, how about it, Kiry?" Kairi asked. "Want to try?"
She managed to hide her flinch, and smiled nervously. "No thanks," she said. "I'll leave the racing games to Sora."
"And you, Riku?"
"I'll do the same. Doesn't look too appealing."
"Come on, Riku, you still haven't tried anything. You need to play something."
"Nothing's interested me. If I find something that does, I'll try it."
"All right. But until then, I want to play," Kairi said. "I've been itching to try to reach my goal."
"Really?" Sora looked to her in interest. "What game do you play, Kairi?"
"That one there."
Selphie turned around to look. "Oh. It looks like Mani's already playing it."
It was a strange looking game. A pair of rectangular machines stood at least six feet tall right beside each other, with enough space for the narrow speakers down the side of the machines. Each had a screen that took up nearly half of the surface, with glowing neon orange disks parallel to the floor; one pair across from each other at the top level of the screen, and another pair at the bottom level. The three newcomers got the benefit of figuring out the purpose as they saw Mani play. It was a dancing game that utilized both the player's hands; the movements of which were caught by the machine's sensors as the player attempted to coordinate their hands to flashing rings sliding to the four corners of the screen. When Mani finally finished her song, the score screen went up, and showed a flashing "C" in the top box, with the list of her combinations below.
"That's better, right?" She asked Tidus.
"Oh yeah," he assured. "Believe me, you're doing great."
"I'll say," Kairi said as she saddled up. "You're doing better than I did my first time."
"Really?"
"Yeah. How many more rounds do you have?"
"I have one more."
"Wow. I'm sure you'll master this game in no time."
"Are you going to try to play Xepher, Kairi?" Slephie asked.
"Yep." She smiled. "I'm going to try to master it today."
"Good luck," Wakka said. "I'll be sure to clear the room for you."
"Huh?" Sora eloquently inquired.
"Kairi's, like, crazy good at this," Tidus explained. "There's this song she's been trying to master that's super hard."
"But it's a lot of fun," she assured. "I just want to try to get good at it. Today feels like a good day."
"We'll be cheering for you," Sora offered.
"Thanks. I'll be ready after Mani plays."
Mani chose her song, and went to work, and while she played, Kairi took the time to stretch out her arms. More people were paying attention to the display as Mani played. It was a ridiculously catchy song with a bizarre video about a girl with aqua-teal pigtails trying to sell some kind of vegetable juice. Sora leaned over to Kairi.
"What are those numbers on the screen?"
"They're combos. It keeps track of how many perfects you get in a row without missing them."
"So the more you get, the higher your score, right?"
"Right."
Mani tried her best, though the pressure from the new audience had her on edge, and she got a "D" at the end of her effort.
"Guess I messed up." She shrugged.
"It's fine," Kairi pat her shoulder. "Like I said, you did better than me. We all have to start somewhere. Okay," she rolled her shoulders briefly. "My turn. Time for my warm up."
She inserted the tokens, and scrolled through the songs on the screen until she reached the ones she wanted. The first two songs were on Hard Mode with difficult combinations, making Sora, Riku, and Mani more than curious to know what her actual play would be. Kiri shook her head briefly and blinked to attempt to watch, but had to look away every now and then at the bright colors flashing on the screen. As an expert player, Kairi's hands instinctively stayed near the middle sensors, and flew above and below them, helping her hit those fast notes. The first one Kairi scored double A, the second she played to triple A, and when she selected the third song, she moved the difficulty to Expert, clicked it, and readied her stance.
"Okay." She shook out her wrists, and flexed her hands. Her brow was already glistening, just slightly. "Here goes nothing."
"Break a leg!" Selphie cheered.
'Break an arm' would have been more accurate. Just the slow, organ-like intro to the song was fast and flashy, but Kairi hit a perfect each time, the combo quickly climbed up in the center to just barely over two hundred by the time the pause arrived. Even Sora and Riku, who had seen many strange and fantastical things, could not help but be impressed. They could hardly follow the rings, let alone actually hit them. She was still for the tense moment when nothing happened and the music went low. Then the song exploded and she flew into a frenzy.
Jaws dropped. Well, Sora's and Mani's did; Riku was impressed, but his expression hardly changed. Her arms were a blur as they whipped around the sensors. Probably one of the more amazing things was the fact that although her arms were flying, her body was grounded even as it bounced to the beat, and her elbows were more or less in the same spot, keeping each chop perfectly controlled and on time. It went without saying her focus was phenomenal.
Toward the end she had to move her body a little more, since the doubles were calling for hands above and below the sensors, forcing her to reach across. The chorus reached a crescendo, after which the song slowed. Finally, it picked back up racing to the ending, a flurry of combos and singles ever increasing in complexity blurred across the screen. Kairi met the demand head on, and plowed through the homestretch. She slashed through the final few moments, ending with a top ring combo, leaving her arms up triumphantly.
She dropped her arms and panted as the screen went black and tallied up her score. She wiped her brow and looked behind her.
"I wasn't paying attention to the combos. Did I break it?"
"Not that I could see," Selphie admitted. "I'm sure you did perfect."
"Well, let's see," she sighed as she glanced back. "Some of those felt awfully close."
"I don't think so," Mani said softly. "I think you did perfect too. Right, Kiry?"
"Huh?" She blinked and snapped her head up where she had been looking the ground. "Oh, yes, of course, you did great." She smiled at Mani. "I'm sure with plenty of practice; you'll get it in no time."
Everyone in hearing distance- in other words, all of their friends- turned to look at her. Mani hesitated.
"I was talking about Kairi… she was the one that's been playing…"
"She… oh!" She gasped, and then she covered her face with her hands. "I-I'm so sorry, I must've misheard you. Kairi was great, really."
Stupid, stupid mouth! Now she looked like a fool, and she wished nothing more than to disappear. Sora and Riku took one slow look at each other. Most of the others looked at her in disbelief. Kairi's expression was caught between confusion and offense, wondering if the answer meant she was not paying attention, or just did not care. Selphie winced, suspecting something amiss, and tried desperately to think of a way to save her. The flashing "AAA" gave her the answer.
"Kairi, look!" Selphie cheered, and jumped. "You finally got a perfect score!"
"I did?" Kairi followed her eyes, and lit up instantly. "I did!"
"Congratulations!" Selphie grabbed her hands, and the two joined in a celebratory spring. "You've been working so hard!"
"Wow," Mani breathed, "You're really good."
"Well, I probably played this more than I should have," she admitted. "It still took me almost two months to get this good."
"You know," Sora started out slowly. "That explains a lot."
Kairi grinned at him and winked as she flicked back her hair. "Practice makes perfect."
"Better watch out, Sora," Riku said. "Otherwise she'll get stronger than you."
"What? No way," he insisted, and then faltered. "Can she?"
Kairi chuckled and flushed happily as she looked up to Riku. He met her eyes, and he relaxed his expression into the tiniest of smiles. Kiri stared at him. He felt her stare, and glanced back to her, losing the smile instantly. She turned away and hurried off. Selphie watched her go in worry, and Sora happened to see her in his line of sight. He tilted his head.
"Anyone else notice that she moves around a lot?"
Wakka followed her to the table she had stopped to look at.
"See you found table hockey. Wanna try?"
"I don't know. I'm trying to figure it out."
"Well, there's a sign right here," he pointed.
"There is?" She followed his finger. "Oh… so there is."
"Let's see what it says," Sora decided, and bent down to read the diagrams and instructions. After a few moments of scanning the list, he grinned, and straightened. "Hey, Riku, I'll play you this. I bet even you might like this."
"You sure about that?" He followed and looked down at it. "Doesn't look too appealing right now."
"Well you have to try it first."
"Hey," Wakka said suddenly. "Ladies first, the girl called dibs."
"I know that, I meant after."
"Oh, no, that's fine, really," she insisted. "I learn better if I watch first anyway."
Wakka shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll play you next, if you want. I'll go easy on ya 'til ya learn the ropes."
She smiled gratefully. "Thanks."
Sora had been putting his tokens in the moment Kiri gave her consent. The token slots were on the side of the table, and once he pushed them in, a thin orange puck slid out of the dispenser beside them. The scoreboard was a hunk of machinery held up by curved support beams in the middle of the table, and flashed two zeros on both sides. Under the scoreboard, the lights blared on the table, making the blue surface and tiny plastic walls reflect from the light. Sora slid to his designated side, with Riku taking up the other. He noticed his handled piece sliding across the porous surface, and picked it up curiously. Sora did the same, and tentatively put the puck down to glide it across with his finger.
"Cool…"
"The game?" Tidus reminded.
"Oh, right! Rules are simple," he began and picked the puck back up. "Basically, guard your goal while trying to make it into mine. We only use these," he waved the piece. "First one to score seven wins."
"What goals?"
"These goals," he tapped the top of the slit on his side. "So it's gotta stay on the surface. Ya got all that?"
"Yeah, I got it. But it's probably a different story with you." He placed his handle piece on the surface.
Sora smirked. "We'll see about that." He warned, dropped the puck, and struck it fast, but Riku deflected it.
"Be careful, you two," Kairi warned.
They both started hard, instantly going for the other's goal. They went straight forward, trying to cut down the middle of the arena with quick movements as they tried to get used the foreign equipment and controls. Until Sora scored the first goal.
Then there was no movement as the scoreboard flashed "0 1", and Riku slowly picked up the puck from his slot. He stared at Sora's smug expression evenly, and held up the puck like a card.
"You, are going down." He stated as a matter-of-fact.
Sora grinned. "You'll have to score first."
Then the puck went down, and the game was on. Their movements were so fast that you could miss a strike if you blinked. They stopped just trying to cut down the middle, and started shooting at angles of the wall to try to outsmart each other, but their reflexes were quick to save. Riku did manage to get the next goal, and the one after, but Sora got the next, making them tie. They were so focused on their game, they did not even hear their friend's cheers, or notice when even strangers stopped by to watch, enraptured by the moves they were seeing. Sora caught one of Riku's strikes, and shot it up. The puck ricocheted off the wall, and went sailing out of the arena, until Riku caught it between his first two fingers. Everyone's jaw dropped in awe, especially the stranger's.
"Hey," Sora complained. "No hands."
"Then keep it on the surface," he scolded, and put it back down to shoot it off again.
Understandably, the game had effectively stolen everyone's focus. The only word that could describe this phenomenon was, unarguably, 'epic'. Kiri was interested in who would win, but she was so tired the moves were an indistinguishable blur. The last thing she wanted was to separate from everyone when they were in a group, but keeping stationary was not helping her stay awake. Why was she so drained all of a sudden?
The meal. She held back a groan when she realized she had just sabotaged herself, and cursed her overworked conscience. She blinked a few times, and eased out of the crowd. She had to walk around and find something to do, to keep herself occupied a bit longer.
Kiri glanced around the games and found something that she had not noticed before. She looked to the peculiar machine, and reached out to feel the curtain. A covered game? Well, not like it would do anything different anyway. She was hopeless in a place like this. She was going to just walk around to get her energy up, but she nearly ran into someone. Oh, crud she must have been really tired.
"Oh no, I'm sorry," she murmured. "I wasn't-"
"Oh, shoot, I'm sorry, are you okay?" he asked in a high voice. "Ugh, stupid new frames."
She looked up in surprise at the honest apology. He was an average looking guy, with a messy mop of dirty blonde hair, and too many freckles over his nose, which made the brown of his eyes even more apparent. He had a white shirt with a faded logo and simple black shorts, in all, nothing spectacular. She watched him adjust the glasses that had slipped, and she grinned, her excitement taking over.
"Yeah, I'm great, really," She pointed to the machine. "Can you tell me what this is?"
The boy finally got the spectacles on straight and peered in the direction of her pointing. "The Expedition? Well, it's a hunting game. You poach animals with a crossbow."
"Really?" She looked to it curiously. It was certainly unexpected. And if it was a hunting game, then… "If it's not fighting, it shouldn't be too bad…"
He finally looked at her, and suddenly felt tongue tied. There was a cute girl, right here, wanting to play a game! She was not actually laughing at it. Oh man, he thought he had just died and gone to heaven. He blinked and got his senses back.
"Er, actually, you might not want to play that game. See the sign? It's kind of violent."
"It is?"
She looked at the booth uncertainly, and the boy could feel his excitement diminishing. Oh, who was he fooling? She'd never be interested in him.
"Right, um, good luck, sorry again," he said quickly and tried to get past.
"What's your name?"
He stopped. "Um, Gelick."
"Can you help me, Gelick?" She said suddenly. "I really want to play this."
"Oh, you want me to teach you?" He asked in surprise.
"Something like that. I'd really appreciate the help."
He blushed. "W-Well, I just used the last of my tokens…"
"That's okay, I'll pay. Come on."
She took his wrist and jumped into the machine and he stumbled in after her. She fished out her tokens from her blazer pocket.
"So how do you play?" She asked.
"Well, it's pretty easy to get. You just take the controller here like this, see?" He pulled out the plastic rendition from the cradle, and moved it around in demonstration. "And point it at the screen. You just need to pull the trigger here, hit the targets, and you get points depending on how close you make it to the heart."
"Okay then. That sounds easy." She retrieved the crossbow control. "Hey Gelick, can I ask you a favor?"
"Yeah, sure, anything."
"This is something I really need to do, but some people will get angry at me if they find this out… so, just for my sake," she focused in on him, and he was suddenly tongue-tied as her single brown eye bore into his, "Could you not tell anyone what I'm about to do?" she smiled, put a finger to her lips, and winked. "It'll be our little secret, okay?"
His entire face bloomed scarlet, and his glasses steamed. "Yeah, sure, of course, my lips are sealed!"
"Sh," she said playfully. "Not so loud. Here, let me get those," she chuckled, and slipped off his glasses to clean them.
"Ah, please be careful, I really need those, or I can barely walk…"
"Don't worry, they're cute, but I promise I'll put them back," she teased as she wiped them with her sleeve. "Thank you, Gelick. I'm really grateful."
Gelick had to lean against the back of the booth, so that his weak knees would not send him to the floor.
Back at the game of table hockey, the game had gotten more intense, yet both opponents refused to back down, putting all of their focus into the pieces and maneuvers. The score was six to six, and everyone was on the edge of their seats and held their breath to see who would lose the edge and go down. They went harder, faster, the puck zooming across the table in the arena and baffling the onlookers. It seemed like the game would be going on forever.
Then Riku stopped when he felt something, and the puck went in.
"Score!" Sora cheered when the buzzer went off.
There were cheers from the onlookers, and some gave their congratulations. Riku did not say anything, but looked at the crowd where his friends were standing, and started when he realized there was a face missing. He glanced around, but still did not see her.
"Hey, nice game man," someone said from behind him. "That was some serious playing."
Riku looked behind him in confusion, and figured they must have been talking to Sora. He looked out to the crowd again. "Where's Kiri?"
Sora winced, before smiling apologetically to the stranger, who shrugged at his companion and took his leave.
"She's right…" Wakka stopped when he realized the girl had disappeared. "Where'd she go?"
Gelick stepped out of the booth, his eyes glazed and out of focus.
"I've seen hell," he murmured, "and she wears a blue blazer."
"Gelick?"
"Yes!" He jumped when she practically popped up next to him.
"Here," she giggled when she held out the glasses. "It's like you for…" she stopped and yawned. "…forgot all about them. Sorry, I can barely keep my eyes open."
He gawked, wide-eyed at her. She was tired?
"Uh, yeah," he carefully retrieved them, and slipped them on. "Thanks, glad you had fun, I have to go now."
"Thanks again," she waved. "Good-bye."
He fast walked out of the establishment, and ran into another person on his way out.
"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "But I really can't help you!"
He dashed out of the doors. Tidus looked after him, and frowned.
"Sheesh, talk about rude. The least he could have done was ask if I was okay."
"I guess courtesy has gotten rarer," Mani said.
The others shrugged.
"Kiri!" Selphie called out. "There you are. Where'd you go?"
"I was just talking to my new friend. He's really nice, he helped me out."
"All right," Wakka said as they approached the covered machine "I see you found the Expedition! Now this is my game. Three weeks of keeping in the top score, and no one's been able to pass it yet."
"That good, huh?" Sora grinned. "Well, let's see if I can come close then." He glanced at the side of the machine where a white board said "WARNING: MATURE PLAYERS ONLY". Well heck, he could be mature. Seemed like a funny sign to put on a game.
"You're welcome to try," he offered, and swept the curtain aside. "Here, I'll show you the controls and- sweet mother of pearl!"
"What is it?" Tidus asked form outside.
"It's over nine-thousand!"
"What?" Sora asked in confusion. "Your score?"
"No!" He pointed to the screen at the top of the list. "That one! I'm the one right under it."
He peeked inside and followed his finger, where the four-letter code read "Waka" with a score of seven thousand something-or-other, and looked to the name right above it with nine-thousand something or other. He blinked at it, and tilted his head as he looked at it in confusion. "Who's Kirx?"
"Keerx?" Tidus asked. "How's it spelled?"
"K-I-R-X."
"At least you can pronounce it."
Riku went over the letters again in his head, and when he did, his eyes slid over to Kiri. She was looking at the booth curiously, like a spectator at an unfolding event. No wait, that could not be right, they were saying before how she could not play very well. But before, he could have sworn he felt-
No, no, that was impossible. What had she done, used the power of darkness to help her win a videogame? It was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard of. Was something wrong with his senses for a second? She shifted her gaze to him, saw he was looking at her, and they locked eyes a moment before they both looked back. Still, she did use an "x" for part of the name… he might have been paranoid, but that was a little too much of a coincidence.
"Whoever he is, he is going down! Sorry, Sora," Wakka said as he slid past Sora to put in his coins. "I have a title to uphold!"
"Um, sure, I'll just watch the first round," he offered, more than a little surprised at his sudden enthusiasm.
Tidus laughed. "You wouldn't know it, since he's usually a really good sport about polo games, but when it's against himself, he really takes a lot of pride in his work."
"I guess." Sora shook his head. "Didn't realize it was such a big deal."
"I don't care if he beat me," Wakka explained as he took the crossbow and the screen started up. "I care that I've never even seen this guy's name on the list until now, only to have it above mine. He is not getting away with this. I'm knocking this son of a-"
"Wakka!" Selphie chastised. "Language! We're in public!"
"Well… go Wakka." Sora offered, and closed the curtain behind him as he stepped inside to watch.
About one minute in, Sora had to step outside. He seemed to lose a little color- no, he lost normal color, and gained a little green. The others who were outside saw his state, and became alarmed.
"Sora, are you all right?" Kairi asked.
"There's blood. Blood, everywhere…"
"Well, it's a hunting game." Riku pointed out. "And the sign warned you."
"They're just graphics, Sora," Kairi tried to comfort. "It's not real."
"Kairi, they're animals from the jungle," he beseeched. "From the Sahara."
Kiri blinked at him, and tilted her head a little to the side.
Kairi's eyes widened. "Really?"
"He killed a warthog without a second thought." He breathed in horror. "The second the merecats popped out they were annihilated. Blood, and guts, were everywhere." His voice did not get louder, but slowly climbed in pitch. "There was even a tortoise in there, and then he wheeled around and shot down the birds. The Chipmunks. He killed the chipmunks!"
"What are chipmunks doing in the Sahara?" Mani whispered to Selphie.
"Not sure. Probably just threw them in there to throw people off."
Kiri scrutinized him to see if he was faking for sympathy, or if he was genuinely upset about everything. He must have been a really, really avid animal lover. With a really, really weak constitution. No wonder he was a vegetarian. Just what had he been doing while he was gone? The more time she spent with him, the more she realized: He was confusing. No, not confusing, but a mystery. Sora was a very mysterious character.
"And then he came across the lion's pride." He looked like he was about to cry. "All the lionesses didn't stand a chance! They just fell down, one by one like ragdolls." He grabbed onto Kairi's shoulders desperately. "He, killed, the, cubs!"
Kiri stared, absolutely dumbfounded. But the more she looked at him, the more she could not help but think: he's for real.
Kairi looked to him sympathetically, and drew him into a hug to pat his shoulders. "There, there."
"It was awful. I saw my life flash before my eyes," he murmured. "It was a reel I couldn't stop. All of their smiling faces kept haunting me…"
"It's okay," Kairi cooed. "It's over."
Kiri's eyes went wide she blinked quickly, and covered her mouth to hold in her reaction.
"Hey," Riku said, and put his hand on the back of Sora's shoulders. "Let's wait outside until the others are done. Some fresh air might help."
"No, I'm fine, just need a few minutes."
"Don't push yourself. If it's bothering you this much, just take a minute to pull yourself together." he said.
"Right, we'll just be a few minutes," Kairi assured, and already started pulling him along.
"Air sounds good," he murmured, and let himself be led outside. He sighed softly. "Thanks, guys."
Kiri swiftly shuffled behind the booth. Riku saw the movement and looked in her direction. He shoved the curiosity to the back of his mind and went back to escorting the two out of the building.