Authors note: I really hope this formatted okay; I've never done a text upload before. Okay, this is my first kingdom hearts fan fic. It will be Shonen-ai (RikuXSora) eventually; at least, I believe it will be, it might never get to that. It will be multi-chaptered and it is a crossover fic of sorts. Other games are used as the worlds though no character from the other games will really take the spot light, it is, above all, a kingdom hearts fan fic. Feel free to suggest possible game world's in reviews. Constructive criticism desired, no flames please, if you don't agree with the paring that's cool, just don't read, or if you do read, berate me for my spelling and grammatical errors instead of my choice of parings. Oh, yeah, Kairi is in this fan fic as a useful non bitchy character, although she doesn't get many parts because she is not fighting big monsters.
Disclaimer: I don't own it. That makes me sad. I also have no money, I had to spend it all on repairing my stupid PS2 and buying video games and merchandise, so you're getting it all eventually anyway. If you sue me all I can do it write a big IOU and a note of apology.
Through These Eyes
Chapter One
"Kingdom Dark"
"Living risky, never scared, wander closer to the edge.
Nothing valued think no fear, always wondering
Why you're here."
-Life of my Own, Three Doors Down
Blood poured from a dark sky. Sheeting down, heavy and hard, a mockery of the fresh clean rain that used to fall here. Across the distance of the world two pairs of blue eyes stared with defiance. The great darkness laughed a booming frightening roll of thunder to match the red rain. One boy winced, pulling back while moving forward. Another boy held his ground, face near expressionless. In sync but without knowing it they struck. One gold cast key meeting the shadow and sinking in, sinking through. The other, used more like a proper key, sought the great lock, sending a bolt of pure power into it. The sky flared, white light leaping through the sky. Two faces smiled.
And then the darkness laughed and the door to the world swung wide.
Dark blue eyes stared in terror at the opening door before the boy flung himself at it, pushing it back.
Aqua blue eyes stared as well, though they contained more shock than fear. There wasn't even a mark on the beast before him, though the keyblade had gone straight through its leg. Letting his weapon vanish, he prepared to fight with his hands.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kairi gazed out her window at the night sky. She was the only one who really remembered Sora and Riku. It had only been a few months, but people who knew them no longer recognized their names. Even their parents had only vague feelings of sadness. Riku's mother claimed she had never had a child, everyone knew she couldn't have a child, and looked down whenever she heard her lost son's name. Sora's mother thought he had died as a toddler, lost to the sea and said that she tried not to think about them. Kairi's own parents watched her more closely, feeling uneasy though they didn't know why.
The world was struggling to move on, to continue, without its two protectors. Kairi, a princess of the heart offered it some stability, but her loneliness and worry kept it from really healing. So it did the next best thing, pretended this had never happened, that it had never been torn asunder, poisoned, raped, fought over. For now, it was the only way it could continue.
Kairi stared up at the moon, and prayed that her friends were alright, would be alright.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sora's tears made trenches in the blood coating his face as he struggled against the door. This moment seemed so familiar; he kept expecting to see Riku's face on the other side, trapped in the darkness with writhe ring shadows. The tears came faster. "Why won't it work? Why won't it close...?" Desperation and exhaustion colored his voice, still high pitched and young. He shoved harder, closing his eyes. He didn't know where Donald and Goofy were anymore, he couldn't find Riku or the King, his only comfort was his complete confidence that Kairi, at least, was safe. He hoped to god that the others were okay too.
Across the world, fighting a losing battle, Riku had less faith in goodness. Not even he knew where he was. He had stopped trying to work it out, choosing rather to just go on, to fight his way back home. Mickey had been ripped away by a vicious wind a week before, he had cried back that everything would turn out alright, as long as they never gave up. Riku had his doubts, but he had never been one to quit or yield, so he toiled on, searching aimlessly through lost, unlocked worlds. He struck out viciously, calling forth his keyblade and hacking at the dark monster's glowing eye. The blade went through, the hilt struck, and still the creature seemed uninjured. It swung sharp foot long claws out, they grated against the keyblade's hilt, leaving deep gouges in the dull metal. He shook his head, hefting the blade again, his last wish that Sora and Kairi would get home, be safe. He pushed forward, bringing down the keyblade across the darkness' twisted face, hands cut and blood dripping down his wrists. He felt the weapon slip, slide through, and stop, catching hard. The horrible laughter halted mid cackle and the clawed hands came forward, scraping across it face and the glistening key lodged within. Riku barely managed to maintain his grip. Black blood dripped down the key and burned his hands as the thing screamed and jerked. He was pulled along with it as it reared back, throwing its head, dying.
He smiled savagely, jerking the blade free and falling to the ground. He landed in a half kneel, rolled forward and stabbed upward. The blade held true, cut deep into the monsters chest, touched the bleakness that might, in another world, have been its heart.
The darkness let out one last sobbing cackle as it fell heavy upon the tainted keyblade master, wondering for the first time why the thing that smelled so like its master would want to destroy what he himself had created.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sora beat on the huge door with his keyblade, the dull ringing of metal against stone a strange accompaniment to the monster far away. The door was closed, the keyblade had awakened, shined brightly, and gilded the door with a golden light, forcing it shut on black tendrils and misshapen hands. The gold remained, filling the small cracks, glowing slightly, holding the door shut, but the keyhole remained and the door shuddered in the world's frame as the monsters on the other side pounded against it. It would not lock. Behind him it felt as if the world exploded, darkness spread, pouring into the sky like thick black smoke. He pounded on the door, desperate to stop this, to protect the world's heart before that poisonous cloud destroyed the door for good.
Later he wouldn't remember how it got there, one minute he was uselessly waving his blade, the next he was picking a different one up from the ground. It was scorched and bloody, something that looked suspiciously like a hand was locked to the hilt. Sora kicked it off, too stressed to bother with disgust or fear. He hefted the new keyblade and instantly a blue light shot from it. The keyhole glowed, clicked, disappeared.
Locked.
Sora collapsed back against it, dragging both new and old blades into his lap and sobbed with relief.
~~~~~~~~~~
She realized she was dreaming. She was standing in an open air market place, warm gritty sand under her bare feet, watching Sora, her best friend Sora, leap from one high beige platform to another, fire arcing between his fingers, ready to let fly. She gaped, Sora had never been weak, but he had never been like that either. When leaping from tree to tree at home he fell more often than not, but now, he wasn't even looking at the ground.
"He's gotten better."
She spun at the familiar voice, turning to see Riku leaning back against a carpet seller's stall. He was resting his elbow on a black keyblade and drinking chilled orange juice from a plastic bottle. He was encased in blue and black armor and untouched by dust of the world. "You coming to watch the fireworks later?"
Kairi glared at him. "You dared him to do this didn't you?" she said, waving her hand in Sora's general direction, "He's gonna break his neck!"
Riku shook his head, manner nonchalant. "Not me. He dared himself."
"Right. Sure. It's always you."
"Believe what you want, but I'm telling you, I had nothing to do with this." He smiled at her, and pushed away from the stall, "Don't forget about the fireworks, we'll be watching for you." He inclined his head politely to her, before hefting his keyblade, and resting it on his shoulder. He walked away down the narrow pathway, deeper into the city, pausing briefly to shout, "Hey, Sora! Don't fall!" at his brown haired friend.
Kairi rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at his back. If she were older, or had been raised by different parents she might have flipped him off.
"Princess," a slightly disapproving voice said, "You're mother's waiting for you."
Kairi looked imploringly up at her silver haired guardian, "But I have to stay for the fireworks..." She trailed off, eyebrows drawing together as she reached back into her mind, trying to remember, "Oh my God," she looked up, eyes wide, "where are the fireworks? What if they've already started?"
The silver haired man ruffled his wings, stretching out the damaged one with the careful patience of one long used to his handicap. He looked up into the darkening sky, "There will be no fireworks," he reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder, pulling her gently along with him.
She stood her ground, looking up at him, "But Riku, he said..."
Sephiroth shook his head, "There are no fireworks."
She woke up icy cold though the night held a wet heat. Tears slipped down her face, and she didn't know why, the dream hadn't been frightening, or sad, or painful. It just left her feeling empty, used up, as if something important had been taken from her, or like something wonderful had ended, and she could never go back, never have it again. And, for some reason, she kept thinking of Riku's midnight black blade, and the way Sora fought with his hands. She shivered once more, pushing herself up out of bed and walking down to her parents' room.
~~~~~~~~~~
Riku wiped some of the gore from his face and surveyed his surroundings. The dark beast had faded into nothing, leaving him alone and bewildered with his seemingly faulty weapon. His glove had melted into it and he had to rip the entire thing off to put it down. He still wore the heartless armor, and he thanked god for it now, that could have been his hand fused to the key. What had happened? Why had it begun to fail? He stared at his blade, it looked all right, a little grungy maybe, but normal. He ran his finger thoughtfully over the ridges that had been ripped into it by the monster. That had never happened before either, he himself often bore the marks of a monster's dying rage, but the keyblade had always remained oddly unmarked. Had his will faded? He had felt no less desperate, no less resolute than in previous battles... Was there someone stronger here? Calling to the key?
He shook his head, whatever it was, he would have to deal with it. He peeled his glove off the blade and threw it to the ground then willed a new one to form. He grabbed the keyblade, and, after a moment of thought, pulled his red and black sword from its place across his back. Two was better than one anyway.
~~~~~~~~
Sora slept against the door, keys crossed over his chest, the red blood rain still beating down on him. Soon he would have to move on, face the world. Soon, but not now.
~~~~~~~~
The boy sighed. He was feeling tired, grimy and ill-used. He had told his father about his date, told him that he needed to go at 6, and the cheerful man had agreed... And then had talked at him for four hours about the magic present in the galloping snow beetle of the northern mountains which just happened, did he know, to lay its eggs in the entrails of dead fish. Oh, and, by the way my boy, I told Old Carl that you would help him repair his house, its suffering from a nasty mold problem, I just knew you'd love to help...
Then to top it off, while he was rushing to his date an hour and 33 minutes late a giant key had fallen from the sky and hit him squarely on the head.
So now here he stood, alone, with a trickle of blood running down his forehead. He was glad Julia hadn't been waiting; at least she didn't have to see him like this. He sighed again, wiping blood from his eyes, and he had finally convinced her that he wasn't an eccentric, foolish, weirdo, too. Just great.
Oh well. The boy lifted the key from the ground and made his way home. He had the horrible feeling that this was going to be the beginning of another adventure.