Disclaimer: Nope I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Inuyasha. Why don't you go ask those two millionaires over there. Any lyrics used in this story are from and all the nice people that submit lyrics for that site or my own creation. The poems/song from chapter 8 and on wards along with the one at the start of this chapter belong to me. (note: new chapters of KHST (or Fairytale) will not have lyrics in the beginning of chapters (except for chapter 14) and starting with chapter 12 this story will be renamed "Fairytale". And the lyrics used in this 1st chapter are my own invention. I left the original title for people who have read this before to know that this is the same story, only some minor differences.)
Kingdom Hearts: Soul Taker
Chapter 1: Once Upon a Time: A Prom, a Boy, and a New World.
We suddenly cast off our old wounds like a shed skin.
Leaving behind something precious to follow our own desires.
That which you call evil, I disagree with.
That which you call good, I say isn't.
In this way we can't completely agree.
This flower of longing, I want to finally overcome it's smell.
The land seems so distant and vast. Can we really over come anything?
I won't get trapped in past regrets.I couldn't save them so I blamed myself.
Proclaiming that we're somewhere in between this night and day.
The past becomes murky in your profile.
Beyond this heart, beyond this sadness, there's somewhere I want to see.
Stretching out a hand toward that light and leaving a foot in that darkness.
"We're only in it for ourselves."Selfish emotions that I still believe in.
We cast off tomorrow in favor of the light of yesterday. Then we do just the opposite.
In this way, we're growing.
The old wounds don't hurt so much when you touch them.
The shining light you hold in side you is all but neither, I'll believe in that and cast off the rest.
(Cast)
The sun was setting, it's brilliant rays falling against a house and shrine surrounded by the green trees of summer. The shrine was surprisingly quite. Even though it was in the middle of a busy city, this place seemed almost separate from the world. Inside the house, in the second room on the third floor was the oldest daughter of a family of priestesses. The inhabitants of the shrine was a middle age woman and her two young daughters. Both were in high school and both were as different as night and day. The family, though on the outside seemed quite peaceful, on the inside were just the opposite. The girl in front of the mirror spins once, then twice, in front of the mirror. Frowning from what she sees. A awkward plain girl with a broken smile. "Well, what do you think Buyo." asks the oldest daughter and future successor of the shrine. She was a ghost of a girl with long raven hair, dark brown eyes, pale skin. The cat the girl had questioned turns his head to one side and meowed, all the while giving his master a confused look. Cats didn't really know much about clothes or why humans needed them.
"Come on Buyo don't give me that look. I don't want to go to this stupid prom anyway especially with Hojo." says the girl while looking into the large mirror in front of her. The dress she wears is light blue with no sleeves and stops at her knees. On her legs are white stockings and on her feet are black dress shoes. The girl frowns, through usually uncaring about her sisters life, this time she would have much rather stayed out of it. She had planned to just watch tv or finish a book report. School wasn't over yet and she owed this Hojo nothing. But what could she do? She was powerless against her younger sister. It was almost to the point of spoiling her. Both her and her mother allowed her to get away with whatever she wanted. The weakness of her mother, and the built up sorrow and rage of her own self made the girl's hands into fists at her sides. Once again in this world she was powerless, just another pebble in the river of time.
"Kikyou are you ready yet?" Her younger sister Kagome's voice calls through the open window. Her impatience was noticeable and at once Kikyou felt guilty with out knowing why. Then that feeling quickly vanished just like everything else. She ran downstairs without looking back. Outside her sister Kagome is waiting with her boyfriend Inuyasha, who for once combed his black hair but he still wore his old faded jeans, even if it didn't match with the dress shirt he was wearing.The youngest woman of the household had all ready gotten dressed and glamored up and was now awaiting her older sister. She had dragged her into going with her because she felt bad for the guy that always gave her gifts.
Kikyou ran out of the front door and approached the two of them.
"You're wearing that?" asked Kagome at the site of the old dress her sister is wearing. It reminded her of one of those old black and white movies mom made them watch sometimes. And that material...Was that cotton? She could have wore something less...cheap.
"Yes." replied Kikyou. she turns and sees Hojo, her sisters old suitor who is only going with her because she looks like her sister; a sister who dumped Hojo after he gave her about twenty thousand gifts. Kagome told him to go with her sister and he jumped at the chance to fantasize about actually going with Kagome. She turned and looked at her sister Kagome and saw that she was wearing a short, silk, pink dress that stopped at her upper thigh and left nothing to the imagination.
They were nothing alike, not in appearance and certainly not in personality. This was the only thing her and her sister could agree upon. Yet everyone thought they were twins, even though Kikyou was born two years earlier than her sister and had straight, thin hair. Kagome's bouncy, thick curls were enviable, just like her popularity and love life.
Kikyou sighed and turned towards her mother's van. She could see her in the front seat through the tinted windows. In the reflection of the windows her favorite white ribbon was missing from her hair, leaving her locks hanging limply down her back.
"Can you guys wait here for a second, I forgot something."
"Kikyou we have to go! The prom is going to start in 30 minutes and it'll take us 15 to get there." replied Kagome irritably. To Kagome she saw this as her sister once again making life difficult for her. This was just like Kikyou to suddenly say that she forgot something, run off, and never come back. Then back at home she would say that her homework was due or some other pitiful excuse. Who cares about homework! Wasn't school just another popularity contest?
"I'll be right back."said Kikyou, ignoring her sister rolling her eyes at her while running toward the house. Kikyou ran through the front door, leaving the door open in her rush to get upstairs. She found her ribbon on her desk next to an old book of fairy tails that she had had since she was a little girl. She couldn't seem to throw them away, nor could she keep reading them now that she was almost a woman. Quickly she did her hair into a ponytail leaving two loops of hair to rest on her shoulders. Kikyou turned to go and saw Buyo slipping past the door to go down stairs.
"I'll just go out the door with you then." muttered Kikyou to her cat. Buyo stuck its tail up in the air but didn't answer. This was unusual for Buyo, he usually always answered Kikyou or Kagome. Either with an indifferent meow or a wail of hunger. But this time he seemed different, changed. But Kikyou didn't have time to notice. She was too much in a rush. Even if she didn't want to go, she knew she couldn't get out of going this time.
Kikyou followed Buyo in to the living room. "I forgot to close the door." said Kikyou out loud to her self when she saw the open door. Buyo slipped outside and out of sight. Kikyou chased after him. The cat seemed to run faster than her this time, which seemed to be impossible since Buyo was fat and had never really ran away from anyone. Not even Inuyasha who always seemed to torture the poor cat.
The temple grounds were huge and ominous if one did not know the way. The shrine was over a 100 years old, and prone to rotted wood, disaster, and sinister shadows. There could be s numerous amount of hiding places that the cat could have gotten into. But Kikyou didn't have much time and her mother would kill her if she left the cat outside. She finally spotted the cat walking in to the building that housed the Bone Eaters Well. The one place that was restricted from the whole family and the one place she could get grounded until she was fifty for going into. But she had no choice, either way she was going to get into trouble and it was not like her mother was watching.
"Buyo, Buyo come out, come out wherever you are." Kikyou called while she looked around. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere, the placed seemed to not have been opened up in centuries. Barely any light slipped through and illuminated the walls from the cracks in the small shack. In the middle of the room was a large wooden well. It was boarded up with heavy oak boards and it would have to taken 10 strong people from the looks of it just to lift it. Kikyou stepped further in to the room and continued to look at the well. This seemed so familiar to her, like something that she had watched or experienced a long time ago. The well also seemed to be emitting some kind of-
Just then something moved behind her. Kikyou quickly turned around after hearing the door creak and was just in time to see Buyo exit the room. She stepped forward to leave and catch Byou when the door slammed shut, leaving her in total darkness. Kikyou continued, anyway hoping it would open,but didn't get the chance as she heard the sound of breaking wood.
The sound brought to her imagination something with long nails and teeth. A slithering sound soon followed. A snake? But it was impossible right? Snakes didn't get big enough to break through wood...
Her thoughts were interrupted. Someones sharp nails, that in the weak light were long, red and dangerously sharp, touched her shoulders and snake like black hair moved around her. With the breath of the unseen foe tickling her neck, Kikyou was pulled into the well.
"The body is of a young white male, name: Ichabod Crane. Time of death: 12:00 am last night. Cause of death: decapitation." read a tanned young woman with beautiful Native-American features. She closed her notebook and looked down at the headless body.
"Well isn't that just dandy this guy makes 13. And of course not one person heard or saw anything. But then again who in their right mind would live out in these woods." said a young Asian man with his black hair in a bun.
"Stop being a jackass Li and help me examine the body." The woman said to the man that had previously spoken while flipping her long black hair back over her shoulder and glaring.
"I'm not being a jackass princess Pocahontas."said Li.
A young man with platinum blond hair and wearing a black trench coat that was long enough to drop to the top of his shoes bended down and used a stick lifted up the ripped skin around what was left of Ichabod Crane's neck and looked inside. A large black beetle came out and scurried away. The dirt ground was red with the man's blood and the strong sent of death filled the air. The wound showed where Ichabod's spinal cord connected to his head and the muscles underneath the skin. It had been a clean slice, the blade must have been quite sharp. Poor guy must have not felt too much pain or knew what happened to him till the last moment.
A siren filled the air and flashing lights illuminated the dark evergreen forest of trees. The ambulance stopped a few yards away from the body and two men in white paramedic suits jumped out with a black body bag.
"Our work here is done, lets head back."said the platinum blond man. He had youthful features which were marred by the shadows and his own heart. He had turned away from the site of the paramedics zipping up what was left of Ichabod.
"You sure Riku? We could still get some more clues."asked Pocahontas. She usually went with whatever Riku said just so she could go home and not have to fight with him, but this time Pocahontas thought she should say something to him.
He turned to look at her and his green eyes flashed with anger. "And what clues is there to find? It's the same damn clues, hoof prints, a body every thing's the same!"
"Okay were all tired but you don't need to take it out on us, we'll go all ready, Great Grand king Riku of the Poohbas." said Li.
Riku gave him a death glare and started to walk toward the path that lead away from the clearing they were in and back toward their gummi ship.
"Who spit in his bean curd?" mocked Li, irritated that Riku didn't know how to take a joke.
"You know Riku he's always that way rude, mean, and bossy." replied Pocahontas to Li's joke.
Riku stopped and said over his shoulder: "I heard that, do you care to say it to my face?"
"No." Li and Pocahontas said at once.
"Then shut up and start heading toward the ship already." said Riku.
Pocahontas rolled her eyes and decided to change the subject so Li wouldn't shout back at Riku and ruin the already ruined evening. "So have you decided yet?"
"Decided what?"asked Li.
"Who's your true love Mulan or that cute boyfriend of yours. Neither of them has found out about the other have they?" Pocahontas asked. She liked to talk with Li when it came to his love life since his was so similar to hers. Incept she had two men in her life. Plus they couldn't talk about the case here, Pocahontas had the feeling that the people from the nearby town would soon come to see the festivities.
"I haven't decided yet and no they haven't found out."replied Lin,"And what about you who do you want John Smith or John Rolfe, you can't have both of them. Their going to find out sooner or later."
"Well your one to talk." said Pocahontas after a pause in her speech. Love seemed to be a puzzle that her soul couldn't untangle. Talking about love had been the wrong thing to bring up with Riku so close by. Lin and her walked a head toward their gummi ship Astrid and continued to chat about their love life.
Riku stopped walking, sensing some one behind him He turned and gazed into the darkness. Like so many times before it stared back just as furiously. He looked into the dark woods behind him, but could see no one there. Since it was night you couldn't see much incept for the flashing lights from the crime scene and what the moon illuminated. Finally he saw a dark form of a person that looked familiar, but as soon as he saw the figure it disappeared. Riku stood and looked until Lin shouted for him to hurry up and get inside or they was going to leave without him.
He walked inside and scanned the inside of the ship for a seat. The ship was painted and furnished completely in red, contrasting with the ships black exterior. After choosing one near a window he sat down and looked at the quickly disappearing dark woods of Sleepy Hollow , all the while wondering who the person he saw was. And why didn't they say anything. And why... Did that person look so familiar?
"Where am I?' Thought to herself Kikyou. She had closed her eyes once something had grabbed her so she couldn't see, but she could feel that...she was floating? That wasn't right at all. She scanned her memories for the answer. 'I remember chasing after Buyo and being dragged into the well... Oh no that weird woman--no that demon--I have to get out of its grip!!'
Kikyou tried screaming but the thing that had grabbed her had its hand was over her mouth. Then she tried wiggling out from its grip, but it held on tighter. Then Kikyou finally bit the monsters hand in order to be free. The thing screamed and dropped her. Kikyou opened her eyes as she felt herself fall. She fell a few feet away from what she could now make out as some kind of insect demon. A demon that looked like a woman but had many arms and the body of a centipede. Kikyou also noticed that she had stopped falling and was now floating.
Amazed at all this, Kikyou looked around once more. All she could see was violet and white light. Too busy looking at her new surroundings, Kikyou didn't notice the centipede demon reach her until it was too late. The demon grabbed her again and scratched her across the face with its long nails. The scratch left three bleeding nail marks.
The centipede hissed at her and screamed, "If Ansem didn't need you alive I would kill you you little bitch."
'Ansem who the hell is he and why does he need me alive? Maybe this is just a dream, if so I'm never going to eat ice cream and watch scary movies before bed again. But when she scratched me that hurt, and when I bit her it felt real.' thought Kikyou. Things just didn't make sense! This was something out of a horror or sci-fi movie. One moment she was chasing her cat and the next she was being kidnapped by a demon. But it was real. At least it felt real.
Suddenly both her and the demon stopped floating and fell again. They landed in the inside of a well this time and Kikyou was tossed into the air and landed roughly on her side a few yards away from the well.
Hurt, but nothing broken, Kikyou got up and looked at the centipede demon who was raising out of the well. The demon floated above her and growled with an evil, fanged grin: "But he never said I couldn't rough you up a little."
"Let me guess no new leads." said a short little man with white hair and wearing a black suit . He sat behind a oak desk in a nice, neat, organized gray office. On top of the desk was a neat stack of white papers, a cup of sharpened pencils, and a clear glass paper weight.
"You're correct Frollo."said Riku. As always, when ever there was a new case or a new development on one Frollo wanted to know about it. But why did it have to be him? Couldn't he just get one of his partners to do it? Speaking of that, why did he have two partners anyway? Maybe they were there to keep him in line.
"Riku,"said Frollo his anger rising with each word,"That's Chief of Command to you." Frollo always wanted people to be aware of his status. He probably even yelled at anyone who didn't call him Chief of Command. Much less anyone that called him a Reaper, even in his training days when he was only a step or so away from his position now.
Reapers was a fancy word for law. The only law around here. It suited their style of work. Protect the people with the death of who ever decided to be Mr. Murder or Ms. Murder of the day, but nothing outside of serious cases like. Let the people deal with the heartless themselves, unless it couldn't be taken down with normal means. In that case Reapers were sent in to clean up the mess. They handled the bigger, nastier heartless that suddenly appeared. With their all black military uniforms and no nonsense attitude and manner it was easy to see why that name was not only feared, but respected. Only two out of twenty trainees ever made it to become a Reaper and only one out of thirty ever became an Elite. A status that Riku had earned at the age of 24, the youngest to have ever became an Elite and the youngest to become a Reaper and graduate with honors. But looking at him now, no one would see those medals of honor. Riku dressed outside of uniform, and no amount of reprimanding in the beginning had changed his mind. The case of his uniform was the only argument that Frollo caved in on, everything else seemed to be a day to day battle between Riku and the anile man in front of him. Neither respected or appreciated the other. From the day they had met, it was instant hatred.
Riku turned around and headed toward the door that lead out of Frollo's office, he didn't need to take this shit today. Let Frollo deal with everything, and while the old bastard was at it, he should have himself say all this crap to his reflection. His comfy little desk job couldn't see into the streets, it was a lot harder to build a case than shuffling papers. Riku reached to door, opened it, and was about to leave Frollo to himself when his angry voice stopped him.
"Wait until I dismiss you Riku, you know the rules you've been working here for 10 years so wait until I dismiss you." said Frollo.
"Well," replied Riku. ",are you going to dismiss me or not? I have work to do."
Frollo looked like he was going to explode but some how he managed to say you're dismissed with out blowing his head off.
Riku left his office and after saying bye to his partners Pocahontas and Li he left. "Take care Riku."said Pocahontas after him as he stepped outside. It was raining, hard. The sky dark with storm clouds and full of thunder and lightning. People walked here and there all of them carrying a weapon even the children because of the heartless. One had to wonder how in a city where even your hairdresser had a gun how the hell were so many crimes committed. Can't they leave the evil to the heartless? But then again this is Kingdom Hearts and it isn't exactly heaven. Ever since the heartless showed up and stole people hearts in order to make more heartless, those with their heart stolen would appear here. Where ever here was. It wasn't hell, but it wasn't the alternative either. And were any of them really people? Or were they merely shadows of their previous self? Did it even matter? Some people managed to leave and return from the world which they came, most stayed in Kingdom Hearts. Not out of there own will, but because they didn't know how to get back to their own world. Riku was the only one among them that had a choice to go to Kingdom Hearts. And even he wondered if it was worth it. Who knows? Maybe his own world was still fucked up.
Riku reached his destination, his apartment. He opened the door and stepped into the dark living space. The decor wasn't all that great. Just a couch, a few rugs, a bed, and a kitchen table. He walked past his living room and his kitchen, only stopping once to check his messages on his answering machine, all of with were from either solicitors or old girlfriends and one night stands. He took a left at his bathroom door and walked in to his room closing the door behind him. Riku threw his coat on a chair and stretched out on the bed as the answering machine replayed all of his messages.
"Riku this is Sally. I know you're home Riku. Fine don't answer, I'm through with you anyway. All I get is no phone calls, no dates, no nothing. Incept when you need sex. And half of the time you don't even call me for that, you're always so goddamn busy with your job. What about me? What about my needs? To make this message short Riku, I need a man who will satisfy my needs and be there for me. Not a man who's never there. We're through!" after the first message the answering machine in a automatic voice said "Second message."
"Whatever." said Riku "She wasn't even that good anyway. And not just the sex."
"Riku this is Jenny. You remember me right? You know, the girl with the orange highlights? Well listen, after that one night after the bar I never saw you again. Not that I'm complaining you were great and all, better than great actually. Its just that you could call. I gave you my number, remember? So call me okay? My number's 55-"
"Third message."
"Oh yeah I remember the blond with those ugly highlights, cute ass though." Riku said to himself. He had to hold back a laugh at the memory of that night; the girl was a little too naive and a little to stupid to figure out when she had been played.
"Riku this is your landlord. No it's not the rent, its about your place. Do you even live in it? You're almost never there, you always have a stack of mail or newspapers outside your door, and you never turn on the light. You've been living there for what, 10 years? I don't even see you when you pay the bills! Look if you've moved pick up your stuff, if not be at home more. I've got rumors flying around that you're a ghost and its spooking the tenants AND potential renters. So what I'm trying to say is get yourself a dog or cat, turn on the lights, get a girlfriend or whatever and stop spooking my tenets. Also stop wearing that trench coat. You know Mrs. Johnsen? Well she saw you in that and had a heart attack. You know how batty she is... She's okay through. Just for once do what I say, alright?"
"End of message. You have no more messages."
"Whatever. Where does he get off telling me what to do anyway. He's not may father and he certainly isn't my mother."
Riku looked at the shadows dancing on the ceiling and listened to the rain. The shadows turned and twisted with the light and movement from outside almost as if they were alive. "I wonder if Sora and my parents could see me now what they would say. Ah, what's the point? Like they would care anyway. I deserve this life and it's a hell of a lot better than being with them. All they would do is look at me with pity and sorrow. At least this way I don't have to see those looks and listen to all that pity crap." Maybe he was just a little bit bitter with how his life had turned out. Nothing he did seemed to chase the memories away.
He got out of bed looked, in a mirror at the same clothes he always wore. Which were the same clothes that he came into Kingdom Hearts. A yellow shirt with no sleeves, the sides of it black and bordered with white, with two black bordered white straps across his chest that form a X. Black half gloves that also are bordered with white and navy jeans with a belt, minus the purple puffy pants attachment. That had been the only article he had packed away. Riku hadn't changed his wardrobe because some part of him, a part he didn't really want to believe existed, still believed that Sora might just find him. If Sora was looking for him. Riku grabbed his coat and made sure he had his sword, which was fashioned in the shape of a red and blue wing with a lighter blue orb in the middle, and left to take a walk.
Outside it was quite incept for the sound of rain and thunder. Riku wrapped his coat tighter around him and made sure it was buttoned all the way while walking. He didn't know where he was going, but he needed some fresh air. Staying inside always made him think to much. After walking down a few blocks and killing a few heartless he found himself in front of a small park. Looking back over his shoulder into the empty street he hesitated only once before slipping past the gates like a ghost.
Kikyou did the only thing she could do, she ran. She started running away but didn't get very far as the centipede demon used its multiple legs to gained more speed and bit into her side. Kikyou elbowed it in the face and it let go, taking with it a chunk of her side. Kikyou put her hand over the wound and ran over to a tree and leaned against it knowing she should run further, but she was seriously injured and was losing a lot of blood. Kikyou looked down at her side and saw that when she had quickly put her hand over the wound something had dropped into it that wasn't blood.
It was a jewel. No more then the size of a miniature snow globe, like the one with the winter angel in it that she had at home. The jewel was a light pinkish purple and seemed to glow her hand.
'Light and darkness.' whispered a voice in her head. Kikyou's eyes widen a bit at this, the affects of blood loss seemed to be coming pretty quickly. Surely she imagined that. It wasn't her voice.
She looked at the demon and saw it was looking at her while licking her blood off its fingers and nails. "The jewel," it said. ",so you are special after all. No wonder Ansem wants you. Well I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I brought him the jewel and not the girl." It gave off another one of its evil smiles, showing more of its sharp teeth and fangs. Kikyou's legs gave out from under her and she sank to the ground with her back against the rough, cool bark of the tree. Even she wasn't immune to the fear of death. How could she beat it? She didn't have a weapon and it was faster than her so she couldn't out run it.
The centipede demon crawled until it was in front of her, it raised a clawed hand and Kikyou started to panic as it started to bring that hand down. Everything seemed to slow down, like in the movies, but only her life didn't pass by her eyes and there was no ticking of the clock or a miraculous savior. This was for real. She was going to die. Her flesh and bones were going to be ripped apart and her blood split on the ground, her face and body clawed unrecognizable and eaten. Her rich eyes turn dim and glassy and her body still and cold. And what ever remained would be eaten by the forest creatures before the police and the morgue reached it. She could practically hear her requiem.
This was death. This was reality.
'I'm going to die,"she thought,"I'm going to die with out ever having a first kiss, or knowing true love, or-' As crazy, frantic thoughts raced through her mind they were interrupted by a flash of something white and black slashing the demon in front of her across its face. The thing—no person-- that hit it landed in front of her and the demon recoiled away from him.
"What are you doing here with out a weapon?" At the sound of a man's voice Kikyou looked up and at first saw only the broad back of a man clothed in black, dripping wet with the rain she just now noticed. Then she saw his handsome face as he turned his head to smile over his shoulder boyishly at her; with a glee that was more from killing then from seeing her alive. With platinum hair, dark green eyes, a strange sword, and wearing a black trench coat, this seemed more like the Matrix meet Final Fantasy then reality. Even more unreal than her previous situation. She was about to reply when she saw the centipede get back up and try to attack both of them. She stood up and pushed him out of the way, trying to spare him her fate.
A bright light flashed before her eyes that was the same color of the jewel in her hands and she heard a scream. Something cool and rejuvenating went throughout her whole body, and then the world went black.
'What happened...there was a girl and some type of heartless. What happened and what was that light?' Flash backs of what had happened up to this moment went through Riku's head. He felt something warm in his arms and his chest and looked down and saw the same girl from before. He took the time to look at her. She had black hair, pretty but pale features, and was a foot or two shorter then him. Her clothes were bloody and tattered, and from the look of the cloth she had either came or was going from some formal function. The rainwater and mud made the ugly, rough, material cling to her skin, turning the cloth into a body suit that showed off her pleasant body features. He estimated her to be about 16 or 17, maybe older.
Riku looked up at the dark sky. It was still raining, a flash of lightning illuminated the air. From the corner of his eyes he saw the slowly melting remains of the monster that had attacked the girl in his arms. "Riku, you just had to play the hero." he said to himself. He heard a groan and looked down at the girl. Her eyelids fluttered, the long dark lashes blinking back drops of moisture. She opened her deep, dark brown eyes and looked at him for a second, then pushed away from him and stood up. She looked down at her ruined light blue dress and then at him.
Riku stood up turned his back on her. He started to walk away when the girl that he saved called out to him.
"Wait," she shouted out and caught up to him ",thank you for saving my life."
"No problem. Don't have to thank me, I'm no hero. Now if you'll excuse me." replied Riku.
"Wait. I didn't even get your name. I'm Kikyou."
Riku sighed and kept on walking.
"I said wait!"
"What? My name's Riku, there, now I'm leaving."
"Then Riku where are you going?" Kikyou continued to ask him one question after the other. She was cold, lost in a unfamiliar place, and had almost been killed. She needed some answers.
Riku thought for a moment and then said: "I'm taking you back to the station." The girl seemed like she had a concussion, but more importantly, she was attacked by a unfamiliar heartless. This needed to be reported before more of them showed up.
"The what..." started Kikyou. She looked down at her hand that held the jewel and noticed that Riku had grabbed it and was dragging her out of the clearing.
Kikyou, who for the last half hour, being dragged to a unknown palace through a unknown city finally stopped struggling as they walked through the door of what looked to be a police station. All eyes were on them as they walked through it to a fairly large office. Kikyou blushed as she noticed how they must look like. Kikyou with rips and tears in her new dress and with mud stains and mud clinging all over her along with blood from wounds that mysteriously healed. And Riku also covered in mud and soaking wet like her, along with her being dragged in like some criminal.
As soon as they entered the office Kikyou dug her heels into the floor and used all her weight to pull herself backward. Riku let go of her arm and she feel to the floor with a loud thump which she was sure every one in the building heard. She rubbed her sore bottom to get rid of the pain and stood up, and after glaring coldly at her savior, looked for a chair to sit in. She found one, and despite the mud all over her and the rain water on her, sat down. In front of her, behind the desk was a short, white haired man. The gold bar on the desk said: Chief Commander Reaper Frollo. 'What the hell is a Reaper? They can't mean the "Grim Reaper", forbearer of death, can they?' thought Kikyou to herself from this new piece of information. If so this gorgeous, but rude, individual besides her had dragged her into the underworld (which explained everything, including the demon) and now she was being judged for her sins. By she was bringing all kinds of images into her head about Grim Reapers and rather or not she was dead and in Hell or Heaven, Riku was talking to Frollo.
"I found this girl and a strange unknown heartless in the national park. I think she may have something to do with its appearance, after all, what kind of idiot would be at a park at this time of night with out a weapon."said Riku.
At those words Kikyou stood up slammed her hands on the desk and shouted: "What! Now wait just a minute...what do you mean I may have something to do with it! Like I wanted to be kidnapped by some demon who was dragging me to some jackass named Ansem and then all most get teared apart by that that thing! I didn't do anything! Unless chasing after my damn cat counts as something and getting a fucking jewel torn out of your side!!" Kikyou stopped and panted because she said that all with one breath. Then she turned bright red at the knowledge that she just cussed and shouted at some kind of police office and chief. Such behavior that was uncalled for and completely out of character. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the whole building on her, even if she couldn't she them and they couldn't see through walls. She hadn't meant to shout, but she was confused at the recent events and mad at Riku for addressing her as some kind of spell casting loser who lost control of whatever the hell she was chanting, and upset as well as tired at the turn of events. Kikyou just wanted to go home now, even if that meant going home to her mother and Kagome.
"Ansem..."mumbled Riku.
"That can't be possible,"said Frollo.",you must have heard wrong."
"I know what I heard. That centipede said "Ansem".," Kikyou explained."And it wanted this." She might not know what was going on, but if she could help them help her, then maybe she could get home. Kikyou opened her palm, looked at the jewel, and dropped it on the desk. Frollo picked it up, examined it, then handed it back to her.
"But that can't be, Ansem has been dead for ten years."said Riku. This just didn't add up. How could he be alive? He was destroyed. Wasn't he?
"There has been a increase of heartless lately. I'm not saying that he could be back from the dead, I'm just saying you should investigate it." said Frollo. He glanced at Kikyou and then Riku, who understood the silent message: Frollo wanted him to investigate this matter. And for once he was all too happy to. The thought of Ansem still alive brought forth in Riku buried emotions or rage and hatred, and he wanted to extinguish them as soon as possible. And maybe in the process return back to his original world. But that didn't mean he would become a babysitter.
"Me? What about this girl?"
"I'm not a little girl and I have a name remember? Its Kikyou." Kikyou this time managed to calmly say.
"Riku, the girl will have to stay with you. She's the only lead we have on this case. And if what she says is true, then she's got something Ansem wants and she's going to need protection."said Frollo, leaving no room for further discussion and already planning out how they should handle this.
"Great, I have to protect her." Riku groaned. He wasn't exactly eye-witness protection material, and he didn't like Kikyou to begin with.
"Who says I need protection?" Kikyou wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea either. First of all, she didn't know him, second of all, she didn't like him, and third of all, this had nothing to do with her getting home.
"Do you have a weapon?" Frollo asked her.
"No." Kikyou replied. Kikyou thought she knew where he was going and was right in her prediction of Frollo's next words.
"Then you need protection." Frollo said firmly, leaving no room for discussion or argument.
"Fine then, but why do I have to get stuck with him?" Kikyou asked. Couldn't they find someone else to pair her with?
Frollo didn't answer but instead turned to Riku. "She's in your hands and she'll also be staying with you since we have no room for her here."
"Fine." Riku grabbed Kikyou roughly by the hand and headed out the door. He knew that all the holding cells were full here and if Ansem was alive he would have little trouble tearing this place apart. That and there was no arguing with Frollo once he was in one of his "moods", he always had to have his way. Riku lead Kikyou to his apartment with out saying anything more to her and neither did Kikyou say anything to him. The bite of his leather hand in hers silenced her complaints with pain and anxiety.
"So this is your apartment. Well where do you want me to sleep?" asked Kikyou. She wasn't in there long, but already she was a little homesick. This was the first time she had entered a mans apartment alone. She used to go over to Inuyasha's house all the time, but that was different. She had had Kagome with her then. If she wasn't so distracted by her situation, Kikyou would have started to feel anxious again. Here she was, stuck in a room shivering next to a man that she despised and had more power than her. If he wanted to he could just shove her onto his dirty little couch and have his way with her. Ruin her virginity and shatter her body and there would be nothing she could do. She owed him and there was no way home, and it was better than dieing.
Riku sighed and pointed to his room as he sat on the couch thinking, reliving past memories. Kikyou walked into his room and came out asking a question:"Where am I? What is this place?"
"Kingdom Hearts."
"Kingdom Hearts, I've never heard of a place like that on this Earth." Kikyou said while trying to not be disgusted with Riku's mess of a room. Clothes everywhere, boxes piled over with old paintings, used and dirty bandages and condom packages (which she really wished she hadn't saw) and used sheets were everywhere. At least there were no roaches, food particles, and body fluids anywhere in sight. But the thought of sleeping on the slimy bed filled her with a disgust that almost won out over her fatigue.
"Earth?" Riku asked. Was this a new world he had never heard of? Probably, but it was still surprising
"Yes I come from Tokyo, Japan, on Planet Earth. Wait you don't know what I'm talking about do you?"asked Kikyou as she turned away from a pile of Riku's dirty clothes to look a his confused expression. An expression that couldn't be faked, he honestly had no idea what she was talking about. Fear started to set it. It was just fine for an RPG or dating sim, but for something this frightening to happen in real life?
"No I don't. Why don't you fill me in because in this world there's no such thing as Tokyo." Riku said sarcastically. Why did he have to look confused? Something about her seeing him confused bothered him.
"I...I'm in another world." said Kikyou in disbelief. It was starting to all become frighteningly real, her position in the world. A refugee from planet earth. A torn, bloody, and scared little girl that wanted off this ride now and a return ticket home. However far home was away now...
"Yes."
"But my mom and my sister and even my cat Buyo...I'm never going to see them again? No I can't, I've got to find away to get back to my own world!" Kikyou screamed more to herself than to Riku as the fact that she was actually in a whole other planet sunk in.
"You and me both, but unless you want to go out there by yourself in the dead of night and fight those heartless out there without a weapon, you're not going no where. So go ahead, try it." said Riku sarcastically again. He walked in to his room, grabbed a clean gray shirt of his and handed it to her. "Take off your dirty clothes and hand them to me." After saying that he walked out of the room and back toward the couch. Kikyou closed the door to his room, changed, and handed her dirty clothes to him. Riku went down stairs to the laundry mat and then came back, he washed off the mud on his coat in the sink and listened to Kikyou take a shower. 'Great that makes two people that want to go home.' thought Riku to himself. Kikyou's feelings reminded him in some way of his feelings when the same thing happened to him. He tried to block out the memory of even that, and then stopped trying, finding that it wouldn't work this time. The only thing different were the situations that had bought the both of them here, Riku had wanted it while Kikyou obviously had not. She probably had friends and parents to go home to, who was waiting for him when he got back?
Kikyou stepped out of the shower dyed herself off, put on the shirt Riku had gave her, then walked into Riku's room. She laid on the bed (after tossing everything but the mattress pad off) and looked up at the ceiling. 'I don't suppose I can click my heels together and wish to go home. Face it Dorthy, you're not in Kansas anymore.' Kikyou thought sadly to herself and then looked at the jewel she still had hand in her. It was warm in her hand from her body heat and the steam from the shower. She still had a few more questions to ask, like who was Ansem anyway. Kikyou went in to the living room to talk to Riku. But she found him fast asleep. Instead of waking him up, she decided she would get some sleep as well.
Kikyou woke a hour later. She didn't know what time it was and didn't care enough to look at a clock. She went to get the clothes from the laundry mat. She slipped out of his apartment and some how found the place, took clothes out, and put them in the dryer. Then went back upstairs. She went back into Riku's bathroom to find a blanket for him and came out to find him having a nightmare.
In Riku's dream the past seemed to come back alive. The beach was as it always was sunny and relaxing. Usually around this time Sora would want to challenge someone and Kairi would be collecting seashells for her museum worthy collection.
"I wonder where he is anyway." said a 15 year old Riku. He was currently standing on his island. Looking out into the clam sea. The one place where he could be alone, well sometimes. Other times it was used to hang out with his friends. He looked down at his feet and saw a dark puddle of some kind of black liquid. It started to pull him under until he was in another space, another time, and another age. All around him was nothing but darkness, but some how he could see.
Riku looked down at his hands and noticed that he was 6 years old again.
"Always playing the hero, huh, Riku? But who's going to save you." said a dark voice from the shadows. Riku decided not to turn around and look for the owner of the voice, he already knew who that voice belonged to and decided to defy it.
"Ansem, you no longer have any power over me. Come out from hiding."
"Ah, but thats where your wrong Riku," Ansem appeared behind him, one hand going over his chest. "I have your soul!" Ansem plunged his hand into his chest and squeezed his heart into a vice grip.
Riku woke up and his head connected with Kikyou's, which sent her falling to the floor. "Ow, its about time you woke up! You were moaning and groaning in your sleep. I was just worried, you didn't have to sit up so fast." said Kikyou while rubbing her head with one hand and trying to keep Riku's shirt that he gave her and from riding up and showing way more than her legs.
Riku rubbed his own head with his right hand, still feeling the imaginary pain from the dream. "Next time you're worried about me, don't put your head so close mine!"
"Well sorry. But its your own fault for sitting up so fast!" Kikyou shouted back at him. Rage setting in as familiar as a worn glove, yet as foreign as a Hawaiian sunset. The two just glared at each other for awhile, Kikyou looking like a rejected Victoria's Secret model in unflattering gray and Riku still rubbing his head from a building headache of mammoth proportions.
Some where far away in a room, someone or something was listening in on their argument. It was the same thing that had sent Riku that nightmare just so he would also be informed on some level about what was happening. The only furniture in this room is a dark velvet throne. The room is covered in shadows and no door can be seen, reflected off the black marble floor is a light that's coming from a crystal globe on a black pedestal. In the globe both Kikyou and Riku are shown having an argument in Riku's apartment.
"Why were you so close to me anyway?"asks Riku. The globe seemed to be able to have the power to project peoples voices as well.
Kikyou blushes, the blood barely brightens her pale complexion, then replies: "I was trying to wake you up."
"By kissing me? I'm no sleeping beauty and you should save your first kiss for someone you love. Or am I wrong?" Riku said teasingly, knowing before she blushed again that he was right.
"Kiss you! I wasn't trying to kiss you!"
"Really. Well I think you're far too young for that too then. And here I thought you were a good girl from your appearance." Riku continued to tease.
"From what? What exactly are you implying?," Kikyou catches on to what he means and blushes a dark crimson.,"I barely know you and I think I'll save that for someone I love. And there's no way you're that person."
A dark figure appears on the throne like magic and smiles as he watches them. Claws click on the marble and a orange lion with a scar over his left eye and a black mane appears also.
"Oh what a lovely little girl and I see that boy is still alive Ansem." says the lion. The lion is also watching the globe as well as Ansem.
"Yes he is. Now what do you want Scar?" commands Ansem, he's wise when it comes to Scar's mind games and avoids one before it even begins.
"Nothing I just wanted to know why you want that girl."
"You mean Kikyou. I have my reasons." Ansem says quickly to his servant. He wanted to keep Scar as much out of his plan as possible without the lion noticing.
"You mean the jewel. Or maybe you just want the girl. I think she's a little too young for you. But what would I know, after all there is people who would do the deed with their children too."
"Begone Scar I can just as easily kill you as well, or have you forgotten who saved your life?" Ansem rises from his seat. Scar has gone too far this time, even implying that he would go through all the trouble just for a girl's body, the highest of insults.
"Temper, temper I do hope you take care off that. I wouldn't want you dieing on me already." And with those words Scar disappears as mysteriously as he came. Scar also has a plan of his own.
Ansem growls and then uses his power to make the globe show a close up on Kikyou, then the jewel and Riku. "Soon everything will be as it should have from the beginning and I will finally have the keys to the final door at last." The door Ansem is talking about it not Kingdom Hearts, but something much greater. Much greater and one that will cause more destruction as well. Something that began once upon a time long, long ago... (Chapter one, end)
Author's Note: This chapter was quite long hey? Well it only gets longer from here out. Those that don't like chapters that you can finish quickly probably won't like this fan fiction. But trust me, it's wroth the time it takes to read it. Through I warn you, this story it a bit confusing. I still haven't figured out where I'm going with this myself. Through don't make any assumptions about anything yet, just go with the flow you know? This version of the chapter is way better than the first, through it still has the same feel of the first. (including the horrible ending, I couldn't change that. ) But now on to the information I got for this chapter. Because trust me, I wouldn't have been able to do that description stuff on Riku with out the aid of the Internet. I would like to thank Misadventure, one of the best Riku fan sites on the web. You can find it by using this address: http://riku.riddel.nu/.
The clothing for Kikyou I made myself. I wish I could fully describe how it looks in my mind. I know that it looks different in yours, but I wanted it to be really plain. Kikyou doesn't strike me as a person that would spend all she had for flashy clothes or would really care about wearing flashy clothes either. So it's just made out of plain cotton dyed a light blue color and isn't short since I doubt Kikyou would wear something too...revealing. I left out that it had some creases in it because I forgot the word for that. Is it pleated? I don't know, I should buy/find my dictionary. Character description is important since it says a lot about the character.
For example, Kagome. I don't like Kagome, but I also had to be fair to her also. Kagome strikes me as a person that's not too much into her appearance, but just a little bit so when it comes to people she likes. Okay, more than a little bit. I know that sound like everyone, but not everyone would hit a half-demon for not caring about something that they wore or made. Kagome has anger problems I think, or maybe she's just stupid and doesn't know how to dish out her emotions without hitting somebody. Don't little boys do the same? Okay, so I am making fun of her. Well in this one I sort of glammed Kagome up so that you, the reader, could see how different her and Kikyou are. Kikyou though is going to be a little different from normal because she's human. Plus she's always alone, besides Inuyasha and a few brief meetings with other people. You never really get to see her interact with other people. I'm sure if someone lived with her for a while or got on her nerves in a major way she would snap at the person. Kikyou's not too emotionless, just enough to make her mysterious. For Riku, I tried to give the image of a person that is trying hard to forget and freeze himself from getting hurt. Through he has friends, he stays alone most of the time and doesn't open himself to many people. He uses woman probably for um...I don't really know if little kids are reading this or not...For pleasure only. Just to forget in that one moment when he, well "becomes one" with that other person. So having a woman around that's not interested in his body, or he interested in her, is a little weird for him. Especially since he has to protect her. I tired to make Riku cold, rude, not too ooc, and a womanizer with out turning him into a Miroku. I think I did good, for an earlier work of mine.
I think the reason why my mind came up with all this was because of the fact that I was a big fan of Inuyasha back then and a big fan of Kingdom Hearts also. And I'm a fan of both Kikyou and Riku. Unfortunately I'm no longer a big fan of Inuyasha. I can't deal with all the fan girls, obsessed American fans (I'm not dissing Americans, because I'm American), and all the Kikyou haters. They turned me off because of how crazy they were/are. They just don't get it. It's just a show and everyone is entitled to my own opinion. I'm still a fan of Kingdom Hearts though and I'm glad to see that the Kingdom Hearts fan base hasn't turned out like the Inuyasha one. Through I still am interested in Inuyasha, I'll stick to the actually manga. Kingdom Hearts and Inuyasha at first don't seem to have anything in common. But if you think about it, they do.
Inuyasha centers around a not to bright dog demon named Inuyasha, a reincarnation of an ancient priestess that has extraordinary powers named Kagome, and Inuyasha's first love and first friend Kikyou. Kingdom Hearts centers around around a happy go lucky boy named Sora, his mysterious girl friend named Kairi, and his best friend (and for people that like S/R, first love) Riku.
Inuyasha has a powerful yet dangerous jewel called the Shikon no Tama. Or jewel of four souls. It has the power to grant it's user any wish, but at a price because it isn't purified. Also, one of Inuyasha's plot points are two swords that have the power of death as well as life. (for one of them anyay) Kingdom Hearts has powerful weapons called Keyblades that can be used for different purposes. Some good, some evil. No jewels, but powerful hearts are often talked about.
The main villains in Kingdom Hearts is a sort of dead, sort of alive man named Ansem (still confused on how he was able to become like that), a witch (whose name I forgot), and the heartless. Inuyasha's main villains are a half dead man who sold his soul to demons in order to become a half demon named Naraku, a demon born of Naraku that is a "wind witch", and a girl that can take peoples souls with a powerful mirror that is also born from Naraku. And both the witch from the KH series and the soul eater Kana (I think this is her name), are pale, short, wear white, and are creepy in their knowledge of events.
Inuyasha travels with several companions. Some not so smart, some annoying. Sora travels with two people-I mean-animals but meets many people along the way. Through the animals he always travels with can be annoying. See? They do have a lot in common. Character wise too.
I'll use Riku and Kikyou for this example and not everyone because it's getting late. Riku is smart, a leader type of person. Strong, and seems to be a person people can look up to. But he's also a little overconfident because of this and can make stupid choices. Through he makes up for that by trying to change what he already did in the end and help out his friends as much he can. Even if it means his death, or in this case, him being locked behind a door into another world. He's also very stubborn and brave. Riku focuses on the past a lot, and has trust issues. In the beginning he was just a little to trusting to those that offered him a hand, and because of that he had problems trusting people that were even close to him. Now he wants to find Sora and help those along the way in his own style so everything can go back to being normal.
Kikyou is smart, quiet, a leader and a high priestess. She's also strong in that people seem to look to her for advice because she seems wise beyond her years. But because of this, and because she rarely gets to let her emotions show, she can be a little too trusting of people that need her help. Likewise she can distrust completely once her trust has been broken by even those close ther her. Or at least she was. She also seems to be guided by past mistakes a bit, but over comes them. Kikyou helps out Inuyasha when she can and seems to want to die in order to help things go back to normal.
The both of them seem alike to me. :)
Addition information:
Don't forget to review. Don't flame, constructive criticism is nice but don't complain about what I put up at the end of this chapter. I decided to name the law in this story "Reapers" since it's a new world, but I couldn't quite explain it. So Reapers are sort of like the police. If you don't understand it, don't try. The organization plays a minor part int his story. And, if you can believe it, I thought of everything from her to this current chapter before playing KH2. So any references to the second game are unintentional and no KH2 characters appear in this fan fiction. And chapters two and three should have more additional content being added, please keep checking back.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please review.