Disclaimer: Unforgettably not mine.
A/N: Second entry to Challenge #288 'Sora' over at KH Drabble on LiveJournal. Sad!fic. I am not in the mood for happy endings today.
A Life Measured in Keystrokes
© Scribbler, June 2012
Riku held her hand. It wasn't a romantic thing. It wasn't even a comfort thing. He held her because if he didn't they both might fall apart.
The gummi ship set down, creating a ring of blasted-flat grass. Queen Minnie didn't seem to mind. She stood to one side, hands clasped in front of her. Her precious gardens didn't seem all that important anymore. King Mickey had contacted her before telling them. Probably the way he phrased things was her influence and advice. She had consoled Riku and Kairi the moment they arrived, but her reassurances were like pebbles thrown into tar: ineffective and quickly sunk into blackness, as if they had never been.
The ramp extended. Someone appeared at the top. Kairi took a breath, but it was Goofy. He paused, as if waiting for someone, then retreated back into the ship. Nobody else came out.
The silence was deafening; the waiting interminable. Kairi could even hear the light scritch of cloth when the Queen's gloves wrung tighter. Lady Daisy skulked behind her, trying not to be obvious that she was glad her Donald was okay. Happiness was inappropriate in situations like these. Everyone was expected to be sad, even if they nursed relief that their loved ones were unscathed while others weren't so lucky.
Kairi was ready to break formation and just run onto the craft, but Riku's gravity-heavy hand kept her rooted to the spot.
"It's my responsibility. I'll be back by supper. Don't look so worried, Kairi. Just keep Riku from eating my share of the food!"
Finally Goofy reappeared, he and Donald flanking a figure she recognised more than the face in her own bathroom mirror. King Mickey came sedately behind them. The boy stared around, transfixed by fluttering pennants on the castle roofs and the gleaming white walls. He paused before stepping off the ramp, as if he expected the grass to be like water and was pleasantly surprised when he didn't submerge. He even bounced up and down a few times to test it. His smile was achingly familiar. Not so much the bandage around his head.
King Mickey winced and looked away when he met Kairi's eyes. He had asked for assistance on this trip. He was the reason that … but no, he couldn't have predicted this. Her chest felt sore and prickly, like she had been running too hard and couldn't catch her breath.
When Donald and Goofy led the boy over to the waiting group he looked at them politely, friendly even now, but there was no recognition in his eyes.
"Hi there," he said. "Sorry, but do I know you?"
Riku's hand gripped hers so tight, the fine bones scrunched together, but it was Kairi's heart that broke.
Fin.
A/N: I find it somewhat bizarre (and possibly a poor indication of me own mental health) that in both the fics I've written for this challenge, Sora has ended up with head wounds.