Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Warnings: Er, word abuse. Specifically, you will get tired of reading: when, why, whisper (in various forms), shadows, and several others. My apologies. Also, this is skirting dark!fic territory, if it isn't in there already.

Other: Third of the written-while-grounded ficts. The darkest so far, definitely.


Whispering Shadows

They were whispering whispering whispering. He could hear them, hear them (hear the whispering).

Whispering heard; hearing whispers.

He could hear them in the shadows, could hear (the shadows) whispering.

Why why why could he hear the whispering shadows when no one else could? Why did he hear them tell him things (about blood and death and despair and sadness and guilt and grief and painpainpain), things that were all they knew (poor shadows, and now he was guilty and sad for the creatures that had lost their lights), knew them to the core of their beings (bloody shadows and dead shadows and despairing shadows and sad shadows and guilty shadows and grieving shadows and hurting shadows, each of them whispering whispering whispering to him and only him).

When did he start hearing the shadows and (why) when did he start listening? When did Kairi's smile dim and (why) when did Riku's face become so shadowed?

When did he start tuning everyone else (everyone but the shadows) out? Why did he stop talking? Why why why and when when when because he was running out of reasons and time and (was already out of) belief and faith (in everything and everyone except those whispering shadows, especially — especially — himself).

(Why) When did it stop being fairytale adventures and funfunfun and start being whispered horror stories and shadowsshadowsshadows?

So now he forgot about talking and hearing and listening and fairytales and fun, and all that was left was whispering and shadows and (a last carryover, one little souvenir from the past) smiling.

So he smiled at the shadows as they whispered to him, smiled until he couldn't do anything but smile and listen — but only to those shadows — and when death whispered in his ear he didn't hear it (feel it) for the shadows.

His life (his death) wasn't a fairytale or funfunfun anymore, but maybe now (after it was all over) he could go back to that, go back to the fairytales and the fun and the happiness and Riku and Kairi and good.

And still the shadows whispered, but he couldn't hear them anymore.


A/N - Oh, and character death. Forgot to mention that up in the warnings...