A/N: Hey, everyone! So, this is my first fanfiction, and I finally figured out how to leave en author's note – turns out it wasn't as hard as I thought so I guess I'm just a little slow, haha. Anyway, I hope you'll like my story and feel free to leave a comment or review~, I love getting feedback, no matter what the kind, since I think there's always something to work on.
The story takes place in an alternate universe. The country's oppressed by a foreign army with whom the government cooperates without further protests. Riku, Sora, and Kairi have found a refuge in the cave where they used to play as children and are fighting to get by. When Riku finds the enemy's military base and decides to break in to steal some of their supplies, however, things turn out quite different than he had expected … That's the basic outline for the first few chapters. Cloud is gonna show up later to play a big role, so please be patient and stay with me, okay? I really hope you'll enjoy the story~
Chapter 1: Destiny Islands
"We're almost out of supplies." His friend's voice woke Riku up from the day-dreaming he'd been at since he'd gotten up at dawn, too hungry to stay asleep and too alert to even stay in bed. Turning around on the hard cliff surface to face the brunette exiting the cave behind him, Riku knew what that meant. There were nearly no food left in their stock, almost nothing to keep them going. He had thought it might last for a little while longer if he made sure to eat as little as possible, leaving most of it to Sora and Kairi, but apparently he'd miscalculated, and now they would have to find a way to get a hold of something eatable soon or else all three of them would soon be starving and unable to defend themselves should they be found. So far, they had managed to stay in hiding, but who knew how long that would last with soldiers from the government roaming the beaches of Destiny Islands? He did not know just what they were looking for anyway, but he knew that he hated them with all of his heart because it was their fault his and his friends' home had been destroyed to such a degree, most of the island having been deserted since the bombing incident at the mall that had started it all.
"We've gotta take a chance and go out on the island, then," Riku replied, having already taken this decision a while ago. "We could look for coconuts, mushrooms, and maybe – if we're lucky – we can find some eggs or fish, too."
"Sounds like an idea." Sora, sending his friend a smile, sat down next to him. "I bet Kairi won't mind some exploring either."
"Just remember that we've gotta be careful," Riku reminded him because knowing Sora he'd soon be making all sorts of funny plans, subconsciously pretending their situation was all a game. "Don't go out in the open, and do not – and I mean it! – do not get anywhere close to the town! Got it?"
"I know," Sora told him. "I'm not all stupid. And I really don't wanna go there either."
"Yeah… Too many memories."
They sat there silent for a while before Sora got up again, his smile returning.
"Anyway, I'll go tell Kairi and we can start planning!" he exclaimed. "See you in a bit!"
Then he hurried inside. Riku leaned back towards the stone wall, letting out a small sigh as he gave the island in front of him another look. It seemed so peaceful right now but he knew it wouldn't last. Soon, there would be shootings and explosions when the soldiers started up whatever they were doing again. He hated it. Hated the enemy, hated what had happened... hated being stuck here, unable to at least do something. He honestly had no idea what that something could be, he just knew he wanted to act. He had never been the type to just sit around waiting. He had even considered sneaking onto one of the container ships regularly visiting the area and get out of there.
But then, there were Sora and Kairi to protect. They were only younger than him by a year, yet their attitude to life was so very different, probably because their lives had not been as rough as his. He was used to taking care of himself so taking care of them, too, was not that much of an extra burden. Plus, he would have been lonely without them.
Letting his gaze fly in the direction of the forest of palm trees behind which he knew their hometown was located, he narrowed his eyes, an expression of rage suddenly finding its way onto his face. There wasn't much left of it by now and he was willing to bet that if he went there, he might even be unable to recognize anything. And it was all the fault of the oppressing soldiers. The government, though, had not exactly done much to stop them, weakly giving up as soon as they had been threatened even a little instead of making a stand, so they were definitely at fault too. Had it been him he would have never given in, no matter what they'd do to him …
Lying down, he looked at the sky instead, the memories of the day he, Sora and Kairi had gone into hiding streaming back to his mind. It had been the same day the mall had been blown up, making the attack on their country official. Destiny Islands had all thought they had been too far in the outskirts to have been a possible target but apparently they had been wrong. Many had died that day, including both his and the others' parents. It had been the grand opening after the reconstruction so practically everyone had gone …
Shaking the thoughts away, Riku got up. He better get started, the sooner the better. It would do them no good to sit around all day. Quickly making his appearance in the cave entrance, he called out:
"I'll take the forest area. You guys go to the beach side."
"Be careful." Kairi stood, her thin face showing worry. She had definitely been the one most affected by what had happened and a pang of guilt for not being able to take better care of her suddenly hit Riku.
"I will." He forced himself to stay calm, letting on that confident attitude he always got on with. Only Sora had been able to see through it in the past, making him special to Riku. The three of them had been friends for a very long time but he had always felt closer to Sora than to Kairi, though he wasn't sure exactly why. Maybe it was just Sora's happiness and full acceptance of even the faults he knew Riku had, though they were well concealed under his attitude. Riku wasn't exactly sure.
But one thing he was sure of was that he needed to go if he wanted to cover the forest by himself before twilight. Waving as he turned, he quickly unrolled their hidden rope and started climbing. After his feet hit the soft sand underneath, he tugged the rope in a crack, making sure no one would be able to see it. Sora and Kairi would be using a ladder of wood they had made so he did not have to worry about them being unable to get down if he stuffed the rope too tightly.
There was no one in sight, yet he decided it was best to be careful. While it would be a whole lot faster just running across the beach to get to the forest he knew he would be too easily spotted. After having avoided the soldiers for so long he had no intention of getting caught while on supply hunt, especially because Sora and Kairi really needed to get something to eat soon. He himself could go without food for a couple of days, but he was not sure they would be able to.
Sneaking along the cliffs, he kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and, reaching the edge of the forest, slipped in among the trees before he finally let out a breath of relief. So far so good. Now he just had to make sure he didn't run into any soldiers while searching for food. The forest was closer to the city than the beach side and thereby more dangerous, that was why he had wanted to take this route. He knew he was better at hiding himself than the others and he couldn't have them getting caught on his conscience. Everyone knew orphans were shipped off to some remote working camp where they would spend the rest of their days trying to please the government by making weapons or the like for the enemy. The rumors of that had already gotten around when the mall exploded and was one of the reasons for Riku to get Sora and Kairi and get the hell away from the city.
He remembered sneaking through the same forest he was currently standing in, leading them along the animal trails he had found on his previous explorations of the woods. They had been crying then, though Sora had tried to conceal it and stay brave because Riku wasn't shedding any tears. Not that he hadn't, later. After all, it had been just as much of a terrible surprise for him to hear the news. He had just made sure no one had been around when he finally let his emotions surface after the three of them had reached the cave that used to be their secret hiding place back when it had all just been a game. Now, life had suddenly turned from childhood play into the harsh reality of war.
Turning a corner, Riku could not help but smile as he found exactly what he had been looking for. Picking up a good deal of the very eatable mushrooms his father had once shown him, he moved further into the wilderness. A moment after he stiffened as his ears caught the sound of what might be footsteps. Frowning, he ducked behind a bush, not wanting to take any chances, and praising himself lucky for that after a moment as a small group of soldiers passed by on the trail. He kept his calm and counted them. Relaxing when he realized there were only five of them he only barely stopped himself from letting out a sigh of relief. They could easily still be a threat to him after all, being both bigger, stronger, and – probably the most important thing – better armed. There wasn't much he could do with his hands full of mushrooms; he doubted they would run away screaming if he started throwing plants at them.
But where were they going? His curiosity taking over, he decided he might as well follow. He had no idea where the enemy kept their headquarters and that could end up being pretty useful information. All he knew about the army was that they used the island's harbor to get to and from the place, and that was no wonder. Destiny Islands didn't have any other way of getting in contact with the main land after all.
Letting go of the mushrooms since he could always pick them up on his way back, Riku made sure to stay absolutely silent when he followed the little group from a distance big enough that he could probably lose them quickly if they suddenly decided to turn around and notice him since he was more than certain he knew the area better than they did. None of them had the advantage of having grown up here.
The soldiers did not head for the town as he had expected. Instead, they turned and took another route going around it. Riku knew he was probably getting onto dangerous grounds now but there was no way he would be backing out when obviously their base was somewhere quite different from what he had expected. He knew more or less their current position on the island so he was sure he would be able to find his way back afterwards, and now he had begun to speculate. Seen from a tactical viewpoint, if he had been a soldier where would he keep his headquarters? Somewhere no one would see it coming from the sea … Maybe they had turned the closed-down factory into a place where people could actually live? There had been rumors going around that the buildings were haunted so most children had stayed away from there, but he had gone there once just to check and knew that wasn't true. Whoever started those rumors had probably just been afraid curious kids would get hurt seeing how the ceiling of several buildings had seemed more than ready to cave in at any time.
Rounding the next corner, Riku knew he had been right. It didn't much look like the factory anymore; the whole place seemed to have been repaired and remade by the enemies. He placed himself hidden behind another bush and watched as the group of soldiers entered. So this was where they stayed. Which meant they probably had quite a lot of supplies stuffed somewhere. If he could only find out in which building they kept them…
A plan started to form in his mind, and though he would need to do quite a lot more observation he was pretty convinced he may actually be able to pull it off. It would definitely be worth it, too. Smirking, Riku got up and silently sneaked back through the woods. Remembering to pick up the mushrooms and some other eatable plants on the way he headed back towards the cave, still deep in thoughts.
When he got there and had climbed the rope, though, a surprise was waiting for him. One he definitely did not like. A man was lying on the make-do beds of moss they had managed to create. He was pretty out of it, seemingly having fainted from blood loss, a theory supported by a chest wound, but what really concerned Riku was his clothing since he was wearing the unmistakable uniform of the oppressors' army. Almost shaking, Riku slowly moved closer to take a better look at the guy. What the hell was someone like that doing here, in their home?
As if his soundless question had been heard, Sora stepped out into the room from the smaller part of the cave they used as kitchen and food chamber and – seeing Riku's stare – quickly spoke up.
"There was evidence of close combat fighting at the beach side, in direction of the harbor."
Spinning around, Riku shifted his glare to his friend barely listening to his words.
"Sora! Why the hell did you bring a soldier into our home?" he raged, not quite comprehending how in the world the other could be that stupid.
"But he's injured!" Sora defended himself. "Badly! He's gonna die if we don't do something!"
"And why shouldn't he? He's with the government, damnit! He's the enemy, remember?"
Riku stared angrily at the brunette in part rage and part disbelief. But Sora just stared right back at him, his stubborn gaze not wavering even a little.
"I don't care!"
Riku let out a sigh in exasperation. He had never been able to stand up for long against that pouty glare and he knew Sora meant no harm. Hell, all his sometimes way-too-kind friend had probably seen was that a man was losing his life. And, glancing over again at the soldier, the guy really did seem to be bleeding out …
"I swear, your naivety is gonna be the death of me some day!" Riku groaned. "Now move, we've gotta get that wound of his treated quickly."
"Thanks, Riku!" With a huge smile on his face and more than happy to oblige, Sora ran to get the medical things stolen from the hospital which they had stored in the back of the cave because all three of them knew they were most likely to be needing them sometime soon, what with the situation being the way it was.
While waiting for Sora to return, Riku forced himself to forget his hate for the moment and take a closer look at the soldier's wound. It looked very serious and he wasn't really sure whether anything they could do for the guy would have any actual effect on the outcome. Somehow it was weird; he had never been this close to a severely injured man and yet he felt calm. There was no urge to scream, no urge to throw up, or maybe even run away from it. But then again, people dying were not exactly a new thing in the midst of a war and he had never been afraid of blood like some others. Maybe that combination was what kept him collected while he slowly opened the soldier's jacket and tore the shirt he was wearing underneath so the wound was fully exposed.
The man suddenly let out a groan of pain, making Riku jump back, his heart pounding. Who knew what such a guy would instinctively do if he found a stranger standing over him while in that state? But the man did not wake up and Riku dared moving closer again. The thought hit him that maybe he should check whether the soldier had been carrying any weapons with him as soon as possible. And since Sora still had not returned he might as well do it now.
The search did not take long. He found a gun at his belt and a knife in his boot. Smart trick. It would be fully concealed there and was probably meant as a back-up weapon should he lose the gun. Maybe that was military tactic; for all Riku knew those guys could have been trained in whatever the government thought might be useful to subdue those who protested against the quick surrender that had been made. There had to be some sort of rebel factions on the main land, but rumors about what was happening over there never seemed to reach Destiny Islands so he wouldn't know.
Riku hid the weapons underneath one of the blankets only seconds before Sora finally returned, his arms filled with every medical thing he could carry. Dumping them in a huge pile next to Riku, the brunette sat down beside him.
"So, what do we do first?"
"Cleanse the wound, of course," Riku replied. Finding a bottle of water among the other things, he grabbed a small towel, drenched it, and slowly started drying away as much blood, sand, and mud as possible. Only then did he realize just how deep the wound was, the bleeding not subsiding even one bit. Biting his lip, Riku decided they would just have to take the chance of it getting infested and concentrate on keeping the guy's blood inside his body and not all over the cave floor.
"Hand me another towel and some bandages."
Sora obeyed and watched with huge eyes as Riku put pressure on the wound. It was all he could do. Luckily for the soldier the wound was not big, only deep, and because he had managed to dry off most of the dirt before, Riku could tell whatever weapon had been used did not seem to have hit any critical points or the man would probably have been dead by now.
It took a while, but in the end, between himself and Sora they were able to stop the bleeding enough to bandage the guy. Sitting back, Riku dried his forehead and watched how the man was lying still. He was not sure whether or not that was a good sign but at least his chest was still moving so he kept breathing. And that at least had to be a good thing.
Now finally able to relax a little, Riku took a look at the soldier's face. The guy seemed to have been in a lot of tough battles, a scar running across his face more or less marking him as a veteran. His brown hair was nearly as long as Riku's silver hair but not as straight, and as Riku took in his features he could not help but wonder what such a man was thinking and why he was working for the military. Was it something he had dedicated himself to? Did he believe the people of this country needed to be struck down for whatever reason? Or maybe he just liked killing people? On the contrary, it could also be the unlikely explanation that the guy somehow felt he was doing the right thing.
Not wanting to take any chances when or if the man woke up, Riku decided to put the weapons he had been carrying somewhere a bit harder to locate than under the bed covers. Standing up to do just that he suddenly felt the full effects of the day's hard work, exhaustion hitting him like a wave in stormy weather, and for a moment he had to lean against the wall. Then he got himself together, grabbed the weapons, and went to stuff them behind some of the extra clothes each of them had also managed to take with them when they ran from town. That would be a safe enough place for now; he could always find somewhere better later on.
Grabbing an extra blanket, he placed himself on the floor. He had meant to go through the plan for stealing supplies before sleeping but it seemed his mind was not agreeing and soon after he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Riku felt someone tugging the blanket better around him before he drifted off into sleep.
o0o
"Riku." Kairi's voice reached him and he stirred, opening his eyes only slightly to look at her. "He's awake."
At first he had no idea who she could be talking about because she wouldn't start telling him such things about Sora. But then everything that had happened yesterday came back to him and he almost jumped up and braced himself for meeting the soldier. He had to admit that he was actually a little afraid seeing how the guy was an enemy after all. How would the man react to them being here? Or to having been brought here?
Then Riku snorted. The soldier should be grateful and if he wasn't Riku would have no problem throwing him out right away to rot in the sand. There was no way anyone would be able to get far on their own with such an injury. To be honest he was surprised the guy was actually awake that soon after getting hit in the chest.
Throwing the blanket aside he got himself together and stood, quickly rubbing sleep from his eyes while nodding at Kairi.
"I'll see to it. How does he look?"
"Better," she replied hesitantly, with that little smile of her. "A lot, actually. He's regained some color, but I really do think you'll need to change those bandages sometime soon – they're all red."
"I'll consider it," he said. "Depends on how willing to cooperate the soldier is."
"I understand." This time her smile was genuine. "Go check on him, Riku. In the meantime, I'll find you something to eat."
That's right. Food. He needed to plan that supply stealing mission or they would very soon be out of anything eatable. Even with the things he and the others had managed to gather yesterday they still barely had enough to get by just for twenty-four hours, and the prospect of having to risk going out on the island every day was not exactly inviting since leaving the cave meant leaving safety and putting themselves in danger of getting caught by the enemy, something none of them found very appealing to think about. So he would have to think this through very carefully. But more important right now was finding out whether or not their uninvited guest was hostile.
"Don't worry about it," he told Kairi. "I'm not really hungry, so…"
"Yes, you are." Surprised at her interrupting him, Riku could do nothing but stare at her. There was a glint in Kairi's eyes as she put her hands at her side and met his. "I'm no fool, Riku. Don't you think I've noticed how you barely eat? You don't have to make that sacrifice for us, you know. Between the three of us, I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out. We're friends, right? No one should go hungry alone."
He couldn't help but smile at her words. Okay, so maybe it had been stupid to think they would not realize how he left most of the supplies for the two of them. And somehow, the prospect of getting a full stomach again seemed very hard to reject.
"I guess you're right," was his way of apologizing. "Breakfast would be great."
"Good!" The moment of confrontation having passed, Kairi seemed to relax again. "I'll go prepare some, then."
And off she went to the make-do kitchen area. Shaking his head still wearing a little smile he headed for the other end of the cave. They were lucky they'd had this place all along. It was more like a very small house than your typical rock cave, and even though there were only two rooms, those were big enough that someone at the entrance would not have been able to overhear their conversation unless they had been straining their ears to do so.
As soon as the soldier came into full view Riku's smile disappeared. The man was sitting up, leaning against the wall. Though his breathing still seemed a little shallow it was true he did look much healthier than he had the day before. It was hard to believe he had been nearly dead when Sora had brought him to their home and Riku could not help but wonder whether all the soldiers of the government were that tough. If so, he wouldn't want to fight them one on one if he could avoid it. Sneaking in on them with stealth movements before they could even notice him would definitely be more effective should it come to a situation where he needed to deal with some anyway.
Pushing the thoughts away for now, he placed himself in front of the soldier and crossed his arms.
"So you woke up. I thought you might have died while I slept."
Not intimidated by Riku's less-than-welcoming opening comment the soldier looked up at him.
"You're the one who took care of me?" he asked.
"If you by 'taking care' mean bandaged your wound and saved you from bleeding out, then yeah, that's me."
"… Thank you."
Admitted, that was not quite what he had expected to hear. Despite from the fact that all soldiers in theory were humans just like himself he would never have believed they could actually show gratitude. Unsure of how to deal with this sudden humble attitude from the man Riku was quiet for a moment or more. Then he shrugged.
"You're welcome, I guess. Couldn't really just leave you like that, now could I?"
"I appreciate it. What's your name?"
"Why do you want to know?"
At his defensive tone the soldier raised his hands slightly. The movement, though, apparently made a shot of pain go through him because he grimaced and quickly let them fall back down before replying.
"Relax. I just want to be able to call the one who saved my life by name."
That sounded just about fair enough. Besides, it would not do Riku any harm to give away his name. It wasn't like the government would be able to trace him or something based on that and with the war going on they should have way more important things to deal with than a few orphans hiding in a cave on the already totally controlled island. There was no way the three of them would be viewed as a threat even if the soldier should decide to tell on them. Nevertheless, taking chances were definitely stupid so he would just have to make sure that didn't happen.
"I'm Riku." Hopefully the guy was not expecting to get his last name as well. If so, he would be terribly disappointed. "And you? Just so I won't have to refer to you as 'the government soldier' all the time."
If the man caught the hostility in Riku's words he did not show it. Instead he kept his calm and even sent him the shadow of a smile, nodding once as if to approve of his reason for asking.
"I'm Squall, though I mostly go by Leon. Long story."
Which Riku was sure he did not have any interest in hearing so he would appreciate it if the man kept it to himself. Luckily, it didn't seem like he was about to share. Riku, on the other hand, had quite a few things on his mind he would like to say. Leaning back against the wall opposite the soldier, he quickly glanced around to make sure neither Sora nor Kairi was close enough to listen in on them. He knew especially Sora would not like the direction in which he was about to lead the conversation; his friend being too soft to find it appropriate to throw a very clear warning at an injured person, even if that person was the enemy.
"So, Squall, or Leon, or whatever…" Riku began when he was certain it was only the two of them present. "There are some conditions to you being here. And you better pay very good attention, 'cause I'm not afraid of doing whatever I have to in order to keep my friends safe."
"I'm listening." And he really did seem to be, the soldier's face having turned gravely serious all of a sudden.
"We – me, Sora, and Kairi in there – have lived here since what you guys did to the mall at the opening ceremony, and we have no intentions of surrendering our fates to the hands of the government. Which is why I cannot let you reveal our presence here to whatever superiors you're working under. Do you understand?"
"In other words, what you're saying is that should I get the idea of telling anyone else about this place, you'd be prepared to kill me?"
"Yes." Put that way it sounded slightly odd for Riku and made his resolution halter just a little, but it was the truth nevertheless. He knew that if he wanted to protect the others he would have to grow merciless. There was no other way.
"Are you really sure you understand what killing does to you? You're still just a kid. I doubt you've ever ended another person's life." At Riku's silence, the soldier smiled slightly again before continuing. "I thought so. But don't worry. I'm not about to give away the people who've helped me. After all, if it wasn't for you guys, I'd be nothing but another corpse on the beach by now."
"Glad we understand each other," Riku stated before pushing himself off the wall. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have food to gather."
