Me: Riiiii-kuuu... (hiss)
Riku: WHAT? O.O
Me: I looveee youuuu... (psyco hiss)
Riku: O.O; (thoroughly freaked out)
DISCLAIMER: I dont own Kingdom Hearts or its characters. Or corn chips.
Riku's point of view
I headed out early this morning; only grabbing a bag of corn chips before getting into my boat and rowing to the play island.
I didn't want to be around anyone today. I usually didn't.
It was so hard to accept that the world kept going. But I tried not to alienate myself from my friends.
The morning Yume had been pulled back to her world. Sora and Kairi had come running back, saying the ambulance was on its way. They had both seen her last moments in this world. In Destiny Islands.
They tried not to mention her around me now. They would see me approaching and stop talking, making up some kind of strange gibberish. Hiding the fact that they had been talking about her. I tried not to notice.
Her words still rung in my ears. I still felt her grip my arm; trying to stay. Still heard that last scream.
And her final whimper.
What had happened to stifle her cry?
One moment I had been holding her, waiting for the ambulance, the next she was gone. Leaving me all alone.
About a month after she had been taken back, I had felt myself being pulled again. It had been a long, horrible month; not knowing if I would ever see her again, how I could get back to her world.
I welcomed the feeling of being drawn, more so now than ever.
And then I was beside her once again. Yume lay on her bed; her eyes had no life in them anymore. They were so hollow, so empty. She was fading away.
She would whisper my name unknowingly. Even though I was nothing but a spirit in her world; a shade, I could feel her pain. I knew how it felt.
Giving herself up.
Didn't want to live anymore, but was holding on for something.
I hadn't realized it before, but I had the paopu plushie I had made in my pocket. I walked over to her bedside and laid the toy under her pillow. I wished with all my heart that she could receive it. So that it could give her some comfort.
She had stretched; hand slipping back behind her pillow and her arm brushed the plushie. Sitting up, she had pulled it out.
Biting her lip, with shoulders slumping, she squeezed it to her chest.
"I'm right here, Yume. Even if you can't see me.. you know I'm here, right?"
She looked up to where I was standing with unseeing eyes. She couldn't see me, but she could sense me.
I was brought back every so often. She was losing her grip on her life. Didn't seem to care anymore. She was so sad; was hurting. I hurt too, but at least I got to see her every now and then. She never saw me at all.
The paopu I had given her was little comfort, though she always kept it with her.
It was so hard not to be able to be with her, to hold her, but it hurt more; seeing her in this pain.
Lately, I've been wondering...
Are fate and destiny the same thing? Or are they different?
No... they must be different. At war with each other.
Because fate pulled us apart, and destiny keeps bringing us back together.
I know it makes no sense. Everyone thinks they're one and the same. But they can't be.
How else do you explain it? Being pulled away and brought back together.
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I was at the play island now, sitting on my bent paopu tree. I had just finished the corn chips and was stuffing the bag into a pocket.
I leaned forward and propped my head up with my hand, thinking.
Wasn't there any way I could bring her back here? Maybe the same way I had brought her here to begin with... I would try that again next time. The problem was; how could I KEEP her here? We couldn't continue going through with the being-pulled-back thing every time. It would eventually take its toll on us.
I jumped off the tree and walked up the wooden ramp to the bridge. Nothing I wanted to do, but I didn't really want to be around anyone right now.
I was just passing the seaside shack, simply wandering around, when the faintest flash of light caught my eye. It had come from the base of a large tree; the secret place. I sighed and walked towards it, ducking so I could enter the tunnel.
As I continued walking I felt my heart quiver. What... was this? I walked faster, remaining bent over so I wouldn't bash my head against any rocks or protruding roots.
Then I was in the small cave.
I looked around for whatever had made that light. Had made my heart feel weird.
There was no one standing waiting for me, no celestial being or anything of that sort. But as I wandered into the cave, something lying on the ground beside the door to this world caught my eye.
It was a person, a girl in pajamas, lying face-down on the ground. I knelt down and turned her face to the side.
Oh God... it was Yume...
But what had happened to her? No matter how many times I called her name excitedly, shook her shoulder, she didn't wake up. Her hair and clothing were dripping wet.
Had she fallen into a river or...or tried to... drown herself? It must have hurt too much, she must've finally broken down, after trying so hard.
She had the paopu I had given her clutched in a lifeless hand.
"Damn! If only I'd been there! I should've been able to have done something!"
no... No! I refused to give up on her!
Grasping one balled-up hand inside the other, I thudded my fist down onto her upper back; shoving my fist down harder and quicker; making swift sharp blows.
After a few minuets of repeating this, a small trickle of water ran from her mouth, making a small puddle of mud where it came in contact with the dirt.
When nothing more happened, I checked her spinal cord to make sure nothing had been broken, and gently turned her over on her back.
I flatened one hand and clasped the other on top of it. Placing my hands on her upper abdomen, I gave several quick, firm, upward thrusts; pushing in and up.I didn't want to hurt her, but I had to get that water out before it was too late...
Suddenly I felt her body convulse underneath my hands, and an explosion of water burst from her mouth. She weakly tried to raise up; but fell down on her side, retching.
When she couldn't throw up any more of that cursed water, I gathered her up, holding her to me.
"Dear God, I missed you Yume! Don't you EVER do that again, hear me?" I didn't realize I was squeezing her so hard until I felt her body go limp in my arms.
"...ku... ri..ku..." She whispered faintly.
"Shh, no don't talk now. I'll take you to Kairi's. Damn, you scared me..." The words caught in my throat and I felt my heart constrict at the thought of her coming so close to dying.
"Don't... you ever do that again..." I picked her up and walked toward the cave's entrance. She was so light despite the amount of water she had swallowed. I could feel her taking slow, deep breaths trying to fill her lungs with the air she had been deprived of for who knows how long.
Usually, when I had carried her, she had blushed and squirmed in embarrassment. Now she just lay in my arms limply, too tired to even keep her eyes open.
"... ri...ku...you're..." The words were so faint, they was hard to make out.
"No Yume, don't talk. Just rest." I felt her nod slightly.
When we reached the pier, I lay her in the bottem of my boat and took my outer sleeveless jacket off folding it up. She didn't even react when I moved her head so I could place it under her as a pillow.
She was dead asleep, having fallen fast asleep right after I had picked her up.
I watched her sleep as I rowed. At least she was still breathing.
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We were at Kairi's house now. I turned to the side so I could press the doorbell with my elbow. After a few seconds, she opened the door.
"Oh! Riku, hi! Sora and I were wondering if you wanted to go... Is that YUME?" She had cut herself off and was staring at the limp figure in my arms. Her face paled as she pulled me into the house.
"First of all, where did you find her? Second, what happened to her?" She asked as she pushed me up the stairs in the direction of Yume's old room when she was living in this world.
Sora popped out of the kitchen and followed us up the stairs, peeking over my shoulder as an unconscious Yume. He anxiously voiced the same questions as Kairi.
"I was at the play island this morning, saw a light coming from the secret place and found her lying on the ground. My guess is, she tried to drown herself."
"WHAT?" Both Sora and Kairi's faces blanched.
"Remember, I'd told you I'd been drawn to her world again? Each time I went back she was fading away more and more."
"She couldn't handle living any longer..." Kairi whispered as she pushed the bedroom door open.
Yume's clothes were still a little damp but pretty much dry by now; Kairi told me to go ahead and lay her down. I didn't want to let go of her, but we did need to get medical attention for her as soon as possible.
Kairi pulled the sheets up over to Yume's chin and told Sora to bring her the wireless phone. He did so and she dialed the hospital number. She had got hold of a nurse and asked if someone could make a house call; she didn't think Yume should be moved.
When she hung up, she smiled grimly. "They wanted to put her in the hospital but a doctor's coming here for the house call. I knew you'd probably want her to stay here, Riku."
"Thanks Kairi." I nodded, brushing stray strands of hair out of Yume's eyes.
Sora watched her closely. "Did she swallow a lot of water? Shouldn't we get it out or something?"
"I got her to wake up when I first found her. She threw up what she could and she's been asleep since."
"I wonder why she would try to kill herself?" He wondered.
"She loved you, Riku. She couldn't live without you." Kairi murmured.
"...yeah..." My head lowered till the hair covered my eyes and I pulled a chair over to the bed, so I could watch her. Sora and Kairi walked out slowly, to go wait for the doctor.
Neither could I, Yume. Don't die on me...
Riku: I think your starting to make me a little out of character.
Me: hmmm. I dunno. Maybe, maybe NOT.
Axel: You are so stubborn.
Riku: I think your starting to make me a little out of character.