Okay, so I've been planning this and writing it for a while, BUT- it's not completed. I hate posting things that aren't completed yet, but I needed a break from Letters from a Loved One.
I'm taking a break from my usual characters of Roxas and Axel- yes, they will be in here, but there will also be a collection of some of the rest of the KH cast.
Also- the time setting of this is very confusing. It's a modern world, but outside of the town that Sora lives in, the areas of land are ruled by different kingdoms- with kings, queens, princes, princesses; all that jazz. If you feel that it makes no sense, remember; this is fanfiction- my fics can contain anything I want them to.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except for my own made-up fantasies.
Sora Stefens pulled his coat around himself, bracing against the chilly air. He spotted a bright neon sign shining down the street and eagerly picked up his pace. The sign was now visible and said Cocoa Café. He stepped inside the brightly lit café, the door chiming behind him. He strode to the counter, clutching a crumpled five dollar bill.
"Hi," a cheerful brunette greeted from behind the counter. "What would you like?"
"Um…" Sora began, peering at the menu. "I'll get some coffee with whipped cream. Please and thank you!" he added cheerfully. The counter-girl nodded and turned towards the coffee machine.
"Nice weather we're having, huh?" she said with a smile.
Sora laughed brightly. "Yeah," he agreed. "It only gets better."
"Well," the brunette said, delicately putting the whipped cream on his hot drink. "Here ya go. That'll be $3.50." Sora held out his money and eagerly grabbed the coffee. He licked the whipped cream off like he usually did, getting a smudge of the delicious treat on his nose. The counter-girl handed him his change and giggled, handing him some napkins.
"You might need these."
"Oh! Thank you…" Sora looked at her nametag, "Sara."
The brunette, Sara, smiled. "Bye!" she said, waving. "Have a nice day!" Sora stepped out of the warm café, smiling contentedly.
Life didn't get much better than this.
Little did he know, his life was about to be turned upside-down.
Sora set off down the street, not at all afraid of the dark alleys. Humming a random tune, he started the half-mile trek back to his house. A chilly breeze blew by, causing him to stop to zipper his coat. Placing his coffee on the ground, a voice suddenly spoke from the shadows beside him.
"Hey, you."
Sora let out a shriek of surprise, successfully tipping his drink over. Startled, he looked down at his soaked shoe, not realizing that five figures were surrounding him. Looking up at the black-clad strangers, he whimpered quietly, trying to find a way out of his tight spot. One of the taller men laughed, his deep voice echoing in the long street.
"Can you believe it's this guy?" The group of other guys around him laughed, making snide comments about the brunette.
"He's so weak!"
"Look how scrawny he is!"
Sora tried to shrink down into the ground, but with no avail.
"What do you want?" he asked quietly, his voice shaking. There were a few scattered snickers, but the leader held his hand up, and they all went silent.
"Look kid," he said, leaning in close until his hooded face was inches in front of him. "We were hired and paid to kill you. So no matter how innocent you act, you're going down."
"I don't think so," a sing-song voice piped up from behind the hooded strangers. The leader whipped around, and from over his shoulder, Sora saw no one standing there.
"Show yourself!" he barked.
Another voice spoke out, laughing lightly. "Oh, but that would ruin all the fun!" Sora gulped and tried to escape while they were distracted, but one figure stepped forward, causing him to stay in the middle of the circle.
"Now," a third voice added, sounding all business-like. "You give us the kid, and we leave you alone."
The leader laughed humorlessly. "So you can be paid for something we did? We found him first, not you."
"Give. Him. Up," the same voice snapped.
"If you want him so bad, fight me for him," the leader said cockily, pulling out a long knife. "You and me, no dirty tricks or backup allowed." There were a few scattered whispers from the new strangers, and a few of the men tried to locate the source of the voices, but it was obvious they were trained well. There was absolutely so sign of them.
"Fine," the third voice said flatly. "Let Sora step to the side, whoever wins takes him and leaves. No following the winner." Sora blinked, surprised. How did this guy know his name? One man shoved Sora to the wall, and he sunk to the ground next to his spilt coffee.
"Now come out, come out, wherever you are," the leader murmured, swinging his knife back and forth. There were a few moments of silence, and then a shadow leaped out, hitting the hooded figure directly on the back. Crying out, he whipped around, slashing his knife. The stranger easily dodged it.
"C'mon, you can do better than that," the stranger taunted. Sora craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the newcomer. He was short- about Sora's height, and he was wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled up to hide his face- just like the men who had cornered Sora. He was holding two wickedly curved knives, almost in a crescent shape. He shifted from foot to foot, obviously skilled in fighting.
"Shut up," the man snarled, once again lunging towards the newcomer. Again, the blow was dodged, and it was returned with a powerful kick to the stomach.
"Syros!" one of the men shouted out. The man fighting the stranger staggered up, waving to the others.
"I'm fine!" he barked out. "I can handle this!" The man, Syros, again charged again, and was again propelled backwards by a slash to the shoulder. The younger boy twirled his knives around, a soft laugh escaping him.
"Do you give in?" he said, his voice amused.
Syros just lunged at him again.
Sora was so involved with the fight that he didn't notice a tall, lanky figure slink over to where he was sitting propped against the wall. The figure tiptoed forward until he was crouched down to his height. He leaned down, his lips almost brushing the brunette's ear.
"Follow me if you want to live," he whispered, causing Sora to jump. He turned towards the figure, and was met by the sight of another person wearing with a hood pulled over his face. The stranger jerked his finger towards another alley, and Sora nodded silently. Syros' men were watching the fight, ready to leap to their leader's defense. Taking the distraction as an advantage, Sora followed the other man. Slinking into the alley, Sora met with another short figure, this one wearing a dark blue hoodie instead of the other black ones. The third figure nodded at Sora's escort and stepped out, holding out two fingers in the direction of the person fighting.
"Well," Sora heard the fighter announce. "It looks like I won."
"No you didn't!" Syros yelled, his voice tinged with pain. "I haven't given in yet!"
"Maybe not, but I have the winner's prize," the shorter fighter said. Soft footsteps followed, and Sora assumed that he was making a break for it. There was silence, and then scattered yells reached Sora's ears. The figure darted into the alley where Sora and the other two strangers were hiding, pressing his back to the wall. His breath came in heavy gasps, and Sora could tell that he was winded.
"Who are you?" Sora asked, looking at them warily. The figure in the blue hoodie turned to look at him.
"We're here to rescue you." Sora blinked, his mouth open in surprise. The stranger was a girl. Sora assumed she was his age, either sixteen or seventeen. To the side of Sora, the other figure that fought Syros collapsed to the ground, holding his side.
"Shit," he breathed. The taller man knelt down by his side, anxiously talking to him.
"We need to go," he said. "Like, now." The girl nodded, and grabbed Sora's wrist. Checking to make sure the coast was clear; she darted out, dragging the brunette behind her. Letting out a grunt of pain as he nicked his knee on the side of the wall, Sora ran away from the alleys and towards the border of the town.
"Where are we going?" Sora panted.
"We're going to get on one of the evening trains leaving from the edge of the woods," the girl answered shortly. Sora's eyes widened and he none-so-gently ripped his hand out of her grip. Shaking his head, he took a step back.
"No!" he exclaimed frantically. "I can't leave!"
"Yes you can," a voice said from behind Sora. The taller stranger strode past the two of them, carrying the other hooded figure in his arms; bridle style. "If you want your friends, family, and, most importantly, yourself to live, you have to come with us." Sora paused, hesitating.
"But…" he said helplessly, but he knew there was no choice. He looked back toward the alley where Syros had been tricked and spotted his coffee cup lying dejectedly on its side. Glumly following the three strangers, he knew there was no turning back.
Yes, it is VERY short. But we're just getting into it.
Who can figure out who the strangers are? It's really not that hard.
Let's get one thing straight before I ask you to review- the second and third chapter are written, but I'm not going to post them until I've worked on Letters From a Loved One some more. So I guess this is a little sneak peak at what's coming after LFLO progresses a little bit.
Please review!
-bee