Random and written on a whim, more to get the words flowing than anything (and ended up more as a character study of Sora)...this little drabble was inspired by a piece of writing on DeviantArt, called The Company of A Good Friend, written by MadHatch. It is a very interesting piece of writing, and I suggest you all check it out. :)
Set during KH2. Mild spoilers for plot.
Words: 865
Kingdom Hearts and all affiliated characters belong to Square Enix. This is a work of fiction and is not for profit; it is for personal enjoyment only.
Sora had had many an interesting conversation and exchange during his trek from world to world, encounters with the local folk rather impossible to avoid considering his and his comrades' blatant and surprising arrivals.
It went something like this:
Dodge dangerous enemies by the skin of his teeth? Check.
Barely skim through available information on world (demographics, leaders, government, and ad nauseam) and disregard said information as rather irrelevant? Check.
Wince unpleasantly and apologize profusely as Donald fills out another damage report on the gummi ship to file back to Disney Castle? Check.
Arrive at world? Check.
Make presence known very loudly and obviously, in a fashion considered irresponsible and potentially dangerous? Check.
Inevitably attract the attention of world inhabitants? Check.
While crude and lacking in structure and planning, it can be said that this method no doubt led to multiple exchanges on the world itself. Most seemed genuinely concerned about the pressing matter of the Heartless, if not wary of their own safety and the safety of their families. It often took Sora's own brand of comfort and assurance to convince civilians that he and his friends could handle whatever was sent their way.
But more so than the former, the trio received so much attention because it wasn't everyday that one saw a talking dog, a pants-less duck, and a spiky-haired energetic teenager step onto one's home soil and proclaim the presence of a rather unknown and unheard of enemy.
So maybe it was that, and not the ever-present matter of having one's heart ripped out, that caught the eye of the masses.
That being said, Sora was often on the other end of one talk or another, be it with civilian or mayor or queen or king. The nearly constant variance of inhabitants that he encountered resulted in more than a few memorable chats, most of which left the Keyblade Master either confused or in stitches.
Or, you know, having gained valuable knowledge that would eventually play a part in the defeat of Organization XIII and discovery of Riku and Kairi. Whichever came first.
However, it was not civilian nor mayor nor queen or king whom provided the recounting end of Sora's most vivid exchange.
It was Death.
Yes, De - ah, don't look at me like that. I'm just telling the story here, okay?
Maybe it was inevitable, when considering his circumstances. Monsters bent on removing a vital part of one's body could very well lead to more than a few near-death experiences. Or maybe it was an unexpected, unforeseen encounter, indistinguishable from between talk of battle strategy and casual conversation and the occasional incongruous murmurings…
And so it transpired, this conversation between Death and Sora, almost awkwardly; it was not everyday that Death became a commonplace in verbal exchange, and yet meeting Death itself was inevitable. And Sora knew this, and knew it well.
There was a definite lack of topics for conversation. It was not like a laugh with Goofy or an argument with Donald. What was one to talk about, with a partner such as Death?
But amid the talk of job descriptions and weather, souls and where exactly the Heartless went when they fell to the Keyblade, Death himself posed a question. Hands clasped, the dieing fire in the hearth causing flickering shadows over his form and across the spartan motel room, black robes shifting with the sound of a barest whisper…
Death cocked his head to one side, and spoke.
"Are you scared?"
Sora was rather surprised at this question, more so because of the fact that it was (of all things) Death who was asking. Of course he was scared, he realized, and of many things. First and foremost was that Death was sitting in very close proximity to him, and that was worrisome in itself, although the…being, or whatever he was, had done nothing but request conversation upon his arrival.
Yes, he was scared. He was scared for his friends – for Riku, whom he himself had locked behind the massive doors of Kingdom Hearts…for Kairi, who may have lost all hope in her patient waiting on the Islands…for the Worlds, and the terrible fate that might befall them…And yet, what had got him this far, if not the strength to keep fighting, and the knowledge that his companions were there for him…if not standing at his side, then at least in his heart?
He was silent for several minutes before his eyes lifted, blue meeting the bottomless black of Death's non-existent features; the figure as silent as a stone, waiting patiently for a reply.
Sora cocked his head to one side; his lips curled in a small smile, and he spoke.
"I don't have to be."