Greetings, dear readers! As shocking as it may be, I have another fanfic to upload! So hopefully you enjoy this one, too. I do apologize for any mistakes, whether grammatical or story-wise, I am just a solo writer proofreading everything myself.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters.
Riku looked at his surroundings through blurred vision. He tried to comprehend what was going on. One moment he was on the battlefield and there was an explosion, the next… he found himself here. But where was here? As his vision cleared, he saw a thick, brown tail swaying back and forth. He then looked more, realizing there were more like this one, he realized he was in beast territory.
Riku sat up with a grunt, looking for his weapon, but gentle hands touched him on the shoulders and carefully eased him back down. Such gentleness. Such calmness.
"You shouldn't move so much right now." a calm voice said. "You have suffered some serious injuries and we're working on helping you recover."
Riku looked to see the beast that spoke to him. He took in that messy brown hair, that tan and freckled skin, and those big blue eyes. Sure, this guy had pointed animal ears atop his head and a thick tail at his backside, but in his state of mind, Riku thought he looked pretty cute. And his voice was so calm and gentle, it eased him.
"Where… am I?" Riku asked.
"I cannot tell you exactly, but you're in llarcloa territory. You and several others were brought in; you've all been quarantined so we can properly treat your injuries before putting you into the cells." the young male said. "You are our hostages, but we are making sure all of you are healed properly."
"Why?" Riku asked.
"We have no use for dead hostages. And being in weakened states can make things worse for you here." the brunette said.
"Sora! If that one is fine for now, we need you here!" another like the brunette called.
"Yes, I'm coming." Sora, the brunette, responded, leaving Riku to tend to another patient. Riku managed to shift his position and looked to see where the gentle boy went. Then he saw another patient, this one being a redhead human.
"Great, patch up one part, he opens in another." Sora mumbled, making an incision in the redhead's abdomen. "Go find a few who are in good health and compatible with blood to him; he will need blood. Get the other medic to assist if no one listens to you."
"Yes, sir!" a couple others said, going off around the room, making Riku realize just how big it was and how many were there. He then watched a third one leave. Were others already in the holding cells?
Riku tried to sit up again, his head spinning. He then watched as Sora worked with the redhead, his hands in his guts. "What's… wrong with… him?" he asked slowly.
"I told you not to move so much." Sora said, not even looking up. "He's got internal bleeding… his is the worst of it."
"That blast..." Riku mumbled. He moved to get up but felt another set of hands on him.
"Riku, you can't move too much yet. You're also at risk of internal bleeding and you've endured head trauma." came a familiar voice as this person eased Riku back down into laying. Riku looked to see a male with steel blue hair, the hair pulled back to show both eyes; when not busy working, normally half of his face was covered by his hair. Zexion. A medic Riku knew already. "You need to rest."
"What's going on…?" Riku asked.
"Sora already explained, didn't he? You're all being treated here first before being put in the holding cells." Zexion explained. "We're hostages, Riku… well treated ones, actually."
"Still hostages..." Riku mumbled. "Where are my brothers?"
"Already in holding; you've been in and out of consciousness for a week; they've recovered in that time." Zexion explained.
"Zexion, I need your help over here." Sora called.
"Rest." Zexion told Riku before leaving to assist Sora. "Okay, let's see what we can do to help him." That was the last thing Riku heard before passing out again.
When Riku came to again, he was more aware. Cries of pain could be heard, one voice even crying that they couldn't see. He then looked to the redhead near him who had severe internal bleeding. As he observed him, he realized this was Axel, one of his allies. He had to have been close to the blast origin. But… where did the blast come from? In all his studies, Riku knew that the beasts didn't use such things; they used weapons like crossbows and swords or magic; explosives were not part of their ways.
"It's a miracle he has all his limbs." Riku looked to see Sora was there again. "He was closest to the blast… but he's messed up inside."
"Will he live?' Riku asked.
"I hope so… we're skilled medics… not miracle workers." Sora assured. "Unfortunately we lost two this past week… we've disposed of their bodies already." Disposed. Riku hated that term when it was used toward humans, but somehow Sora made it seem okay. "We kept those necklaces they wore, though, so they can be returned to your people."
"Our tags?" Riku asked. He then looked up, realizing his were dangling above him.
"We've used them to identify each of you." Sora responded. "Those who have recovered have them back; those still recovering aren't wearing them so they don't accidentally get strangled by them." Well, that made sense. "I'm sorry we can't keep the bodies to return… we don't know how long it will take… but we will send the ashes, too, to their families."
"Better than what our people do… they just leave the bodies on the field and take the tags to return." Riku mumbled. "Not like we can drag corpses around..." He sighed. "I feel like crap..."
"You were close enough to the blast. But I think we have any potential for internal bleeding fixed for you. Just waiting on your head to fully recover and some bones to finish mending themselves." Sora responded. "I know it's not reassuring, Riku," oh, so Sora did call his patients by name, "but you are in good hands."
"You know who I am… but who are you?" Riku asked.
"Sora." Sora smiled sincerely.
"I was told my brothers are in holding… I want to see them..." Riku said.
"At the moment, it's not allowed. You need to recover more and once in holding, unless injured again, which the llarcloa are not allowed to do, they are to remain in holding." Sora explained. "Only Zexion is allowed back and forth due to being a medic, too." His smile was soft, gentle, and even reassuring. "Trust me, they're in good hands. Well, except one of the prisoners… he isn't fairing with the dry air, but… nosebleeds due to dry air is better than getting sick in cold and damp air."
"Yeah, sounds better." Riku nodded, grumbling when the action made his head throb. He sighed. "You beasts aren't like I expected… I'm used to you guys being violent… not… caring."
"I'm a medic, it's my job to help others. And we see life as sacred… we're only violent on the battlefield because we want to live… we want this war ended." Sora explained. "And we prefer to be called llarcloa, it mean children of Gaia."
"Llar… clo… uh..." Riku sounded out. "Llarcloa..."
"That's right." Sora nodded. "Now, rest. And quit touching my tail before someone stops to question if you are trying to take me as your mate." Riku jerked his hand, realizing what he had subconsciously done. It was just so soft. He couldn't help but smile when Sora laughed. "I know my tail is soft, but only family members and mates are allowed to mess with them without permission. Messing with my tail, it means you want to mate with me… but you didn't know and now yo do." He nodded. "Keep it in mind."
"I will." Riku nodded. "How soon until I can walk? I hate lying still..."
"I'll see how you are in the morning." Sora said, going off to check on other patients.
Riku turned his head to observe Sora, watching how he was responding to others and talking with them. Riku wondered at first if it was just him Sora was kind to, but then he realized the llarcloa boy was kind to everyone. If it weren't for the fact that they were technically enemies and different beings, he'd think he would be a great romantic companion.
"Don't bother." Riku looked when Zexion caught his attention.
"What are you talking about?" Riku asked.
"I know that look." Zexion sighed. "Remember, he's a llarcloa, you're a human. We don't know their views but we know for sure that our people will deem you a traitor if you try to get him to be your lover."
"I wasn't going to." Riku mumbled. "Think they'll let me go see my brothers if I'm okay to walk?"
"Doubt it… except for maybe Kadaj if I can convince them." Zexion stated, earning a look from Riku. "His illness came back… I think the blast triggered something..."
"No..." Riku looked concerned.
"They're keeping him isolated so that he doesn't get worse or contract any other illnesses." Zexion said.
"Zexion, can you help over here?" Sora called.
"Yes, right away." the human medic said, rushing over to the llarcloa youth.
"Oh Kadaj… I hope you're okay..." Riku whispered, slowly closing his eyes.
Heyo, lovelies!
Ah, another fic! Like last time, this story is already complete, it's just up to me to upload the chapters after proofreading them all. Reviews do not affect the upload rate or anything; whether you love it or not, this story is being uploaded. Unlike the previous fic, which took only three days to write, this one took nearly a month due to my mind not always wanting to think. Oh well.
I think I did well with this story, but that's just me being confident and hopeful.
Also, throughout this fic, you'll see a series of words/phrases made up; any similarity to them and other languages are completely coincidental.
Anyway, that's it for now. Until next chapter!
~chibi