Author's Note: Hullo! This is my first song-fic, but hopefully it turns out okay. I wrote this the other day while having a writer's block. Have fun reading it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or
the characters/places within. I don't own Mickey Mouse or Disney enterprises. I
don't own Squaresoft/Square-enix. I don't own Sarah Mclachlan or the legal rights to her song, although she is
a really cool Canadian and I really like her music. I don't live in an igloo or
eat blubber, or own a dogsled...
And I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada,
although I'm certain they're really, really nice. ahem
Sorry, I got carried away.
On with the story!
You come out at night
That's when the energy comes,
When the dark side's light
And the vampires roam.
Riku slowly crept out of his shelter, tugging at his dark blindfold with discomfort. It was made with silk, though the material itself was scavenged off the remainders of an unfortunate man whose heart had been stolen. There were many unfortunates, each victimized by the numerous heartless that haunted the darkness.
The blindfold was a bother, even though it protected Riku from the evil around him. Black silk was indeed a rare commodity, though after countless years of usage it became old and worn, constantly rubbing against the tender skin of Riku's cheek.
He resisted the urge to pull of the offending cloth, despite the fact that the intricately tied knot was tangled into his white locks beyond hopes of recovery. Mickey tied it in place with the full intention of keeping him from ripping it off in frustration. A blindfold was absolutely necessary for life in Kingdom Hearts; neo-heartless infiltrated every safe-haven, hide-out and shelter, using their yellow, orb-like eyes to absorb hearts, though there were so many heartless that it was a wonder there were enough hearts to go around. Vampires, Riku muttered under his breath.
You strut your rasta wear
And your suicide poem
And a cross from a faith
That died before Jesus came.
He felt the smooth sensation of silk brush against his eyelashes as he slowly closed his sea green eyes. His black cloak (also scavenged off an unfortunate, apparently) scraped across his knee and ankle as he stepped forward, listening to his own footsteps and trying to find any disturbance in the quietude of Kingdom Hearts. Only his breathing and the tap of his boots were heard, though they were soon accompanied by a crumple of paper.
Mickey, he mumbled through gritted teeth, and clenched his hand around the paper he was holding. A mix of anger and hopelessness bubbled beneath his cool exterior and threatened to show through. Your Highness! But why? He pulled the crumpled letter from his now sweaty palm, though luckily, black leather gloves kept the accursed paper dry. It was a poem written by Mickey, and even though he was blindfolded and had lost his sight (Lost sight of everything, he thought), he could still feel the letters engraved on the thin sheet of paper.
You're building a mystery…
It had been at the very beginning of their stay in Kingdom Hearts when they discovered the neo-heartless, a seemingly new and more powerful breed of heartless that had the power to petrify any victim. Riku and Mickey hid in a large, now dilapidated building, waiting for the danger to subside before they left again to find a way to escape Kingdom Hearts. It had been their main goal, aside from keeping the heartless at bay, and they devoted much of their time to it.
'Now, Riku,' he remembered Mickey telling him, 'I'm gonna put this here blindfold on ya, got it? Don't ever take it off, even when I'm gone. You hear me boy?'
'What are you talking about?' Riku asked, sendinging his arms in front of him and trying to find Mickey. He winced ever so slightly as he felt a rough tug on his silvery white hair. After a moment of shuffling and more hair tugging, his fingers came across some cloth, presumably Mickey's shirt. Suddenly, there was a loud scream as Mickey spun around and exclaimed, 'A heartless!'
Riku felt his companion's clothes grow stiff and his body grow cold beneath the pads of his fingertips, a feeling that sent a shiver down his spine. 'Mickey?' he asked, standing up and trying to find his bearings. His hands grasped onto something round, rough and cold, like a stone. It was Mickey's ear. 'Mickey?' he asked again frantically, though suddenly he fell to the ground with a thump.
He pulled out his heyblade quickly, thrashing and cutting at the heartless that rested on top of him, claws deeply imbedded in his chest and glowing eyes invisible behind a dark blindfold. With a strange gurgling sound, the blade cut through the heartless' flesh, followed by a whistling that announced the freeing of a stolen heart.
Mickey's heart.
The heartless' body broke away in a shower of dark droplets, splashing Riku on the face and tainting his skin. He paid it no mind and stood up, grasping onto Mickey's stone shoulders, almost hoping that if he reached high enough, he'd be able to catch his heart and return it to him.
You live in a church
Where you sleep with voodoo dolls
And you won't give up the search
For the ghosts in the halls.
In Mickey's pocket, he found an old piece of paper, neatly folded and tucked away. He pulled off one of his black gloves and found that he could read through touch, though his hands trembled with grief and anger. This can't happen, he thought, No… Words were barely discernible and thoughts whirled through his mind, a feeling of anger pulsing through him and tears soaking his blindfold. In a rage, he went to find heartless. He would have his revenge.
With his first few steps, he stumbled on a fallen beam and crushed his right elbow, splinters surely finding their way through his cloak and skin. Frustrated, he pulled at his blindfold, but it was tied so tight it stayed where it was, unmoved. He let out a grunt before picking himself up again, continuing his search for the enemy. His elbow ached but he pushed the feeling aside, letting it build and using it as a fuel for his anger.
Within 20 minutes, he came across a large, expansive room, filled with row upon row of worn out benches, most of which he tripped on. There were also many, many books, each nearly identical and filled with pages of unreadable manuscript. At the end of the room there lay a set of five stairs, some uneven with large cracks and holes where wood had rotted away with time. At the top of the stairs, a large, wooden pedestal stood alone, a strange symbol engraved on the face.
Riku ran his fingers along it. It was a strange 't' shape, though what kind of meaning it held was far beyond his comprehension…
You wear sandals in the snow
and a smile that won't wash away.
Can you look out the window
without your shadow getting in the way?
He shook his head slightly, and let the memories slip away from his mind. He'd found no heartless in that place, and, he realized, heartless would never come if he stayed within that room. It seemed almost as if some holy essence shielded him from the evils of everyday life. Mickey was there too, he thought, and perhaps he was guarding it, like a statue that in reality imprisoned the spirit of an all-powerful, all-knowing being. Like a god, he thought.
He carefully replaced the poem in his pocket, now regretting crumpling it. As he continued on, he felt something soft and somewhat cold gather around his black boots. A smile found itself on his lips as his mind's eye envisioned the sandy shores of Destiny Islands. Where's Sora? he asked himself. Where's Kairi?
Turning his attention to the ground, he kneeled down and ran his hand through the cold, feathery substance. It was snow, something he'd known about but never experienced before. The islands were always far too warm for snow or ice, having nothing but rain. The islands, he thought, home… And he sat on the ground, wondering if he would ever go there again.
~*~*~*~*~*~
PipHobbit: Sorry for cutting it short like that, but it ended up being long for a song-fic, and I decided to make it two chapters rather than one. This fic is going un-beta-ed (is that a word?), so if anyone would like to, just ask in a review or email me, please.