And here I am with a One-shot when I should be writing Condemned, right? Hee, I couldn't resist. This is a plot bunny that's been pestering me all year so I figured why not put it to rest while I'm taking a small break? Sorry to all my Ben 10 readers, the next chapter should come out sometime next week.
Disclaimer: Okay, here I was, sitting on the couch when a representative from Square Enix knocks on my door and says, "Here, take legal documents for Kingdom Hearts and do with them as you please, you horror writer you." My was I excited when I suddenly awoke upon my couch. Damn….
Apples
"Welcome Mr…. Ah, no last name?" The doctor read, looking over his clipboard inquisitively at the young brunette seated nonchalantly across from him. The teen seemed to find the interior much more interesting than the doctor himself, so far as to answer without looking at him.
"That was a request. I couldn't have my name getting out around here, could I?" The teen spared the man a grin before going on to examine his surroundings.
"Yes, well, Mr. Sora then-"
"Please, just Sora. You make me sound old." He pointed a disgusted look at the ceiling, unaware of the narrow eyed frown the doctor gave him for being interrupted.
"Okay, Sora. So, why were you committed here?"
"Well, hell doc, I thought you'd at least know my story. I'm a little more well known than you think." Sora pouted, obviously put off by the fact the doctor had no idea who he was.
"Yes, you're implying you are the famous Keyblade master, Bearer of Light, correct?" The doctor raised his eyebrows behind his clipboard, scribbling down notes while remaining skeptical that this was in fact the Keyblade bearer. No hero would do what he did. Still, seemingly naive to the man's skepticism, he smiled when the doctor gave him the answer he was looking for.
"Mm-hmm… Not to sound cocky of course." Sora said with a grin at the doctor, tone implying just the opposite, but still playful.
"But that does not answer my question." The doctor stared at him a few seconds before Sora sighed, sitting up. He made to take a breath when his eyes fell on something on the man's desk. The doctor followed his gaze to a shining red apple on his desk, nearly perfectly heart-shaped and a succulent red in color.
"Here." The doctor handed the apple to him, making sure not to touch the teens hands, a spark of disgust in his eye. Sora took the apple gleefully and presumed his position on the couch, watching the apple go up and down as he tossed it. He would have seemed so innocent, like he didn't even belong here if the doctor hadn't been previously briefed on his patient.
"When did your love for apples begin?" He said after the short stint of silence. Sora seemed oblivious to the question when his hand shot out, startling the doctor, catching the apple halfway down.
"That should be answered after I explain why I'm here in this place."
"Then please do." Sora shifted into a position the doctor knew was made to poke fun at him. He lay with his hands on his chest and his legs splayed, eyes looking unfocused at the ceiling as though recalling a painful memory.
"You see, it all started when I was born…"
"Mr. Sora, need I remind you that you are here only for-"
"I know, I know. Just kidding." He sighed at the youth before him, a hand on his face. They so did not pay him enough for this crap.
"Okay, let me start in a place where you could easily see. There was this place where the sand always glinted pure white, no matter what time of day it was…"
The evening sun cast a low reflection upon the ocean, stretching the star's waving image beyond sight. The water itself was a constant dance of glittering lights, reflecting the beauty of the sky at evening. The wind was cool and salty to taste, ruffling the three teens clothes as they sat in their favorite spot to gaze at the vast body of water before them. The gulls wailed high above them, calling to each other for the sake of calling.
The eldest's head tilted to look up at the racket they were making and smiled. The other two mimicked his gesture after noticing his attention had shifted.
"What do you think they squawk at, Riku?" The brunette asked, curiosity peaked when the gulls decided night was upon them and flew to the rock face where they nested.
"Maybe they talk to each other just like we do, Sora." The red headed female answered, her smiled sending goose bumps down his spine.
"That or they think it's funny to annoy us." Riku commented, looking back to his two friends with a smirk. "It's kind of like the noise Sora makes when trying to get our attention."
"Do not!" Sora defended, his lower lip threatening to stick out. "Do I, Kairi?"
"Don't worry, he's kidding." Kairi comforted, smiling up a Riku for once again pulling one over on their rather naive friend. Sora huffed and rolled his eyes, usually the signal for the end of his hissy fits.
Riku smiled warmly at him before looking at the ground beneath him, shifting his weight to land lightly on the sand below him. He stretched, pulling an arm over his head, listening to another soft landing behind him. He turned on his heel to face his friends, seeing Sora gently kicking his legs back and forth, watching Kairi, while Kairi stood laxly, watching him.
"It's getting late. We should probably turn in before the current gets bad." After receiving two agreeing head nods they all walked back to the small dock, boarding their separate boats while bidding each other goodbye. The gentle waves rocked them to and fro as they made a slow but steady trip back to the main island.
"But, you see, I was completely oblivious then. Then again, how could I have noticed? They had it so well hidden." Sora said, eyes focused somewhere to the doctor's left, listening to him scribbling away on that stupid little pad he kept on the clipboard, no doubt in his mind that the man before him had no idea what that hidden aspect was.
"… You seemed to lead a very peaceful life."
"That's what I thought too, but friendship only runs so deep." Sora's look had hardened, his eyes not the piercing blue they had been before, but softer, duller. The doctor made a note of this.
"You sound very close to them."
"We were together all the time, even on our other worldly adventures. After spending so much time around someone, you'd think…" The teen trailed off, unwilling or unable to finish his statement. The doctor nodded, nearly forgetting he was supposedly dealing with the Hero.
"Continue on, your story wasn't quite finished." Sora gave the man a glare meant to silence him but breathed and maintained composure.
"I suppose I was wasn't I?" He said quietly. "You must realize that this all took place after we were back from our adventures. We were all so much closer because of it, but we all had something to hide. None of us spoke of each others problems, the friendship surviving as it always had." He shifted to sit up, his chin resting on his clasped hands.
"The very next day, that's exactly where my world shattered like so many sharp shards of glass. We were all supposed to meet each other on the island for a game of blitzball. You know what that is, right doc?" The doctor swiftly nodded, hand poised to take more notes.
"Well, I happened to arrive an hour early because, well, the old me was excited to do just about anything with anyone…"
He smiled at the empty beach before him, imagining the surprised face of his friends when they discovered he had actually arrived early. After taking a few steps onto the beach, he realized he had absolutely nothing to do. He stared at the sand, but sand castles didn't seem amusing at the moment. Splashing around in the water? Nah, he didn't want to be sopping wet for their game.
His eyes wandered for another half second more before landing excitedly on their tree house. He could make a grand entrance from there when he heard voices too! That would be fun! He ran off in the direction of the ladder, happily laughing to himself when his friends realized that he actually thought this out. Then he could prove to Riku he definitely had a brain which Riku seemed to deny at every chance he got.
He climbed quickly to the deck level and made to run inside when he heard a noise. He couldn't identify what it possibly could be. He quietly snuck along the wall and peered inside the door way sideways. Who could have possibly gotten here before him? His question was answered when horrified eyes fell upon his two friends in the corner.
He couldn't help the gasp that escaped his lips, and the weakness in his knees that caused him to fall backwards against the railing that lined the deck. He was unaware when he whacked his head against it, a loud wooden thump breaking the oral connection between his two best friends in surprise.
He couldn't move, he couldn't speak. Kairi ran toward him, a look of concern on her face, or was it apology? It didn't matter, her words never reached him as he ran, jumping off the ledge clumsily only to land face first in the white sand. It hardly hindered him as he leapt up and continued to run aimlessly, running for the sake of getting away, to the back of the island. He stopped when he was finally out of breath, falling into a series of exotic bushes that lined the inner part of the island. He frantically wiped at his face, wondering why the sand continued to stick to him when he realized tears were streaking down his face in fast, thick drops.
He also realized the girl of his dreams, who he thought had loved him so, who he loved more than anyone else in this world, had never really loved him at all. And that was what hurt the most.
"You were betrayed." The doctor stated, watching his patient twist the crimson fruit in his hand.
"That… is an understatement." The boys descriptions were so vivid the doctor could almost feel he was there in his head, watching this play through. But, as he had learned from the many criminals he had dealt with, the story could be a great fabrication.
"This female, Kairi you called her? She was the one always waiting for you when you returned home." He boy nodded thoughtfully, looking at the doctor's reflection in the perfectly shined apple.
"It was, well IS, a comforting thought when you have someone awaiting your return. It makes you want to get back faster, and she had always been there for me." The look may have been diluted by memory, but the doctor could clearly see the truth in there, shining like a star amidst the darkness of space.
"Had you listened to them at all later on?"
"Well, yeah, but shortly after that those demons in white coats found me and brought me here." He replied, pointing lazily at the door where two guards stood outside, waiting in case the doctor needed help.
"Shorty after? It took them two days to find you."
"Mmmmm, well, it certainly didn't feel like two days were I was." Sora waited for the doctor to interrupted him with more questions, but the silence lingered, telling him to continue on. "Either way, as I was saying… They were looking for me, I knew that much in my haze of despair. I don't know how long I lay there before they gave up and left, but they came so close so many times."
He rubbed his red eyes, burning from the salty tears, and sat up, looking out towards the ocean to see one boat trailing off in the distance. They must have come in one and hidden it so no would suspect a thing. He watched them until they disappeared from his sight, the isolation in his heart grew to enormous proportions, permanently damaging the walls within.
How could Riku have done that to him? Or Kairi for that matter? Wasn't it obvious how they felt about each other? They must not have cared, and he found himself in question about the entire expedition he'd been on. Was Kairi really waiting for him, or had it been for Riku? The questions multiplied and he found himself doubting whatever was actually between them. It hurt so much, like his heart was ripped right from his chest.
He had sacrificed himself for her a year ago! Stabbed himself to bring her to life! Anger clouded his thoughts as he realized just how much he had done for the two of them. His heart gave a painful beat, forcing him to grab in chest, not from the pain, but for fear of it falling right out of his chest. Again, it gave a painful beat and he fell forwards, face contorted into pain at the open ocean. Another beat and he was out cold.
"Your emotional pain became physical?" Sora glowered at the man for interrupting him with his obvious questions once again.
"Doctor, do you know how a heartless is born?" The question seemed out of the blue to him. He stuck the tip of his pen into his mouth in thought.
"Well, yes. Yes I do. They are created from the darkness in people's hearts, or so says the research."
"You are only half right, doctor." Sora enunciated every syllable in the title with distaste. "There is another."
"Pray tell what it is then." The man was beginning to grow irritated by this child's games. He was playing him, he knew he was.
"You forget that there are those who turn to darkness blindly, seeking comfort that this world of light has yet to give." The doctor snorted into his clipboard. That was preposterous. No man willingly turned to the darkness, it just wasn't done. Sora seemed to let the man's slip go, rather coughing and continuing where he was.
His hearing came first, awaking to the sound of voices, one gentle and light, the other deeper and rhythmic. He must have done something to indicate he was awake, because he could hear the conversation turn to him. His eyes fluttered open, met by two pairs of eyes, ocean blue, and emerald green. His breathing hitched as he realized his head was in Kairi's lap. He quickly rolled away and used the momentum to stand upright, stumbling in sudden dizziness.
"Sora, are you okay?" Kairi asked, genuine concern in her voice as she made to rush to his aide.
"Stay back!" He shouted. The anger in his voice froze both of them, neither of them ever seeing their friend so mad.
"Sora-" Riku began only to be silenced also.
"I don't want to hear from you either! Both of you, just stay away!"
"We were going to tell you!" Kairi pressed onward. "But we knew you were going to react like this!" The nerve! She was trying to pin this on him! His vision waved before him, stomach feeling like it was trying to force it's way up his throat.
"Just shut up!"
"Sora, we tried to tell you on so many occasions-"Riku intervened, trying to aid the situation only forcing it further downward.
"But you never had the fucking nerve to tell me early on so we could have avoided this!" The use of the swear word silenced them both. Their friend was looking at them so angrily, tears streaming down his eyes unashamedly. Both his hands had balled into fists at his sides, the fabric taut over his knuckles.
"Kairi… I thought… and then…"
"Sora," She began gently. "I did, at first, but…"
"I sacrificed so much, for both of you! Kairi, I gave you may heart, Riku, my undying faith… and apparently it was… for nothing…"He looked at the ground as he said this, a strange sensation buzzing in the back of his skull.
"It wasn't for nothing! Sora, you gave us so much strength!" Kairi pleaded, water lining the rims of her eyes as well. She looked to Riku for help, but he seemed to have zoned out, staring contemplating at his friend.
He knew this feeling. It had been everywhere in the World That Never Was. But, he couldn't understand why he could feel it from his friend? He was the Keyblade master, the purest being of them all, but, as he saw the smoke trailing off his friend's hands and heard Kairi scream, he realized that there was no such thing as pure light. Just a vast amount of it that could harbor an even greater shadow.
Sora watched as he held her back, smelling their fear, tasting it. Only now were they afraid of the consequences, only now were they aware that this could have happened. But it wasn't enough to see their fear. He wanted to see what drove their fear, feel life force behind it flowing through his fingers, taste the sweet center of their being that created all emotions.
He crouched down, finding it much more comfortable than standing, position feral and poised for attack. As he ran at them, he could sense the silver haired boy's hesitation, his keyblade hovering over his head, and that was all he needed to carry out his attack. It was over in seconds, the platinum blonde dying before him as he approached the red head, slowly, maliciously.
"P-please Sora…" She sobbed, cowering against the rock face, seeming to wish it to swallow her and take her from this situation. "Remember who y-you are. D-don't d-d-do this!!"
He slinked up to her slowly, grabbing her throat. He put his face close to hers. She closed her eyes when something wet and warm ran up her cheek. He grinned in satisfaction, tasting her genuine regret in her tears. She had learned her lesson and thus deserved a swifter death than that of the boy. A swipe of his claws and it was all over. He took his prizes and fled.
The doctor was speechless. Such animosity. Those bodies had been discovered without their respective hearts and… it disgusted him.
"I see I've made you speechless. I don't suppose you've ever dealt with an actual patient who served some time in the dark, ne?" He seemed to find this all amusing, turning back to once again play catch with the fruit, having yet to actually eat any of it. The doctor commenced his staring for a second or two more, before looking down at his clipboard.
"…That is… one hell of a story, Mr.-"
"Ah, we talked about that." Sora corrected, pointing a finger slyly at the man. The doctor fell silent, trying to find a way to deny this story and label the boy insane.
"I guess I can't prove what I told you is true, but I said what is true to me." The doctor looked at him. The kid had to of known what he was thinking through his facial expressions. How could he have known what he was thinking otherwise?
"Also…" The boy wound up, smiling like a fox, ready to horrify the man into the reality of his story. "They already labeled me criminally insane. What good would it do to do it again?" The doctor stood, clipboard held protectively to his chest as he stared at the youth in fear.
"What are you?" He whispered. His realization at the boy's abilities was a dead give away that the story was true. This boy- no, he couldn't even be given a human title anymore. Sora grinned at the man's thoughts, not at all insulted, looking for all the world like he was told he was going to the candy store.
"I'm not so sure myself anymore. So many people I've been around, yet I've always had to kill someone. Every world I went to, someone had to die. Oh, for the greater good of course! But, after awhile, one begins to question their luck…" Sora sat criss-cross on the chair, apple held laxly in between his two hands.
The doctor continued to stare, listening to every word, ready to hail the guards if Sora made a sudden movement. How could a hero have gone so wrong? His question was answered when yet again his mind was read.
"Have I really gone so wrong? Think about it. A hero is nothing more than a killer hired by the circumstances of the universe, or by the universe itself. It becomes our job to get rid of threats, and there is no better way than to kill them. I mean, come on. Everytime you imprison them, they always break loose and continue their evil deeds. There's no better way. No other option."
"That's not true." The doctor contradicted, seeming surprised by his own bravery to interrupt him. Sora watched him, waiting for him to continue. "You could always convert them-" A sudden out burst of laughter froze the doctor.
"Oh-oh man, convert them?! That is the best joke I've ever heard!" He watched Sora, feeling a little indignant, waiting for the laughter to die down. "Seriously, you've been watching too many 'feel good' movies. How many villains have you ever heard of who actually thought twice about their actions." He actually paused, giving the man a chance to respond. Too bad there was none.
"Exactly, none. They all thought about what they did before hand. It's just the path they chose."
"Much like you?" Sora looked at the doctor, easily sensing his disgust.
"I never chose my path. It was chosen for me." The words were said indifferently, but he could hear the underlying threat. "There is no such thing as pure light. Just a being with enough of it to be deemed a hero. Too bad the universe doesn't seem to know, the greater the light, the greater the shadow. A God among men, a beast among others."
He wasn't sure where to run, but he knew it felt good. There was so much power coursing through him, so many possibilities. He smiled when a portal opened before him by his own doing, leading him off of his island. He wasn't sure where he had made it go, but a feeling told him anywhere else was better than there. The darkness enveloped him, its unnatural cold unfelt by one already embraced by it.
He floated through the dark, nothing leading him, but a vague sense of direction. It felt nice here, like there was nothing out to get him. The feeling didn't leave him when he found the end of the portal. The dark fled from his vision, revealing he had come out in an apple orchard. Trees surrounded him, steadily rooted into the soft damp earth, every inch of every tree covered in bright red apples.
The shine had caught his attention immediately, looking almost similar to that of a heart. He crouched and leapt high enough to land soundlessly on a branch, giving the fruit a quick sniff to be sure. It definitely didn't have the smell of a heart, but it looked like one, and the sweet scent didn't repulse him at all. He cocked his head in wonder as to how something could look like a heart, but not have the scent. He reached out a clawed hand and slowly grabbed the apple before him, the tree relinquishing it with a small snap.
It didn't have the consistency of a heart either, yet… He took a bite. The juices running down his chin as he chewed. He examined it. It didn't taste like a heart either, but it wasn't a bad thing, or it didn't seem like one. It would make a good substitute, he decided, when he couldn't hide in the dark and steal a heart. It would make a fine substitute while he was human.
"And so doc, that answers only part of the question. It is a good substitute, but for two days, I wondered why. What would make them so appealing to me now, when they hardly interested me so long ago?" Sora smiled, looking down at the gurgling form of the doctor as he choked on his own life force.
"That was something, I realized, that had to do with who I am, and thus I came to this conclusion. Gods of death love apples." Sora chuckled darkly, holding up the crimson fruit. The darkness within him stirred, almost purring in contentment. He closed his eyes happily and took a bite.
Wow, now that it's out, I'm not so sure it was the greatest idea, but I do love what I do. A cookie to who ever guesses the show that the spoken ending line is from! Reviews are appreciated and constructive criticism even more! But not flames. Those will be used to roast marshmallows. Ta ta for now, readers!
Xangabell