This is pure fan-fiction. I do not own KingdomHearts. The world in the story called Alma is mine, as is its people.
Heartsong
Chapter One
Riku sat still, the dry wind blowing sand into his face. The hot sun beats down on him. After a bit, Riku stood and began walking down from the cliff he had sat upon. The black veil over his eyes made it look as if he couldn't see, when, in fact, he can. Riku sighed. He didn't know why he had done it. It had been but a petty argument but, for some reason, he just couldn't face Sora. So he had run away. Again.
He was wearing that black Organization XIII robe again. Even though, due to the conditions he was facing, it was highly inappropriate. Perhaps he was wearing it out of gloom. He definitely was upset. The funny thing was, he didn't really know why. Maybe it was because Sora told him to go away. Riku shook his head. He knew Sora. Sora probably didn't mean it. Riku knew all that, but he still had gone away. He didn't know what had got into him. He had just packed a few odds and ends, and left. Maybe he just needed sometime alone or something...(yeah, Riku...you believe that...)
He was so intent on his thoughts that it wasn't until he got whacked that he realized that he was surrounded by Heartless. The whacking caused the ground to rise up to meet him. In less poetic terms, he fell flat on his face. And abused his poor nose(see Random Shit Ensues chapter one). He tried to get up, but this is kind of hard to do when you have 5 tons of Heartless on you. So, instead, Riku pulled out his Keyblade and chopped behind him wildly. While this doesn't do much damage, it got the Heartless off him, which was a relief. He slowly stood up and held his Keyblade at the ready. There was a moment of silence, except for the ever raging wind. Then, in a flurry of motion, the battle began. A few heart pounding minutes later Riku heard voices shouting in the distance. Riku looks up and sees a group of horsemen. The lead horseman shouts an order and the group charges the Heartless.
Many minutes later, the Heartless are gone. The horsemen dismount and check their steeds over carefully, not leaving a section of flesh or tack unchecked. Meanwhile, Riku begins searching frantically around. The strip of black cloth he had been wearing over his eyes had been cut off during the battle. He finally finds one half of the cloth and starts looking around for the other half. "Do you need some help, miss?" a male voice asks. Riku nods "Yes, I would really like some hel..." He trails off as what the guy said sinks in. The guy thinks he's a girl! He pauses and turns his head around slowly. "What?" Riku asks, through clenched teeth. The man blinks and says "I said would you like some..." Riku cuts him off. "I know what you said." he growls out. "I meant the miss part." "Well, you're obviously a girl." The man says, totally clueless. "And what gives you that idea?" Riku asked, slowly losing his temper. This had happened before. It was when he was finally introduced to Leon and co. They had stared at him for a long time and then, in the awkward silence, Yuffie had shouted out "Are you sure Riku's a guy? 'Cuz he looks a lot like a girl!" Leon had glared at Yuffie but Riku could tell he had been thinking the same thing. Even Aerith had been uncomfortable about what Yuffie had said, so probably even she had been wondering the same thing. Ever since then, Riku has hated Yuffie.
"Well...Fifi likes you." He says as if its the most obvious thing in the world. Or worlds, in this case. "Huh?" Riku looks confusedly at the guy. The man points behind Riku and Riku turns around. He bites back a yelp as he sees 'Fifi'. Fifi is a huge black dog, that could be mistaken for a Heartless except for the fact it hasn't got those yellow eyes. "That's Fifi?!" Riku exclaims. The man nods. "Who calls this 'Fifi'!?!!" Riku screams, definitely not happy. "A girl like you, of course." Okay, the fact that this dog belongs to a girl is not much of a surprise. But the guy seems absolutely certain that Riku is a girl. "What does Fifi have to do with me being a..." Riku trails off. The man shrugs and says "Fifi only likes girls and she likes you. Besides, you're wearing a black dress." "Its a robe." Riku says dryly. "Robe then. And you do have long hair." Riku blinks and sweatdropped. During the long time Sora and Riku had been separated, Riku hadn't cut his hair. This wasn't by choice. Before he ran into DiZ, Riku didn't really have access to scissors. And when he met DiZ, he had started looking for Roxas, since he would help Sora recover his memories. And in the brief pauses between the times Roxas whipped his but, when Riku was recovering, no matter where Riku looked he couldn't find a pair of scissors. Sure he found; lasers, swords, guns, pitchforks, stakes, torches, scythes, daggers, garlic, holy water and other such things,(including a very tempting big red button with a Do Not Touch sign on it) he failed to find a single pair of scissors.(but he did get the idea that DiZ is terrified of vampires...) He began to think that DiZ had locked up all scissors in a safe place. He didn't really get that; the giant laser he had found seemed more dangerous than a pair of scissors. After a bit he got use to not having the almost daily haircut his hair usually needed. His hair grows very fast. And after he became Xehanort's Heartless, he figured he really didn't need to do that. So his hair hadn't been touched by a pair of scissors for a really long time. That just encouraged his girlish looks. Not helping.
"Look, I know I don't look it, but I'm a guy." Riku says, very upset. The man laughs "Sure you are. Now come on, the camp's a long ways away." Riku was a little taken aback. "Huh?" "Don't tell me you're planning on staying out here alone with those dark things on the prowl. Young Ladies shouldn't stay out late alone without protection." Riku sighed. He gave up on trying to explain to them that he was definitely a he. He didn't really feel like taking off his clothes. Especially since it would just put sand into his clothes. Yep, he'll just have to deal with it for now. But eventually he will have to explain that he is a boy.
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"So, you've traveled a lot, huh?" "Yeah." Riku answered calmly. "How terrifying!" one of the ladies trilled out. "For one so young and a girl none the lest!" Riku let the 'girl' part slide. "I'm sixteen." He pointed out. "That's still young." mentioned the man who had first talked to Riku, whose name is Korr. So far, Riku had learned a few things about this world and its people. This world they called Alma. They traveled across the land, never staying in one place for long. They depended upon their horses to take them from place to place. For reason's unknown to Riku, until a certain time, they considered, no matter what, a child sexless. After a certain point in their life, they will claim to be either male or female. The caravan leader follows the advice of someone called Alma's Eye and others in the caravan follow that one's advice as well. Apparently Alma was not just their world but their goddess as well. Each caravan has one Alma's Eye in it, and perhaps an apprentice as well. It is believed that there are One Thousand Eyes in this world, since there are apparently one thousand caravans. Sometimes caravans meet by chance, but that is rare, and no more than five at a time. The largest caravan gatherings(purposefully set up) are called Gathers. Gathers happen when one of Alma's Eyes contact ten other Alma's Eyes and call them together in one spot. There is a lot of dancing, singing and other such activities during a Gather. The high point happens when the moon rises. At that point one or two, and on rare occasions all, of the Alma's Eyes there will begin to tell a story. The storyteller will stand in the middle of a circle, with the rest lying down or sitting in the circle. As the story progresses, the teller will circle around, facing in all directions in turn. By the end of the story the teller will have come full circle.
Riku sat in a circle around a campfire, eating a hearty meal. The cooks would have nothing less. The women forced food upon Riku and would not take no for an answer. Riku listened to the men and women talk, absentmindedly petting Fifi. After a bit, Riku had gotten used to Fifi. She really was a nice dog, if a little big. But she wouldn't allow other men to come near her, though women were safe. Children were ignored. Riku thought that perhaps the dog had mistaken him for a girl. He did really look like a girl with that face of his. (completely ignoring the fact that dogs depend on smell rather than sight...) Oh, well. No one had bothered him yet.
"Well, you're a pretty little thing. Want to have some fun, little girl?" a slurring voice came from the other side of Riku. Judging by the fact Fifi was growling, it was a man. Riku turned and came face to face with a ugly guy, who was obviously dead drunk. He had to be, to not notice the expression on Riku's face. It was definitely an...interesting expression. Riku looked as if he wanted to throw up, scream and faint, kill the guy, or run away screaming, bare naked, yelling "I'm a boy! A boy!". He apparently couldn't decide which to do. And then, just before Riku decided which to do, a voice spoke up, obviously a girl. "Now, now. You know you're not to assault our guest." The voice had a 'naughty boy' ring to it. Riku looked over his shoulder to see a girl with sleek muscles, that were clung to by her outfit. Her clothing clung to every curve and contour on her body. But the first thing Riku noticed was her hair. It is pale rose splashed with great, irregular blots of black. She looked a lot like a paint colored horse in that way. " Now move along." she said, pushing the drunk away. After the drunk was gone, she sat down next to Riku. She sighed. "He gets like that all the time. He's a nice guy when not drunk though." Riku stared at her for awhile. After a bit, the girl blinks and turns to look over at Riku. "Oh! I'm sorry. My name's Tek. What's your's?" "It's Riku." Riku said. "Ah. So you're the new girl. That's good! The boys out number us." "Actually...I'm not a girl." Riku said slowly. The girl grins. " Of course you're a girl! My dog likes you." Riku blinks. "Fifi's yours?" "Yep! I know you think its a strange name but I like it. I really wanted a small dog, one that can fit in a bag." Riku looks surprised. This girl carries a bow across her back and a dagger to the side. She was obviously one of the female warriors. She would like a small dog. Its kind of hard to believe. "You...do?" "Yep! So I call her Fifi. In the old tongue it means 'Tiny'. Her full name means 'Tiny Terror'." Riku blinks. "Full name?" He is starting to get very confused. "Yes! In Alma, names have power. So, when you say if you're male or female, you get taken aside by your mother and she gives you your true name. Its a secret that is only told if you truly trust someone. My short name is Tek. So your short name is Riku." "How do the mothers know what name is the right one?' Riku asks. "The name they give their child might not fit." Tek smiles. "It is believed that Alma whispers to them and gives them the name. So, no matter what, the name will fit the child." "Telling stories to others again, Tek? You will make a great Alma's Eye." Tek whirls around to face the newcomers, two older women. "Sa! Ses!" Tek exclaims. Riku also stands up. Tek turns to him and introduces him to the women. The older one is Sa, a woman who radiants comfort and has blond hair with spots of gray. The younger one is Ses, a calm and motherly woman, who has cream colored hair with amber streaks. The hair of the girls of Alma were a lot like horses' colors, is what Riku should have noted. But right now, Riku was feeling really tired.
"You know I have no powers. I do not dream any dreams that come true." Tek said, laughing a little. Sa smiles a secret smile. "Yes, but some are late bloomers." "Don't kid around! I am a warrior, no Alma's Eye!" Ses smiles and leans over Riku. "Who is your new friend, Tek?" Tek looks back at Riku. "This is Riku. She was found recently in the desert." Ses looks over Riku,(who is sitting down again) not missing the fact she (for her) is very tired. "Nice to meet you." Riku manages to get out, covering a yawn. Ses looks closely at Riku and shifts slightly. Riku then, not able to stay awake any longer, falls forwards and is caught quickly by Ses. Sa and Tek crowd around the two of them. Ses carefully turns Riku over. "She is so cute when she is asleep!" exclaims Tek quietly. Sa nods her head in agreement. "Let's put her in Ses's wagon. She has room ever since..." Sa trails off. Ses smiles and says "Its okay. I'm better now." "Good. 'Cuz it it looks like you have a new child for awhile." Tek says, grinning. "It won't be long now." Sa says, looking down at Riku.
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Riku slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times at the wooden ceiling and the fact that the bed was moving. He sat up and realized that the entire room was moving. He started to get out of bed and realized something else; he was naked except for his underwear. Riku swore and stared searching for his clothes. For some strange reason he couldn't find them. Instead, he found some clothes, though there are pants, that are obviously for a girl. Riku held the pants up. He did not want to wear them. Though they cover everything, they were light and felt as if they should be see through. Finally, after more fruitless searching, Riku started to put the clothes on. He didn't have much choice in the matter. As Riku was leaving the room, he noticed a curtain covering a section of the room. Riku approached the curtain, curious about what was hidden behind it, then stopped. The curtain looked as if it was recently put up. He decided to leave it be. It was obviously put there for a reason. Riku headed to the door and opened it. Squinting in the bright morning light, Riku waited for his eyes to adjust to the light. After a bit, Riku realized the room had been the interior of a wagon. The caravan was moving now, moving farther from the desert. "So you've finally awakened. How did you sleep, Riku?" Riku blinks and looks down. Ses is sitting on the raised steps of the wagon, looking behind her at Riku. "I had a good sleep, thank you. Do you know what happened to my clothes?" "Oh. Tek put them somewhere. They were not appropriate for a girl." Ses said, standing up and brushing away the dust that had gotten on her skirt. "Come back inside. There is nothing much to do out here." Ses skillfully slides past Riku. Riku stares as she passes. "Then what were you doing?" he asked. Ses looked over at him as she opens the door. "Remembering." she says simply. Riku blinks and follows her inside. "Remembering what?"
Ses sits down on the couch in the wagon. "My child." Riku starts then sits down on a cushion on the ground. He didn't want to stop her, because she might not be able to start again. "My child was about to lay claim to being a male awhile back. But, just before the ceremony, the dark things came." "Heartless." murmured Riku. "The dark things attacked my child. Our warriors rushed to protect my child but when they got there, my child had vanished. No one was able to figure out what had happened. Not even our Alma's Eye could tell us what had happened. That was a little over a year ago. A few months later, the dark things diminished. There are still dark things, like the ones who attacked you, but not as many as before. There was an army of them, and all of the caravans' warriors and Alma's Eyes massed together to fight them. They were almost over whelmed! They kept on coming. No matter how many were destroyed, more came. But then, quite suddenly, they stopped coming. The warriors and Alma's Eyes were able to defeat the dark things. All the Alma's Eyes said that a great warrior had closed the door behind the dark things and in doing so saved us all. If we ever met this great warrior, we would give him many honors." Riku smiled.-I have to tell Sora this. His face will be worth seeing.-
"You said something when I first mentioned the dark things. What did you say?" Ses asked. Riku blinked in surprise. She has good hearing. "Heartless." Now it was Ses's turn to be surprised. "Huh?" "The dark things are called Heartless." Ses's mouth widens a bit "You know about them?!" She exclaims. "Yes. I used to fight them a lot." (the rest of the conversation is basically Riku telling Ses all that he knows about Heartless which you should already know, so I skipped that part) Ses looks thoughtful for a moment after Riku had finished. "You should tell the others about this. It might help us fight the remainder of these...Heartless."
Thus, Riku's days past, traveling during the day and resting at night. After the first day Riku woke up at dawn and helped get the caravan ready for the day's traveling. During the day, Riku would talk with Tek, Sa, Ses, and a recently acclaimed female Lell, her hair the golden color of honey and the bright yellow of beeswax. Sometimes Korr would come over and talk to them, specifically Riku. Eventually Riku got use to wearing the girl's clothing, though not entirely comfortable. One day though, they met up with another caravan. The two caravan leaders went off to the side to discus something. Since they had met this caravan before, everyone went to renew old relationships, thus leaving Riku alone. Riku ended wandering around towards a recently set up corral. Puzzled, the people of Alma don't usually use corral's to contain their horses since they behave very well, Riku approached the corral to find out why. What he saw was a scene of chaos. "Get him!" "Watch out, he's going to bite!" "Don't let him escape!" A bunch of men were running around the corral, after a great black stallion. The stallion had a rope halter around his neck. Riku blinked in surprise. It was the closest thing he had seen close to a bridle since arriving here. The people of Alma used close fitting saddles made to fit the horse and rider. They steered by tapping the side of the horse and stop by leaning back in the saddle. The stallion himself was also wrong. The horses of the people wandered around freely because they were gentle. This stallion seemed to be trying to break free and hurt people. He was very wild. Suddenly his muscles bunched together, readying himself to jump over the fence. "Look out!" One of the men warned as the stallion jumped straight at Riku. Riku quickly jumped out of the way and the stallion bounded past Riku. Turning around, the stallion charged right back at Riku. Riku was about to jump away, but some instinct caused him to stand still. The stallion stopped just in front of him.
Riku gazed up at the stallion. He really was a great beast. Pitch black accept for a white crescent shaped mark in between his strange aqua eyes. His eyes, in fact, were the same color as Riku's. For some strange reason, one more mysterious than the fact Riku's original clothing was gone, Riku wasn't scared. Slowly Riku reached out a hand and, after a moment's pause, rested it on the forehead. There was an audible gasp shared among the onlookers as, calmly, the stallion gently nipped Riku's sleeve, plainly asking for attention. Riku, just as calmly, started petting the stallion, even scratching the inside of the stallion's ear, which even Riku knows is rare in a horse! The stallion wickers, and rubs his head against Riku's chest, clearly wanting more attention.
"Well, that is the strangest thing I've ever seen!" a male voice remarks. Riku turns to see the caravan leader of the one Riku was currently traveling with had met. Riku looked around and sweatdropped, realizing that everyone had gathered around him and the stallion. It looked like everyone had seen the exchange between him and the stallion. The caravan leader of Riku's caravan, Dagg, raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said he was vicious, Illi?" he said, addressing the other caravan leader. Illi shakes his head in bewilderment. "He was. He started to be very wild the day after we found him. That was fifteen days ago." Riku starts at the number of days. For that was how long he had been on this world. For five days he wandered alone, and the last ten spent with the caravan. Dagg cautiously approached the stallion. The stallion's ears went back and he stared menacingly at Dagg. He stayed like that until Dagg backed away. "I see. He's a one woman horse." Dagg turned to Riku. "As soon as your acclaimed as a female, you will have to undergo another ceremony to become one of our warriors. Clearly Alma sent you to be a warrior. She even sent you a steed!" Riku stood there for a long time, struck dumb. Then he managed to get something out "What?" He said in a small voice.
The stallion had been handed to Riku with a lot of ceremony. The horse had stopped trying to kill everyone but Riku after Riku scolded him for trying to bite Tek's hand off. Now he only tried to kill people he didn't classify under 'Riku's friend'. That, unfortunately, was most of the caravan. Riku had recently decided a true name for the stallion; Aljan, which in the old tongue means 'Dark Moon'. But he just calls him Jan. Riku slowly got undressed. The last three days had been a huge energy drain. He really needed to sleep. He was asleep as soon as he collapsed onto the bed.
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"You won't remember me saying this..." a voice cuts through Riku's dreams. Images form and are torn away. The onslaught is very painful and Riku cries out. "Who do you love?" the voice says, one that is strangely familiar. "I love..." Riku gasps out...
Ses wakes up, and pushes aside the curtains that enclose her bed in the wagon. She walks over to Riku's bed. She gasps at what she sees. A tapping is heard on the door. She opens the door the reveal Tek and Sa standing on the doorstep. "It's time?" Tek asks. Ses nods. They both come in and head over towards Riku's bed. They gasp. Riku is sweating and glowing. Her form shifts from boy to beautiful woman, constantly. "I've never seen or heard of someone react so strongly!!" Sa exclaims. Tek nods. "It is as if she is resisting." They draw back in horror as a cloud of darkness starts coming from Riku. The light and darkness seem to fight for a bit, then the darkness fades, beaten by the light. The girls sigh with relief. Riku's form settles down finally. Ses gently puts the covers back over her. She sees Riku's lips move, as if saying a name. She smiles gently, brushing Riku's hair away from her forehead. "Sleep well, my child." she whispers. She turns back to Tek and Sa. "It is time to go. When Riku wakes up, I will tell you. Until then wait." As Tek is leaving she turns around. "We will have to explain to her what is going on." Ses nods. "Until morning." Sa says, leaving. After they were gone, Ses turns back to Riku, who is now sleeping peacefully. "Until morning we can do nothing. Riku is in Alma's hands now."
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So...what did you think? Its not that good in my option...but maybe you liked it? Send me reviews please!!! Do you see where I'm going with Riku yet? Oh, and about that Fifi joke...I am not a sexist. If I was, I would be sexist about myself, which would be awkward. I'm just acknowledging the fact that some girls think that huge ferocious things that could easily kill you are cute. I am one of them. I think sharks are cute. I don't know why though...
Oh, and most horses really don't normally like the insides of their ears scratched, but a few do. I learned it from a horse calendar, with facts about horses and stories about horses in it.