One Sky, One Destiny
(ROUGH DRAFT)
A Kingdom Hearts fanfic by Raberba girl
Summary: 10th anniversary fic for the Kingdom Hearts series. Just a short tribute, nothing fancy.
A/N: AS USUAL, I'm really lame about paying attention to the timeline. -.-
o.o.o
One walked the paths between worlds, far from home and knowing that all was not well with those he held dear.
One struggled in the darkness, desperate to keep his newly-freed heart from being consumed once again.
One waited alone on a dark shore, watching life blossom into light and color around her, but knowing there was a vital part of it still empty.
Torn apart again after all too brief reunions, yet their hearts were still connected with an unbreakable bond...
o.o.o
Sora sat in the dark field, watching the fire as Donald and Goofy slept restlessly beside him. "I hope Riku's okay..." So many adventures and battles, so much strife and desperation, yet the hardest thing he had ever done in his life was to shut that door with his best friend on the wrong side of it. "I promise you, Riku. I'll find a way to get you back."
Sora sighed and lay down on his stomach, staring into the fire again as he propped his chin on one hand. He wondered what Kairi was doing. He felt terrible, abandoning her there on that empty beach all by herself, even though he had tried his best to hold onto her. He refused to believe that he might never see her again. "Kairi...Riku...I promise..." His eyes drifted closed.
o.o.o
The cold silence of this place was starting to get to him. After what he'd been through, Riku would choose overwhelmingly white walls over darkness without hesitation, but it was getting harder and harder to remember that as he made his way through the castle. The incessant brightness was starting to feel suffocating...
Riku sighed and placed a hand on the wall - just to rest for a moment. He couldn't tell whether he was so tired from the battles, or from low spirits. "I've got to...pull it together..." He had to find the way out of here and figure out how to get home, back to Kairi and hopefully Sora. Hopefully Sora. He had no idea if Sora had managed to make it back to the Islands or not.
Though, tainted as he was now, Riku didn't...exactly relish the thought of facing his homeworld again. "I just...wanna make sure you're safe...Sora, Kairi..." He didn't know what he would do after that - hide, wander the worlds, he didn't particularly care - as long as he just had the chance to make sure his best friends were all right.
So tired...
o.o.o
It was getting dark. She really should head home, her parents would be upset with her for staying out so late alone, especially after everything that had happened. But...she couldn't...tear herself away...
"I miss you already," Kairi whispered, laying her hand over the drawing Sora had scratched into the cave wall. "I just saw you a few hours ago, and already I miss you so much."
Sora was not the only one she missed. She had looked everywhere she could think of, but she hadn't been able to find Riku anywhere. "What were you boys doing all this time?" She had been so confused - her happy life had been swallowed by a long, long nightmare that she couldn't remember but which still made her shiver every time she thought of it. Then so many strange things had happened upon her awakening, some of them awful.
"Why couldn't I be with you?" Apparently they'd gone gallivanting off across many worlds, and she'd slept through it. They'd fought life-or-death battles and triumphed over evil, and she'd been uselessly waiting. Then the Islands had been restored and they were all supposed to be together again, but Sora had literally been ripped out of her hands and Riku was nowhere to be found. "Why am I always the one being left behind...?"
Still sitting there against the cave wall with her knees drawn up, Kairi rested her face against her arms and cried. "Sora...Riku..."
She drifted to sleep before the tears had dried.
o.o.o
It was dark, but a heart-shaped moon shone radiantly in the sky, illuminating their faces as they uncurled. "Mmmm! So sleepy," Sora yawned, stretching his arms in the air.
Goofy chuckled. "A-hyuck, I think we are asleep, Sora."
Sora stared. "Oh. Yeah, I guess we are."
"Only way we'd be able to see each other like this," Riku murmured softly, gazing at the ground.
"Wak! Almost fell off," Donald yelped, scrambling to get better settled on the pillar they all seemed to be perched on.
Kairi smiled and climbed higher up, reaching out carefully with one hand to touch her friend's knee. "Where have you been, Riku?"
"Nowhere," he mumbled.
"What are you talking about?" Sora exclaimed. "You were in the Realm of Darkness, I saw you! How'd you get out, Riku?"
"..."
"Why so glum, Riku?" Goofy wondered.
"Yeah!" Kairi exclaimed. "I haven't seen you in ages, I've been worried sick, and you're acting like you can't stand me!"
Riku's head shot up. "That's not true!"
Sora grinned and clapped him on the back. "You know she doesn't blame you for the whole 'I'm gonna turn to the Dark Side to get your heart back' thing."
"Shut up," Riku growled as he looked away again, hoping that none of them could see him blushing in the dark.
"I blame him," Donald pouted.
"Donald!" Sora scolded.
The duck winked. "But maybe if he says sorry really nice, I'll forgive him."
"I'm sorry," Riku mumbled.
Donald blinked. "Oh. Well, good!"
"I'm glad we can all be friends," Goofy said happily.
"I am, too," Kairi said meaningfully, taking her friend's hands.
"Me, too," Sora declared, scooting closer and smiling at them both. "And I'm also glad we can finally all be together."
"It won't last, stupid," Riku sighed. "We're asleep, remember? This'll all be gone as soon as we wake up."
"Then let's make the most of the little time we do have together," Kairi urged.
"Yeah!" Sora said eagerly. "Hey, let's climb down and see if there's anyplace around here that sells ice cream."
Riku stared at him in astonishment. "Ice- You're thinking of ice cream at a time like this?"
"What's wrong with ice cream?" Donald challenged.
"I like ice cream," Goofy offered.
"Me, too!" Sora laughed. "Come on, Riku! There's this new blue flavor I've been wanting to try."
At last, Riku smiled a little. "Well, why not." Kairi was staring, and he suddenly felt self-conscious. "What?"
"I've just...never seen you smile like that before." She smiled back. "You look really sweet, Riku."
"Huh?"
Sora laughed. "I kinda see what she means. Before, you were always kind of smirky."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Riku said indignantly as Donald and Goofy began to chuckle.
"Oh, forget that, we have to hurry and find some ice cream before one of us wakes up!"
"Whatever."
The boys scrambled down, Riku reached up to tug Kairi's hand as Sora stood at his side to catch her, and then the five of them made their way down the street together.
o.o.o
Author's Notes: This was VERY last-minute. I'd wanted to do drabbles for all six games, but ran out of time; if I ever do manage to get to them, I'll add them to the end of this as new chapters. Oh, and sorry for the title that I'm sure has probably been overused, but I like it a lot, and I think it fits what I was thematically aiming for.
Man, so I got on the computer this morning, and it seemed like half the Internet was amiably exploding with KH 10th anniversary stuff. So I was like, ":O I gotta write one, too!" But I was so freaking busy today! Managed to scribble out the beginning of the KH1 drabble while in the doctor's office, then scribbled more of it at work later while waiting for my student to show up, but by the time I got home, it was late and I had to scramble trying to get this thing typed/finished/quick-edited/posted before midnight. *wince* I made it, though! Yay! Happy birthday, Kingdom Hearts! :D