Ok, I am SO sorry it took ,e so long to update this story. I've been super busy lately with projects, presentations and some art projects and crap.
But I finally had time today and as soon as I finished the chapter I put it up here.
And with that, I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 2
An Un-Radiant Home
Sora awoke to a strange variety of things.
For one, there was a sweet smell coming from all around him, it was like... strawberries? He felt a strange sensation as well- as if he were moving, but he wasn't the one moving himself. There was a warmth coming from in front of him too- wait; was he being carried?
The brunette slowly opened his eyes; it was dark outside, meaning it was nighttime. However, all the strange smells and sensations were very real.
"Wha...?" He looked around, only to find a familiar black hood blocking his view of the area. He was being held up piggy-back style by small- but very strong arms, however, one of the hands was preoccupied with something else.
The brunette slowly turned his head to find the hand was pulling a large pile of... something, being covered by a thick cloth.
"So, you're finally awake huh?" A light, feminine voice shook Sora from his thoughts. He looked to find it belonging to-and the girl carrying him- the one who started this whole mess!
Before the brunette could so much as speak, she dropped Sora on the ground- hard.
"Good. You can move by yourself now," The girl sighed as she went back and managed to pick up all the stolen weapons as if she were merely picking up an empty cardboard box. "You were annoying to carry anyway."
Sora slowly got up again, groaning in pain. "Ow... you know it hurts when people drop you!" Sora yelled, his hand balling into a fist.
"Yeah, gravity's a bitch. Just shut up and get moving." The girl said bluntly. Sora followed silently, he blinked realizing this small girl carrying the weapons that put together clearly weighed much more than himself.
"How the hell are you carrying all that? You said I was too heavy but those things are waay heavier than me!" Sora pointed accusingly at the girl who stopped in her tracks. She turned her head enough that the darkness of her hood no longer hid her mouth; she was frowning irritably.
"I said you were annoying to carry, I never said you were too heavy. Look, you can either shut the fuck up and follow me, or I knock you again and drag you the whole way there." She growled. Sora gulped nervously, knowing if he made the wrong move he would surely regret it.
Sora nodded quickly and the girl turned around and the two continued their trek to who-knows-where.
Hours passed, not a word was spoken. Everything that had happened before Sora had been knocked out by this stranger had been slowly coming back to him along the way. The brunette let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and spoke.
"Are my parents really... gone?" He hesitated, his words coming out softly and quickly. The girl sighed.
"Yes, they're both gone. I'm sorry," Her voice almost sounded... sympathetic. Did she actually feel bad for killing both of the brunette's parents all of a sudden? "But still, we have a place to be so we can't stray any longer."
A silent whimper escaped Sora's lips, tears already streaming down his cheeks. The brunette cries seemed to go unnoticed by the girl- which Sora wasn't sure if he should feel grateful for that fact or not.
The girl looked over her shoulder at Sora and turned back before he could notice her stare.
One thing was for sure; it was going to be a long trip.
Sora hadn't spoken a word for the rest of the entire trip; mostly attempting to calm himself down along the way and wiping any tears left on his cheeks hoping to at least look presentable for wherever their destination was.
The two had passed by a large gate- which the girl had somehow managed to open on her own while still carrying the mass amount of stolen weapons around her dominant arm. The gate was made completely of metallic poles twisting and turning into an intricate design and creaked loudly when opened and shut on its own.
Despite the long trek the two had taken for hours down a dirt road surrounded by nothing but grass and seemingly abandoned farming fields, there was a large city that appeared to be rich and thriving with architecture and products that were normally from completely different cultures and countries.
The city itself looked like one you would see in a Renaissance-based painting or something. Completely made up of buildings of different sizes and designs without a vehicle in sight. Clearly the only transportation you would see would be horses.
Though despite its "old-timey" look- it seemed to be untouched by time. The buildings and streets were completely made of primitively-made bricks, all the buildings had neutral colors- shades of brown and white mostly- and several windows and decorative plants on the window-sills.
Some buildings- probably restaurants or shops- had beautiful, intricate designs painted or carved into the walls and doors, some even had windows painted with what Sora could only assume was the business' logo.
Although the town looked as beautiful as this- everything seemed... empty. All the lights were off- even the street lights- all the doors shut to lock away whatever secrets the buildings may hold.
Where is everybody? It's not that late. Sora looked around almost fearfully- afraid some monstrous creature might jump out and attack the travelling duo.
"We're here." The girl pointed out, shaking Sora from his thoughts.
The brunette looked up only to be amazing at their destination. It looked like a gigantic gothic cathedral just situated in the middle of the large, seemingly vacant city.
Sora had to cover his nose with his gloved hand when an incredibly strong scent reached his nostrils. It was so strong it was burning his eyes as well.
"What's that smell?" He asked, his voice slightly different sounding from plugging his nose.
The girl shrugged as she went towards the cathedral's giant, wooden doors. "We plant strong smelling herbs and spices out here to cover up the smell from the vents from the morgue. These ones must still be fresh considering how strong the smell is now." She said plainly.
Sora froze in his tracks and stared at her in disbelief. "Did you say... m-morgue?" He asked shakily.
The girl stared at Sora as if he had said something unnatural. "Yes, the morgue. What, have you never heard of one before?" She said sarcastically, Sora frowned at her tone.
Before Sora could respond, the girl cut him off. "Let's just go in already." She sighed.
A strong gust of wind howled in the air from the inside of the cathedral, slowly pushing the massive doors open as if it were possessed by some sort of spirit. Sora shivered and he followed the girl inside the holy place.
The inside of the cathedral was just as gothic-styled as the outside, swirls and other designs carved into the dark brown walls, the pews facing the front of the altar were such a dark shade of brown they looked almost black. The stories showed in the rose windows were faded almost to the point where it just looked like black and white illustrations in the windows.
Sora made his way to the front of all the pews and sat down on the one closest to him, sighing at the relief his feet were finally getting after so many hours of walking.
"What did we come here for?" He asked, looking around the room once more.
The only light in the building came from two lit candles on either side of the altar. The girl was in front of it in an instant, ignoring Sora's question, she stepped on one of the bricks on the floor with a bit more force than normal.
As soon as she did so a small, paper-thin keypad on the top of a pole of sorts rose from the ground to the same level as her shoulder, having she had finally set down the bundle of weapons.
Sora stared with both confusion and excitement evident on his face as the girl punched in a code on the small keypad. Hitting enter, it sank back into the floor as the entire altar started shaking furiously, slowly and loudly moving backwards against the wall to reveal a dimly lit stairway leading to who-knows-what.
The girl then picked up the bundle once more and turned to Sora, who could see her smirking at his bewildered face.
"Well, what're you waiting for? I think it's high time we finally reach our destination, let's go."
"Um... What exactly is this place?" Sora asked, staying close to the hooded girl.
As if the dark descending stairway to this place wasn't strange enough- the place residing at the bottom was even stranger.
This sanctuary of sorts- and that's putting it mildly- was the exact opposite of the previous scenery. Outside was dark and gothic, this place... well, it may as well be paradise.
Walls were white and cut into different hallways while seeming to go on forever. Farthest away from the wall was a two-foot high metal barred-fence separating the hard marble floor from a seemingly endless garden. Green grass stretched on and on with several small sidewalks and bridges spread around leading to charming rest areas, perhaps where one could focus on their work; or even take a mid-day nap.
Vibrant flowers of many colors and shapes scattered all over the ground, sometimes in arrangements forming pictures, even occasionally surrounding the many different types of trees.
Some were weeping willows, others just the average seasonal green tree, cherry and plum blossom trees and even fruit bearing trees of all sorts- Sora could even spot a few dumbapple trees in the distance.
"It's your new home." The girl said, finally dropping the heavy bundle on the ground, landing with a thud and shaking Sora out of his amazement and shock.
"Excuse me?" He frowned, but before she could respond she was suddenly glomped and sent to the girl to the ground by a giggling brown blur, sending her hood flying off her head.
Now that her face was visible, Sora could finally see her facial features, for one, she had dark red hair that stopped at her shoulder shaping her heart-shaped face with the bangs going mostly to the right. She also had bright blue eyes, almost like Sora's own eyes, except hers had a slight purple hue.
"Oh my gosh, Kai! You finally came back!" The smiling girl choking Sora's captor, "Kai" apparently, said happily.
This girl looked a bit smaller than "Kai", she had brunette hair that fanned out in a flip at her jaw and had bright green eyes.
Unlike her redhead friend, she wasn't wearing black. Instead she wore a yellow tank top with light brown shorts, brown leather gloves with a black bracelet on her right wrist and she wore black boots that stopped halfway up her calves.
However what really caught Sora's eye were the deadly looking spiked num-chucks around her right leg in a holster.
Just who are these people?
"For the last time Selphie: stop calling me that," Sora's redhead companion growled. "And get off me!" She finally managed to push the peppy brunette off of her.
Selphie scratched her neck in embarrassment. "Okay, Okay, sorry Kairi," She bowed apologetically; at least she had manners. Then her eyes were on Sora. "So who's your new friend? He the one you were supposed to pick up?" She asked.
Kairi nodded, crossing her arms. "Yeah, Sora Hikari. This is him." She sighed, running a hand through her red hair.
Sora just watched as the two girls went on talking like he was some souvenir this "Kairi" had brought home for a friend.
"Excuse me," Sora interrupted loud enough for the two to stop blabbing. "But can someone tell me just what the hell is going on? Because all I know is that this bitch murdered my parents, stole my father's weapons and kidnapped me-" He pointed at Kairi who was now glaring at him. "Then I was dragged miles away from home and brought to this insane place hidden under a damn cathedral without being told anything! Tell me what's going on, now!" Sora yelled, mostly in the direction of Selphie than Kairi.
Before anything could be said by the now startled Selphie, Sora was shoved into the wall by Kairi and pinned down by a kunai knife at his throat.
"Some things you need to know, brat," She breathed dangerously down Sora's neck, he gulped in fear. "First of all, you don't call me a bitch, EVER. Second, you don't yell at Selph either or I will personally cut your throat. Are we clear?" She growled. Sora nodded quickly and carefully.
"C... Crystal." He gasped as Kairi removed the knife from his throat. Sora had his hand around his throat protectively. If looks could kill... He sighed.
"Brat." Kairi muttered under her breath as Selphie hugged her to calm her down.
By the time Sora had regained his composure, Kairi had mysteriously disappeared. Along with the bundle of weapons she carried in.
Selphie came to his side cautiously and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
He nodded slowly and sighed. "Yeah, I uh... I'm sorry for yelling at you. I just wanted some answers." He said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.
Selphie shook her head. "It's okay, I understand. Kairi can be a bit difficult sometimes."
Sora chuckled and agreed. "Well, can you help me out? Maybe tell me just what you people are, and what is this place?" He asked, gesturing to the area around them and the old city above.
Selphie nodded and started walking, signaling the brunette to follow and he did so.
"Of course. I have to take you to our leader anyway," She smiled.
"Leader?" Sora asked. "Don't worry, that'll be clear when we get there." Selphie said.
"Anyway, our organization is a group of assassins, ones for the greater good and all that junk- it's hard to explain. And you'll be living here from now on too so you'd better get the hang of things around here soon." She laughed, Sora paused.
"Wait, living here? And where is 'here'?" He asked fearfully. Being taken away from everything and everyone he knew was one thing- but now he'd be living in a strange place he'd never even heard of before?
"This is Radiant Garden of course, or I guess I should say it 'was' Radiant Garden. Couldn't you tell by the architecture outside?" Selphie giggled at Sora's bewildered expression. "What I mean is- welcome to your new home Mr. Sora Hikari."
It took me weeks to write this chapter, I actually started it right after I uploaded the first one. But I had some major writer's block for so long.
And that is also the reason why most of this chapter didn't turn out very well.
Well, I hope you review this story and also hopefully it won't take me so long to get the next chapter up.