Hey everyone. I have no idea what I'm doing
Great start, right?
Yeah, I don't read much, I write even less. But even so, I ended up sitting down and writing all of this. Maybe I'll even continue it! Wouldn't that be crazy?!
Feel free to scream at me, criticism is always appreciated.
Now, let's see if I have any idea how to write a thing.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Disney, Square Enix, Kingdom Hearts.
Between Light and Darkness:
Light's Reclamation
Chapter One: Beach
Riku watched on, as the visage of his best friend, Sora, seemingly just began to fade into the setting sun. Seeing his other best friend, Kairi's head lower, he decided it was time for him to step in and try and console her aching heart. Riku walked towards the small cabin attached to the wall of the mountain, that would lead him up towards the walkway to the small island. As the sand under his every step crunched and shifted with his weight, a thought of frustration crossed Riku's mind. He was named a keyblade master, by Master Yen Sid… and yet, when it came time to save Aqua, alongside Mickey, he failed; and in the face of death, all he could do was call for the help of Sora… that smiling idiot that had rescued him so many times in the past. And though Riku had managed to rescue Sora during the Mark of Mastery exam, he was so quickly put back into a position where he needed Sora's help again. Though most of his heart was filled with worry of where his friend had gone, and what had happened to him; a small part of his heart was desperate for this chance, to be without Sora for some time… so he could prove to himself that he didn't need Sora to keep rescuing him. That he could take care of himself… with these thoughts in his mind, he began to walk across that poorly-constructed walkway that they had just made together when they were kids. And with each creak of the old wood, he made his way towards Kairi.
…
Aqua, watching the same scene, watched on as one of her saviors just faded from existence. Looking down, a somber mood came over herself, wondering what use she even had in the final battle. In the fight against her best friend's possessed body, she could only back up Sora. Her, an extensively trained keyblade master, was being carried by a newbie who had lost his strength completely twice in the past year alone… She knew that her time in the realm of darkness had weakened her. Her technique muddied, combatted only by the random flails and bouts of magic of the pure-blooded heartless that would surround her. But even then… that girl that she had protected years before, that gifted her that flower, that memory that kept her going every day that she fought to live in that cesspool of darkness; She was crying, and Aqua knew it was because she had grown weaker. Lowering her head towards the sand, her teeth clenched together, her fists tightened in frustration, she tried to keep herself quiet, feeling as though she wasn't allowed to feel how she did now, when she had been rescued, been made a major priority on the checklist before the final battle against Xehanort, and then she blew it… So much so, that Sora had even taken her and Riku's place in the fight against Xehanort. The villain that costs her and her friends their destinies, that had taken their master away… and she wasn't able to fight against him.
As her eyes began to redden, and her fists tightened even further as she suffered on her own, she felt a pair of hands move onto her shoulders, their warmth comforting her just a little as she could feel the familiar sensation of her friends. Looking up to her right, she saw her friend Terra, the one that she had failed in saving herself, looking down at Aqua with eyes of concern. Looking to her left, she saw the familiar face of Ventus with similar eyes to Terra's; who she had just managed to keep her promise to wake her up, but almost killed them both as a result, wanting to show off to Sora against Vanitas. For some reason, their two faces served more so to frustrate her than they did to comfort her.
"I'm sorry," Aqua said quietly, brushing their two hands off her, as she began to quickly walk away from the two, leaving the two standing there in confusion.
"Aqua-," Terra called, reaching out and beginning to walk towards her, wanted to see what was wrong, but he was stopped by the small, gloved hand. Looking behind him, he saw Mickey looking up at him, with a somber face of his own, shaking his head towards Terra. He looked down at the King's face, with a face contorted in confusion and slight irritation, but letting out a heavy sigh, he looked down at the mouse king, and over towards Ventus, before looking down with a down-trodden expression.
Ventus was in a similar state of mind, and as he watched Aqua walk away from them, going towards the platform on the other side of the beach that overlooked the ocean, he wanted to go after her, but kept himself standing. He had been asleep for years… as far as he knew, he had been fighting against Vanitas in his own heart, then fallen asleep and had a series of long, odd but entertaining dreams, and as soon as he awoke, his first course of action was rushing towards Vanitas, and saving Aqua, before learning he had been asleep for twelve years. Though he had heard some snippets from his friends and the others of what had happened in that time, he never really knew in depth what everyone was going through. He didn't feel comfortable running after Aqua, when he didn't know what was really going on himself, or what was on his friend's mind. Still worried for his friend, he kept an eye on her as she walked off to be by herself.
Roxas, finally having been reunited with his friends, Axel, Xion, and Namine, was in such a state of harmony up until this moment, the friends that he had faced hardships with, fought against, fought with, had his memory erased of and then remembered again, were finally back, and they were all together again. The addition of Saix felt weird to him, he was a very strict supervisor during his time in the organization but seeing that he's calmed down since that time has made Roxas more comfortable around him. He still forgets to call him Isa now, though. And though it visibly does frustrate Saix a little when he does forget, he tries to be patient. Now, while he had just been racing with Terra and Riku, he watched as Sora, his brother of sorts, disappeared from existence while Riku made his way towards Kairi, as well as witnessing the small scene between Aqua, Terra, Ventus, and Mickey. Seeing his new friend Terra looking somber, and Ventus, his physical twin, looking towards the overlook, he made his way over between the two, catching the attention of Ventus.
"Everything alright?" Roxas asked Ven, their matching eyes meeting each other's. Ventus looked towards the ground for a moment, letting out a little sigh.
"Yeah… Aqua's just being kinda weird" Ven said, a bit of apprehension in his voice, still not entirely used to talking to a mirror image of himself, "I've… been asleep for a while. I just don't really know what's been going on with her, or you, Terra, for that matter" he picked his eyes up towards Terra, seeing him looking down, with a saddened expression.
Terra let out a breath, and kept looking downwards, "We'll go in-depth with you later tonight, Ven. Now isn't really the time, though" Terra looked back up, towards the Paopu tree that Riku was approaching "Besides, we're all here… those three can't say the same"
"Right…" Ven said, looking back towards the Paopu tree, for a moment; switching his gaze between the two, wanting to make sure Aqua would be alright.
"Don't worry, they'll be alright. We're going to find Sora and put an end to this story" Roxas said, putting his hand on Ven's shoulder with a small smile. "Besides, you've been dreaming of Sora's adventures this entire time, haven't you? You should know he'll be fine more than any of us"
A small snort came from Ven's nose, as some of the memories of what Sora had been doing flooded into his mind. Seeing his friend laughing, Terra's face lit up a little as well. "Heh, I guess you're right, but still" Ven said, looking off towards Aqua.
"Don't worry about Aqua, Ven. She's stronger than the two of us; she'll be alright." Terra said, trying to cheer up Ven. Though, despite saying this, he didn't really know himself what was going on with her. Still, he knew that she'd manage through it, just like she always has. Though, he was a brought down a bit by his little use in this situation.
"If you two want, I can go talk to her?" Roxas suggested "I might not be as close to her as you two, but maybe that's what she needs right now. Somebody who doesn't know her through and through?"
"That sounds like a good idea, Roxas" Mickey chimed in, quietly worrying for his friend as well, turning back around towards the trio, "I… saw a little of what Aqua was going through in the Realm of Darkness. But I lost track of her, and I failed in saving her… I want to talk to her too, but I'm just not sure if I'd be the best one to do it…" Mickey said, his ears folding in on themselves a little, as he looked down with a clearly exasperated look.
Roxas nodded to Mickey, giving a reassuring look to both Ven and Terra, "I'll see if I can find out what's going on… well, I'm off," Roxas said, before he began to walk off towards the ladder that would bring him up to where Aqua was currently.
Nodding back to Roxas, Mickey turned to Terra and Ven, "Well, how about we explore a bit? For kids, those three really did a number on this island…" Mickey noted, looking around at the various wooden structures that adorned the island.
"Well, no use in standing around, I guess. Besides, being in Sora's heart for so long, this place had an odd sense of familiarity to it… I wanna look around a little more" Ventus said, as he and Mickey started towards the large, wooden wall, a doorway towards the bottom of it that lead to the eastern side of the island. "Coming, Terra?"
Terra looked up from the ground, getting out of his small slump as he smiled towards the two, "Yeah" He started walking towards the two as they made their way to the doorway.
…
As the water washed over her feet, a small Thalassa seashell in her hand, Xion looked over to Roxas, watching him go over towards the platform with a slightly dejected look on her face. She looked over, a slightly wanting look in her eyes, as her short black hair blew in the breeze.
"Something on your mind?" A gentle, quiet voice came from besides her. Looking to her side, Xion saw Namine looking at her, a knowing smile on her porcelain-esque face. "You're looking awfully hard at Roxas."
"W-what?! No no no!" A blush was forming on Xion's face, as she waved her hands in heavy refusal, looking away for a moment from the sly face Namine was wearing. "It was just a coincidence!"
"Right~" Namine's head turned slightly, as she let out a small giggle, "Don't worry, Xion. Roxas is just going to check on Aqua. Nothing more, nothing less"
"I-I wasn't worried about that!" Xion puffed her cheeks, crossing her arms as she turned her gaze back towards the water. "I just hope nothing comes from it…" Xion said under her breath, to herself.
Namine, being near Xion, heard Xion well and smiled a little. Still, she turned her face towards the small paopu tree island that Kairi, her sister of sorts, was sitting on somberly. A feeling of concern was consuming Namine's mind, but she knew she wasn't the one to talk to her right now. Right now, that was Riku's job. Letting out a small sigh, she looked towards Riku, a smile on her face, along with a faint blush. Raising up her hands to her face, she suddenly slapped herself on either side of her face.
"N-Namine…?" Xion asked, a little surprised by the sudden action of her friend.
"Oh, just feeling motivated" Namine said, a wide smile on her face as she turned to Xion, her cheeks red and a tear falling from her eye from the stinging pain, before she turned her eyes back towards Riku on the island.
"I-I see…" Xion saw where Namine's glance went, and turning herself back towards Roxas… she smiled slightly, bringing her hands up to her own cheeks, slapping them herself, and letting out a small whimper from the self-inflicted sharp pain "Nng…"
"Xion?" Namine turned towards her friend, seeing her cheeks reddened as well, and small tears of pain coming from her eyes… rather than concern, Namine gave her a smile, which Xion gladly returned. After sharing their knowing glances, the two turned their eyes back towards what's been occupying their minds.
Xion turned his eyes to Roxas, who at this point was at the top of the ladder, climbing his way onto the walkway, as he made his way to the blue haired keyblade master. As she continued to watch Roxas' every step, she had to shake her head away, realizing that staring for such a long time would probably be a little creepy.
"Hey, Namine, want to go make some sand sculptures with the others?" Xion asked, turning to Namine, seeing that her gaze was also focused on a certain someone.
"H-huh?" Namine turned to her friend, realizing that she was staring so long, a blush forming on her face. "O-oh, yeah. That sounds like fun, let's do it" Namine smiled, regaining her composure a bit, realizing she was probably staring too long as well.
The two then made their way over towards Hayner, Pence, Olette, Donald, and Goofy. The Twilight Town trio was busy going back to working on their lucky sand emblem, as the latter two were busy rebuilding the sculpture of Donald that was ruined by Ventus.
…
Aqua was currently leaning onto the poorly constructed, wooden guardrail. The entire platform looked like a mishmash of nailed wood, that was just glued together in some spots. Due to some miracle, it stood together, but it was still clear that Aqua was conscious of this and wasn't putting on all her weight on it in case it was to collapse. A lot was on her mind right now, and she just wanted some time to try and unwind… but she heard the creaking of steps on the old, water damaged wood behind her. Looking to behind her, to her right suddenly, she saw the familiar face of her friend Ventus.
Letting out a sigh, "Ven, I just want to be alone right… oh" looking down at Ven's clothing, the only thing that distinguishes him from Roxas, she realized that this was in fact not Ven… rather, this was Roxas. "S-sorry, Roxas. I'm still getting used to that."
"Hah, don't worry about it, I'm still getting used to it too" with a comforting smile on his face, "Mind if I join you?"
"Uh, yeah go ahead" Aqua said, a little confused as to why Roxas came to see her.
"Thanks," Roxas moved besides Aqua, leaning himself a bit more heavily onto the railing. Though it looked flimsy, for some reason he knew in his heart that it would hold.
Aqua, a little surprised, looked at Roxas for a moment, trying to figure him out, but after a moment, she returned to her position, looking to the water with him at her side. The two were silent for a moment, just listening to the gentle crashing of the waves against wall of mashed together wood that built up to the platform. Despite wanting to have been alone, Aqua found a little comfort in the company, and the two just kept silent for a few moments, listening, and watching the waves.
.
.
.
'…Shit' Roxas thought to himself, trying to keep his face calm as he focused on the water, though a little bit of sweat was starting to form on his forehead, 'why did I say I'd talk to her, I know nothing about her… 'Hey, Master Aqua, what's got ya down?' there's no way I can say that, that's way too forward… 'Yooo, Master Aqua'' Roxas internally slapped himself 'Don't start off with "yo," moron' As Roxas kept trying to figure out an icebreaker in his mind, Aqua was dealing with a similar problem.
'…What am I supposed to say. Did… did Roxas come to comfort me or something? Why him? I feel like literally anybody else would have been a better choice… ah, I'm being rude, though. Roxas was concerned and wanted to come check on me, that was very nice of him. Damnit, Aqua, did the Realm of Darkness dull your social ability as well…' Aqua's face darkened a bit, her expression somber as she started to look down towards her feet.
Roxas looked over at Aqua, thinking he finally knew how to start this conversation. His lips parting slightly, but he stopped himself. Seeing Aqua even more downtrodden than before, he quickly turned hit head back towards the water, a bit more sweat coming to his forehead. 'Shit, okay you took too long, I need something else…'
As the two tried to figure out how to communicate with each other, on the other end of the island, Riku had finally made his way to Kairi.
…
Riku was currently leaned against the base of the paopu tree, the spot that he had claimed as his own through repeated use over the years. Besides him was Kairi, her head slumped over as she looked towards the ground, not saying a word. Riku could see the dried tears that lined her cheeks.
"Kairi, we'll fi- "
"I know" Kairi cut off Riku, speaking up for the first time since he had come over. "I know. We'll find him. He isn't gone, I know he isn't…" Kairi looked up, moving her glance over towards Riku.
His eyes widened, her eyes didn't look sad, or lost, they looked angry, frustrated. "Kairi?"
"I wanted to be a part of this. I told you two back in the Organization's home-world; wherever you two went, I was coming too. And I blew it. The second I started a fight, Xemnas nabbed me, and I died. I don't even understand how Sora brought me back, but he did..." Tears began to flow again from her frustrated, irritated eyes. "He saved me again. I trained as hard as I could with Axel… but it wasn't enough. It wasn't even close to enough. I just relied on him in the end. Again. Now he's gone, and nobody seems to care!"
Riku looked at her, jaw slightly open, wanting to say something for a moment, but stopped himself, letting out a small, airy laugh as she looked towards Kairi.
"Riku!?"
"Haha, sorry, Kai. Just, I guess it's been a while since we've really, talked." Riku explained… "I mean, you were sort of unconscious the entire time of our first adventure, then we didn't even get together since the end of our second, then you were off training for this one… it's just been a while, you know? I forgot how fired up you can get" Riku smirked, relaxing further into the tree.
"I… I mean, yeah that's true, but what's with you all?! You guys were over there racing, Axel and Isa were playing Frisbee with Roxas-"
"You mean Ven."
"Y-yeah, Ven, then Xion and Namine were just playing in the water… why don't doesn't anybody seem to care?!"
"Kai, we all do care" Riku started, but was swiftly cut off.
"Then why are you all just messing arou- "
"Kairi" Riku stopped her, "We all care. But we just saved literally all of existence, we're all tired, and we all have scars. We want to rest" Riku calmly explained to Kairi. "Terra was possessed for years, Aqua was trapped in the Realm of Darkness, and Ven was asleep through it all. Roxas and Xion had an existential crisis, and their bodies aren't even really bodies yet. And you saw what happened to Axel" Kairi's face dampened, remembering the scene of his flesh sizzling and charring in spots as Xemnas' lasers struck all over his body. If Sora hadn't had his stock of Hi-potions on him at the time, it's likely Axel would have died not long after that barrage. "Do you see why we just want to take it easy for a little while? You should too. You died, you probably got it worse than the rest of us all"
Kairi clenched her teeth, frustrated that Riku was right, "You're… you're right. But even so, we don't know where Sora is. The fact that he appeared now… I don't understand it."
"He'll be alright, Kai" There was a confident tone in Riku's voice.
"But how do you know that? He can be out there on his own, struggling to survive, he could be de-"
"You two shared a paopu fruit, didn't you?" Riku looked over, a knowing smirk on his face as he watched a deep, red blush form on Kairi's face.
"W-wait what?! H-how did you know about that?!" Kairi's back shot up, her body twisting to look at Riku in surprise.
"Kai, when I came back you two were covered in a citrus-y smell. Do you honestly expect me to believe you two binged on oranges while I was gone for about ten minutes?"
"W-well… E-even if we did, what does that matter?" Kairi questioned, her face flushed and embarrassed, but knowing she wouldn't be able to get past Riku's perception.
"Your fates are entwined. And well, you're still alive and kicking, so that must mean he is too"
"R-Riku, I don't think it works like that… It's not like if he died, I'd die too" a confused tone came to Kairi's voice.
"No, but you're not going to sit around, sulking, are you?"
"What?! No!" Kairi was outraged that Riku would even suggest that, and gave him a slightly offended look.
"Then he won't be either. You're going to get up and find him, just like he's going to come back and find you. So, there's nothing to worry about. The two of you will find each other." Riku gave a reassuring smile over towards Kairi.
Kairi pouted at her silver-haired friend, opening and closing her mouth a few times, wanting to say something in retort, but she herself didn't know the exact properties of the paopu fruit. She could argue that it's all legend, that none of that mattered because it was a symbolic gesture… however, what Riku said comforted her. And she didn't want to give that up. Sighing softly, she looked at Riku. "Riku… you know, if you weren't so quiet, I'm sure that girls would be all over you." She giggled and turned her eyes back to the water.
"Wha-?!... Heh." Riku started, surprised at Kairi's comment, but quickly contained himself with a small cough, "I'm not all that great, you know. Just used to pulling you and Sora out from your little rough patches"
"Hehe, where would we be without you, Riku?" Kairi asked, smiling over towards her friend.
"Well… maybe in the same spot I'd be without either of you." His voice had a meaningful tone behind it, as he looked down a little, remembering the hardships that he put the two through in their first adventure, still not quite over that guilt.
"Well, don't worry. If you ever get into trouble, I'll be sure to pull you out" Kairi smiled, flexing her arm.
"Mm, and same to you. Though, I feel like you two have already rescued me enough as well… I think it's my turn to step up to the plate more. I've been relying on Sora just as much as you" Riku said, his voice stained with a bit of laughter, "I think I've probably been rescued more times by Sora than you have by now."
"Ugh, let's please not make this a competition…" Kairi said with a slight groan.
"I'd gladly avoid that sort of contest. Besides, I'm probably going to be too busy saving you to even think about it" Riku smirked.
"H-hey!" Kairi turned to Riku with an angry look, before her face begins to soften, as she formed a competitive glance in her eyes. "We'll see if you even have a chance. I'm going to be too busy saving your butt!" Kairi smirked back.
"Heh, glad to know my butt's going to be in good hands." Riku said, looking back towards the water.
"Very good hands" Kairi puffed out her chest for a moment, before resting back against the Paopu tree, "…When are we heading out, anyway?"
"Well, Chip and Dale knew we weren't going to be able to keep fitting everybody into the Highwind, so they wanted to try to make new design, something more comfortable for larger groups."
"I see… I think I've only been in the Highwind once…" Kairi said, "Back when you brought me to Master Yen Sid's tower. It wasn't the… comfiest of things"
"Well, they're sort of minimalistic… a cockpit, a bed or two, a kitchen, an engine and some weapons. Nothing very nice or comfortable, though. It doesn't have much of a living space. Mickey mentioned that he requested that Chip and Dale try to make them more comfortable, though, given that we don't really know how much we'll be travelling this time around. Gummi technology is still new, and though it's heavily customizable, it's never really been advanced upon. So, a lot of the time it's just a lot of blocks surrounding a small living space, and a cockpit. Apparently, Chip and Dale have been doing research in their free time in how to make the ships more effective and livable already, and said they were onto a breakthrough, but we'll just have to see if they managed to make anything" Riku explained.
"I hope that they did. I can't spend more than a few hours in one of those things…" Kairi sighed, reaching back and rubbing her back, the painful memory of her back against that hard gummi chair.
"I know what you mean, I used corridors of darkness before to get past that, but I can't really use those anymore…" Riku lifted his hand, half trying to summon one but not trying to rely on darkness again. Kairi smiled watching his attempt, glad that nothing appeared for him, though she wasn't expecting anything to.
As the two began to talk on a little bit more about random topics, catching up a little, both of their ears perked up as they began to hear hastening footsteps coming from behind them. The footsteps sounded vaguely familiar to Kairi, but to Riku, he couldn't quite place them. The two looked back, and saw the fire-y red, spiked back hair of Axel coming their way, stomping quickly as he looked directly at Kairi.
"Kairi!" He yelled out, coming forward, a passion in his eyes as he came forward, "You can't let Sora disappearing like that get you down! You gotta get up and train even harder, we're gonna face a lotta hardships trying to find him, but we won't lose hope! We're gonna find him, so you better get fired up! Got it memorized?!" Axel started yelling a passionate speech out of nowhere.
.
.
.
After a moment of silence, Riku giving Axel the most put-off look that he feels he's ever made, and Kairi looked on with a sort of awkward smile.
"U-uh, Thanks, Axel. But umm… Riku already gave me a pep talk and everything. I'm all good now" Kairi said, "O-oh, but thank you! I appreciate your concern!"
"W-what?" Axel's shoulders drooped down, as he formed a flabbergasted expression "But you two were over here for so long… I thought you were crying or something and Riku was going to be all moody and stuff, like always"
"Moody…?" Riku turned his head towards Axel, giving a slightly offended, confused look.
"Well, Riku is always moody, so I get that assumption"
"You too!?"
"But really, Axel? Crying? Did I ever seem that emotional when we were training together?!" Kairi asked, puffing her cheeks slightly as she looked back at Axel, turning her body around on the Paopu tree.
Riku leaned over to Kairi, whispering "But you were cry-, " but he was quickly hushed.
"U-uh, well… I mean…" Axel stumbled a bit, unsure of how to respond, "Gotta go!" He called, before immediately turning around and running back onto the bridge.
"Axel!" Kairi called, jumping off the tree, and began running after him, a scolding in store for him.
Riku watched on the scene, laughing at the familiarity of the scene, only that Axel seemed to take the place of Sora here.
"I'm sorry!" Axel whined, as getting a bit too close to the right side of the bridge, a weak part of the wooden construct gave way under his foot, and he was sent falling into the shallow water on the shoreline. "AHH!" He screamed
Splash!
"Axel!" Kairi called out, rushing to the side of the bridge that Axel fell off.
Riku soon followed suit and looked down at Axel, eyes of concern. It wasn't the biggest fall, but you can never be too careful. "You okay, man?"
"Ugh…" Axel groaned out, sitting up in the water, his clothes and body mostly soaked "Yeah yeah, I'm fine!" he grumbled, as he waved his arms around, trying to swing some of the water off him.
"You've always been oddly brash" A slightly monotone voice said, a small chuckle in his voice as he came forward, staying on the dry sand outside of the water's reach as he looked down at Axel.
Axel looked up at the voice, giving a cocky look to him, "Yeah well, I just like to leave an impression! Now, are you going to help me up, Isa!?"
"No thanks," Isa said, "I'd prefer to keep myself dry."
"Gah, seriously? Leave it to a supervisor to refuse to get a little wet" Axel grumbled, throwing his head back in agitation.
"Axel!" Kairi called, having made her way down from the bridge in a hurry, Riku following a few steps behind in less of a hurry, and was now approaching Axel, unhesitant in getting her feet wet, as she reached her hand down to help up Axel. "Here, get up."
"Why thank you Kairi!" Axel smiled at his friend, happily taking her hand as she pulled him up, before he brushed off some of the wet sand from his rear. "See, Isa? That's how you do it! Even a teenage girl like Kairi isn't afraid of a little water!" He smirked cockily at Isa, before feeling the sudden whack of Kairi's hand against the back of his hand.
"'Even a teenage girl'?" Kairi pouted, her hands on her hips as she looked at Axel in reprimand "You're losing so many brownie points today, Axel…"
"Nng…" Axel groaned, rubbing the back of his head, "I swear, nobodies on my side today!" Axel sulked, and made his way out of the water, walking a few steps away from everybody. "It's alright, I'll win you all over by being flashy!" he smirked, stretching out his hands as he was suddenly engulfed in flames, the blowback of the flames blowing Isa, Riku, and Kairi's hair back a bit as they watched on in awe.
After a moment the flames subsided, and Axel stood, hands on his hips in pride as he smirked at the small group… completely nude, his clothes burnt off. "See? All dry!" He boasted, not quite realizing his current predicament.
"Kairi, close your eyes!" Riku rushed forward, and quickly covered his friend's eyes, turning himself away as well.
"R-Riku!?"
Isa was too busy with his palm against his face to intervene, as Axel gave an odd look to Riku. "Heh? What, was she afraid of fire or something?" Axel asked, as he felt a sudden gust of wind across his body, which felt much colder than normal, "Brr, jeez is it getting late or something? It's getting a little chilly." Axel wiped his nose, his body shivering a little bit.
"You idiot" Isa, finally said, quickly walking forward and taking off his camo sleeved jacket and wrapping it around the front of Axel's body; revealing a dark blue tank top that Isa was wearing.
"Heh? Why are you covering-, " Axel then looked down in confusion, realizing that all of his clothes had disappear as he accidentally knocked away Isa's coat "Woah! Where'd all my clothes go?!"
"Riku! Get your hand off me!" Kairi complained, swiftly pulling Riku's hand off his eyes, giving him an angry look before turning forward towards Axel. Immediately her cheeks began to redden, her eyes widened in horror as she scrambled to grab back onto Riku's hand, "Put you hand back over my eyes!"
Riku gladly complied, and Axel covered his privates with his hand. "W-what happened?!" Axel exclaimed.
"You burnt your damn clothes off!" Riku yelled.
"What?!" Axel yelled.
"Put on some clothes, Axel!" Kairi yelled.
"Stop yelling!" Isa yelled, "You're attracting eyes!"
Riku's eyes widened, as looking behind him, he noticed the confused, concerned looks of Namine, Xion, the Twilight Town Trio, Goofy, and the agitated look of Donald. "N-nothing to see over here! Don't worry!" Riku called over to them, trying to dissuade them from coming over. However, turning his eyes back, he saw that the door at the base of the wooden wall that lead to the eastern side of the island was open, and from it came Terra, Ventus, and Mickey, met with the sight of Axel's ass staring right at them.
"Uh, Lea?" Ventus started, about to ask, "Ah!" He let out, his eyes suddenly being covered by the strong hand of Terra.
"Ven, don't look!" Terra commanded, turning his head back up at Axel, "Lea, why are you naked?!"
"Gahh! I hate Mondays!" Axel yelled, moving his hands up to his head, and roughly rubbing at his scalp in stress, before realizing he had stopped covering his crotch, and swiftly covered them back up, a heavy blush on his face.
"Just summon your organization garbs!" Isa commanded, his hand intensely massaging his temples.
"Summon my wh- Oh! Right!" Axel laughed, as in another burst of flames infused with a bit of darkness, the familiar black, leathery coat appeared over Axel's body, along with the black pair of pants and shoes that accompanied them. And, though nobody else could see it, black underwear underneath. "Whew! Much warmer!"
Riku and Terra let out a sigh of relief in tandem, uncovering their protectee's eyes.
"That's weird though, The Organization's coat never burnt off like that…" Axel noted.
"That's because it's magically infused, based on their respective member's magic. It won't be effected by your own magic." Isa explained, picking his own coat up, brushing the sand off it before wrapping it back around himself.
"What?! So, you're telling me I'm going to have to infuse all the clothes I wear?!" Axel asked, mouth agape at Isa, before turning to Kairi, "Hey, Kai? How do I infuse clothes?"
"Why are you asking me!?" Kairi puffed her cheeks at him.
"Well jeez, Lea…Didn't Master Yen Sid give you some new clothes? Those should've been designed to protect you from your own magic" Mickey chimed in.
"Oh yeah, never tried those on. Didn't like the look" Axel shrugged.
"Lea, I swear, you-, " Isa started, getting a little frustrated with his friend, before Riku cut him off.
"No, Isa. Don't get mad. That only feeds it" Riku suddenly said, giving Isa a knowledgeable, though somewhat tired look.
Isa was quiet for a moment, his mouth slightly agape as he looked at Riku, feeling an odd sense of comradery for a moment. Closing his lips, he gave Riku a small nod, looking back at Lea, before he turned, walking towards his other friends that were currently building sand sculptures.
"Heh? Isa? Where you going, Isa!?" Axel called out, going towards his friend, a little put off by the lack of any reaction.
Kairi, who was watching on, turned to Riku, a knowing smirk on her face, "You were talking about Sora, weren't you?"
Riku returned a small smile, before turning around himself, and walking off towards the others, "Maybe, maybe not." He said with a small tone of amusement in his voice.
Kairi gave Riku a quizzical look, "Huh? Who else could you be talking about? Riku? where are you going, Riku!?" Kairi began to walk off with Riku towards the others.
Terra, who was watching this entire scene with his two friends, put his face into his palm, "These are the people who saved us?"
"Awe, they're a little silly, but they're mostly really strong!" Mickey said, trying to reassure Terra, but something in his heart told him that there was no recovering from watching all of that.
"Still, how did a kid that grew up in this manage to defeat Master Xehanort…?" Terra tried to figure it out, his hand on his chin as he looked towards the ground.
"Ah, what does it matter? We're all here now, so I'm happy for that" Ventus smiled up at his friend, "Now, let's go see if Roxas managed to talk to Aqua." Ven started walking towards the group on the beach.
Terra, looking towards the group, and seeing that neither Roxas or Aqua were back yet, thought that maybe they were just hidden behind an admirably sized newly made sculpture of Donald that he had been painstakingly making. "Right. Let's join everyone else, Your Majesty." Terra said, looking down at Mickey.
"Awe, you can just call me Mickey, Terra." Mickey said up to Terra with his permanently smiling face, before he started to walk towards the others, "But you're right, let's go."
Terra, looking down at the small, mouse king, and began to walk as well, "Right, Mickey."
…
.
.
.
Roxas stood quietly, his face pale as he continued looking towards the water, afraid to look towards the keyblade master at his side, in fear that she'd be looking back, expecting him to have said something by now. Roxas, however, thought the he would have thought of something at this point, but maybe Aqua just really needed some time alone; but now, he feels like leaving would be too awkward. So, now he's standing besides her, not saying anything as his hands, cold and a little shake-y held onto the old, wooden railing of the platform, waiting for something to happen to get him out of this situation.
'Please, somebody, please, get me out of here. Axel, Xion, somebody!" Roxas internally screamed.
Aqua wasn't in much of a better situation, her self-concept becoming worse and worse by the minutes as she began to think about just how much she had changed in the Realm of Darkness. She was weaker, her social skills had severely dulled, and to top it all off, she didn't even have her keyblade anymore.
'Aqua… what happened to you…' Aqua asked herself, almost forgetting entirely about Roxas in her bout of self-doubt, 'You don't deserve to be called a Master…' Aqua let out a small, but audible sigh, which sent a shiver up Roxas' spine.
The two stayed like this for some time in silence; however, eventually the sound of small footsteps, with the wood underneath their feet creaking slightly, began to come from behind the two.
"Master Aqua, Roxas, I hope I'm not interrupting, but we're all going to be getting together for a bonfire, if you two would like to join us" The gentle voice of Olette came from behind them. When the two turned towards her, however, she had to keep herself from shrieking as her eyes shot open in surprise.
Aqua and Roxas looked towards her, their faces pale and sunken, the two having been stressing themselves in their own personal ways, which had taken it's toll on their bodies.
"T-thanks, Olette…" Roxas muttered out, his voice almost like a ghost's.
'Thank you so much, Olette…' Roxas thought.
"…We'll be down soon" Aqua chimed in, her voice in a similar, though more depressed tone.
"O-okay, I'll let everyone know!" Olette said, slowly backing up from the two, before quickly turning and fast-walking towards the ladder to return to everyone else.
Though it took a moment for the two to leave, both unsure if they should be the first one to leave, eventually they made their way down the ladder, returning to their friends who were currently digging out a small pit, collecting logs to both burn and to serve as seating.
With the eager help of Axel, the logs were soon burning, and the sixteen, including Jiminy who would serve as chronicler, sat around the fire, a collection of various foods, such as marshmallows, hot dogs, chocolate and graham crackers, along with a few other food choices were laid around their seats, as they all collectively stared into the fire for a moment, some with more enthusiasm than others.
"So," Jiminy started, "Who would like to start?"
Woah! I see you made it to the bottom of the page. Glad you didn't click off it :)
Side note; I'm probably not going to be adding in anything related to Union X. In this story, Chirithy isn't a thing. Nothing against Union X, I play it, I'd just rather have something more solid that isn't still being updated to work with.
Also, if you haven't realized yet, this is a SoraXKairi, RikuXNamine(Maybe harem later if I'm feelin spicy) RoxasXXion fic. Then I have no idea about other pairings I'll do down the line.
Woop woop, thanks for reading.
Later!
