Author's Note: This was written for some strange sort of "Write a fic in an hour" challenge. I'm not really happy with this and I've no freaking clue what the point to this was so forgive me. I hate such pressure. And it's... weird. Have mercy.
"What are you doing?"
Her question had been so innocent, merely through the way she had said it. Her voice was light and feathery, fusing together with the equally windy breeze that was blowing through. And yet, behind such a voice, hushed and afloat in the air, there was something much darker. Something far more heavy than the airy tone she had given him. And, to be quite honest, it scared him more than anything.
He shifted, his back leaning against the strangely bent tree. "Nothing exciting." Silence followed his blunt, enigmatic answer. He mentally scolded himself. He was acting so rudely towards somebody who didn't deserve it. What had she done to him anyway? When had she ever hurt him?
He paused his thoughts at the sound of her footsteps inching closer. Before he knew it, she was sitting atop the paopu tree, her slender legs dangling off the side as the two of them sat in the stillness. He moved again, this time out of nervousness. If he had any sense – and compared to Sora, he certainly did – she was going to question him in her typical, childlike manner. And, as always, after a few moments of said interrogation, he always gave in, telling her whatever she wanted to know. But right now, he feared the consequences of her knowing. Needless to say, his thoughts were far from simplistic and pure musings she had. He chanced glancing at her, his eyes meeting the sight of the young redhead, her feet swinging in unblemished content, her ocean blue eyes gazing peacefully at the sun setting before them. A light smile on her face and a warm blush on her cheeks, she was the picture of innocence, of kindness, of benevolence in itself. And nothing bothered him more than tainting it, destroying that which made Kairi herself.
"Well," she began suddenly, much to his surprise, "even if it is nothing exciting..." She turned her head to look at him. "What were you doing exactly?"
He wanted to squirm under her intense gaze, but he had some sense of pride that he needed to hold onto and stood his ground, staring back at her with equal intensity. "I was thinking," he answered, as blunt as possible.
"Thinking about what?" Of course his response wasn't enough for her satisfaction. It hardly ever was. She was born curious.
"Just... things." At this, he lowered his eyes to the sandy ground beneath him.
"What kind of things?" He sighed, deciding that it would be better not to answer. He wasn't upset that she was asking so many questions; he'd gotten used to it years before. But he really didn't want to talk about it, his own fear rising within him at that very moment. "What kind of things, Riku?" she asked again, her voice obviously pushing for more information. He refused, keeping his lips pressed together tightly to prevent him from saying something that he might regret later.
He peeked at her again, this time seeing an obviously distressed young woman whose eyes were begging for an explanation. And heaven only knew – if there is such a place – that Kairi rarely begged to get what she wanted.
"Me." He groaned, disappointed at his lack of self-control.
"What?"
"Me. I've been thinking about me." He turned to face her completely now, coming to terms with the fact that there was no running away. "About... me and the darkness. How I let everything go so wrong. How I let you and Sora get hurt. How I betrayed you two because I thought I was doing the right thing. How much I've..." He decided not to finish, afraid of how upset she'd be to hear what he really wanted to say. He slowly closed his eyes while holding his breath, waiting for her outburst, her moment of anger and disbelief. The part in this twisted script where she would yell and scream before running away to question Sora further, to ask him if such a terrible thing had ever happened. He waited... and waited... and waited...
He opened his eyes listlessly to find her ... smiling?
She giggled, probably in response to his wide-eyed expression. He regained his composure. "What? You think this is funny? You think everything I've been thinking is funny? Is that it?" He almost winced at how harsh he was being. He wasn't even quite sure where this anger had come from.
She stopped laughing, a grin still evident on her face. She hopped down from her seat on the tree, her eyes sparkling.
"No, Riku," she said, the dark undertone in her voice no longer there. "I just..." She unclasped her hands from behind her back and ran toward him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He gasped at the sudden hug, not sure what he was supposed to do at that very moment. Before he could even decide, she had already let go and had begun walking away, a slight skip in her step as she walked. Riku remained still, still reeling from her surprise attack. He was about to return to what he had originally been doing when her voice calling his name caught his attention.
"Hey, Riku?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't worry. You haven't changed." She smiled. "Not at all."
--...&&FIN..
Author's Note: Well, review anyway. It's bad, but it's at least grammatically decent. I think. Give me props for that, if nothing else.