Ace: Wow, even I'm surprised on how quickly this update came. Anyway, without further ado, I give you Chapter 3.
Chapter 3
Seifer slowly began to open his eyes, holding his head with one hand. "Whoa…what happened?" He slowly sat up and saw his bat shattered next to him, and then looked over to see the students crowded around Riku. "What the…? How did he…?"
"I couldn't believe it when I saw it, ya know?" Rai exclaimed as he stood next to Seifer. "Here's what happened, ya know."
As Seifer listened to Rai recount the tale, his memory began to create an image of what had happened. Seifer charged towards Riku, swinging the bat wildly. Riku dodged each swing easily, moving from side to side with almost no effort. Then, suddenly, Riku caught the scent of someone familiar being pushed out onto the sidewalk where they were fighting, Kairi.
Why is Kairi here? What's going on? Riku thought to himself, but it was also then that he heard Seifer again.
"Let's see if you can protect your friends with a blindfold on!" Seifer said, laughing maniacally.
Riku growled as he felt Seifer move towards Kairi. Kairi screamed and tried to run but she was tripped by Rai and fell over. She lay there, looking up at Seifer about the slam the bat down onto her, her eyes filled with terror. She closed her eyes and curled up in a desperate attempt to protect herself, but the bat never came. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up to see Riku standing in front of her, the bat held firmly in his hand.
"How did you…?" Seifer said, but there was no response. Instead, Riku broke the bat clear in half, throwing it to the ground. Before Seifer could even react, Riku's fist connected with Seifer's face and sent him flying back, and then seemingly vanished. This was different then Seifer's speed; Seifer caught people by surprise, Riku moved so quickly that no one could see him. He reappeared in the air above Seifer, his eyes completely devoid of emotion. He then slammed his leg down onto Seifer's chest, sending him crashing to the ground with a loud thud. Seifer coughed up blood on impact, and then his vision went black.
"…And that's what happened, ya know," Rai said as Seifer began to stand up, his hand still holding his head. "He won't be lucky the next time, ya know. I got some information that you'll want to know, ya know."
Rai helped Seifer to his feet as they walked back into the school, followed quickly by the rest of the students. Riku sighed in relief as the students left; he finally had some breathing room. He then walked over to Kairi and extended his hand out to her, "Care for a little help, Kairi?"
Kairi looked up to him and smiled as she took his hand to help her get up, "Thanks Riku, I don't even want to think about what would have happened if you were not here." She then looked down to her watch. "Oh shoot, I need to go see Sora to make sure he's alright before class starts, I never actually got to the nurse's office. Thanks again Riku, I'll pay you back another time," She said as she ran back into the school, flashing him the peace sign before running towards the nurse's office.
As Kairi left, Riku sat down on a bench and took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. He began to replay the fight in his head with excruciating detail, trying to find out why he lost control and snap. He knew it wasn't because of Kairi, because even though she was his friend, he should have been able to calmly defend her. After a couple minutes, Riku realized it was when he caught the bat that everything went wrong, and the darkness within him was to blame.
"So that was it after all, I can't believe I'm still so weak," He said to himself. "Well, then if I'm so weak then I can't fight anymore. I won't chance letting the darkness taking over me and hurting my friends again." He then stood up as the bell rang and walked back into the school while his face still showed that fake smile that he would always put on.
-------------------------------------------End Flashback---------------------------------------
"Wow, how did you know about all this? Did Riku tell you?" Nami asked, looking at Riku, who had passed out from the pain a while ago.
"Yea, he did. During blitz ball practice, some punks tried to pick a fight with him, but he didn't do anything. They were about to gang up on him, but Sora and I chased them off, ya," Wakka said laughing slightly. "We were confused because we were sure that Riku would easily beat them, and when we initially asked, he refused to answer. It took a little bit of convincing but we eventually got him to tell us what happened."
Nami nodded as she looked to him and thought, I wonder if that his secret. I guess I'll have to find out when he's willing to talk about it.
When they reached the nurse's office, she looked up and smiled, "How can I…" She then gasped and rushed over to them. "What happened?"
"Seifer got a cheap shot in on Riku, ya," Wakka said as he and Nami brought Riku to the closest available bed.
"Oh dear," the nurse said, sighing. "And I don't suppose Seifer made it easy for me and hit Riku somewhere other than where his other injury is." They both shook their heads as she went over to tend to Riku. "You two should go back to your classes and come back at the end of the day. I'm going to give him some medicine to stop the pain and let him rest, but he should be alright."
Nami nodded and walked out of the office, taking one last look at Riku before leaving. Today isn't a good day to tell him, I'll tell him tomorrow, she thought as she walked back to the gym.
The end of the day couldn't come soon enough in Nami's eyes. As she sat in her last class, her eyes would always drift over to the clock, eager for school to end so that she could go see if Riku was alright. Tick tock, tick tock; the sounds of the clock nearly drove Nami to madness as she waited for the bell to ring. It seemed like the bell would never ring, but no sooner than that though passed through her head did the sound she had been waiting to hear rang loudly. Nami quickly packed up her things and rushed straight towards the nurse's office, where she found Riku sitting on the bed.
She smiled, relieved that he seemed to be alright. Still, she wanted to be sure. "Hey, are you alright, Riku?"
"Yea, nothing can keep me down for long," Riku said laughing.
Nami giggled a bit, "You're funny, Riku. Anyway, I was about to leave to go home, and … Iwaswonderingifyouwouldwalkmehome" The last part of the sentence was said very fast, and it took a moment for Riku to figure out what she had just said.
Riku chuckled slightly as he stood up and walked over to her, a smirk on his face. "Sure, I'll walk home with ya, maybe we can talk about what happened at lunch."
Nami looked down a bit, "About that…I know I said I would tell you and I will, but today was just a very stressful day, could we talk about it tomorrow?" She hoped that Riku wasn't made or upset with her, but she didn't want to look on the chance that he might.
"Don't worry about it, but you have to promise we'll talk tomorrow and no excuses."
Nami looked up to him seeing his smile, which caused her to smile as well. "Alright, I promise you we will."
"Awesome, let's get going. If you want, you can come over and have dinner at my house, it'll be my way of saying thanks for the help," Riku said as he opened the door and held it for her.
Nami turned a deep shade of red as she looked down to the floor. "O-O-Ok, that's sounds n-n-nice," she managed to stammer out. Is this a date? Does he like me? Is he being nice? Do I like him? Should I have said yes? She thought as her mind was racing. When she looked back up, she saw Riku with a confused look on his face. She then took a deep breath to calm herself and looked back up, smiling. "I hope your mom won't mind the short notice," she said as she walked out of the office.
"Nah, if anything, she'll have me cook since I'm the one having company," Riku said as he followed her. As they walked through the hallway, they passed Wakka who waved, glad to see that Riku was alright. Wakka walked over to Riku and slapped him on the shoulder, laughing.
"Good to see you're better. I just got word that blitz ball practice starts in two weeks, so you better be ready, ya."
Riku smirked as he replied, "Yea, Seifer isn't strong enough to keep me down, and don't worry I'll be ready. This year we're taking home the championship."
"Now that's what I like to hear! Take care bro and I'll see ya tomorrow," Wakka said as he walked in the opposite direction, waving back to them.
Nami waved back and then turned to Riku. "So, if you're going to cook tonight, what did you have in mind?" She began walking to the front doors of the school with Riku walking next to her.
"Hmm, I don't know what I'd make, did you have anything in mind?" Riku asked, pushing the door open as they walked outside and down the stairs.
"It doesn't matter what you make, I'll end up eating whatever you make."
"Alright, so I'll make liver and onions."
"Ew! Gross, that's disgusting!" Nami said as she put her hand over her mouth like she would be sick.
Riku snickered, "Only kidding, Nami. I'll make spaghetti with marinara sauce."
Nami glared at him, but then smirked and hit him in the arm playfully. "Alright, but it better be good. If it's not, you're going to pay for almost making me sick."
The two laughed as they walked down the road for about 20 minutes before reaching Riku's house. When they walked up onto his balcony, he opened the door and walked inside. "Mom, I'm home and I brought someone for dinner."
His mother's head popped out from the kitchen and she walked into the room and smiled. "Hello, I'm Riku's mother, it's nice to meet you. Riku, is this your new girlfriend?" His mother teased him, causing him to blush a bit.
"No, this is my friend Nami, she's new to the island."
"It's nice to meet you," Nami said shyly. She was always a bit shy around new people, especially parents. Her mom giggled a bit and then looked to Riku.
"Tell you what, Riku, I'll make dinner tonight, you can show Nami around the house," she said as she walked into the kitchen to start preparing dinner.
Riku laughed to himself and turned to Nami. "Alright, I'll show you the upstairs," He said as he walked up the stairs, with Nami following quickly. The first room she saw was his mother's room, a typical looking parent's room with one side looking like it never gets touched. She was a bit confused at it, but now wasn't the time to question. He pointed out the bathroom as that's the one room you never need to be shown.
Riku then opened the last door upstairs; his room. When she looked around, she saw that most of the wall was covered with white paint, with one part painted black. The walls were covered with posters and his clothes were scattered across the room. He didn't anticipate anyone coming over, so he didn't clean before leaving for school. He laughed nervously as he walked around the room and picked up his clothes. While he was cleaning, Nami sat down on his bed and continued looking around. There wasn't too much more to his room, various trophies, a few blitz balls and soccer balls, and a couple movies.
"You have a bunch of trophies, when did you get them?" Nami asked as she picked up a one and looked it over.
"I got those like 4 or 5 years ago. I was the best at every sport, but then…I don't I just lost interest I guess," he replied as he finished putting his clothes away and walked to his door, motioning for Nami to follow. She nodded, putting the trophy down and walked out of the room and downstairs. When they got downstairs, she took a seat on the couch, picked up the remote and turned on the television while they were waiting for his mother to finish dinner. Riku took the seat next to her and laid his head on the arm rest.
"Are you alright, Riku?" Nami asked, a look of concern on her face.
"I'm alright, just still a bit worn out," Riku said picking his head up and looking over to her. His eyes seemed to grow heavy and he began to fall over. However, instead of falling onto the armrest, he ended up falling the opposite way, his head landing on Nami's lap.
Nami turned completely red, and froze for a second, unsure of what to do. She then looked down at him and smiled. He looks so cute when he sleeps, she thought to herself as she ran her fingers through his hair. Maybe I do like him, I'm not sure... heck I don't even remember what happened to me more than a year ago, how can I be sure I know? She sighed a bit and played with his hair for a little longer, then moving and laying his head on a pillow.
When Riku awoke, he looked around, noticing that Nami was gone. He then quickly sat up and looked around to see if Nami was in the room, but to no avail. He rubbed his eyes slightly and stood up, dragging his feet as he mad his way into the kitchen. He sensed that two people were there, figuring it was his mother and Nami. When he looked up, he smiled as he saw Nami helping set up the table as his mother brought the food to the table.
"Morning, sleepyhead," his mother said teasingly. "Nami came in like 20 minutes ago, telling me that you fell asleep, and she asked if she could help, so I had her set the table. She's so sweet!"
Nami blushed and looked down as she went to a chair and took a seat. Riku picked up the dishes and put food on each before handing them out again and taking a seat next to Nami. Dinner went by quickly, Riku's mother trying her best to embarrass him, causing him to blush and Nami to laugh. After dinner was over, Riku took the plates and silverware and began to clean them, Nami coming over to help him.
"You don't have to help me, Nami."
"I know," Nami said, smiling. "I want to help you. That way you finish quicker."
Riku smirked as he and Nami finished cleaning the plates and the table in only about 5 minutes. After they were done, Nami look at the clock, noticing it was about 7:30. "Well, I should get going back home before my family starts sending the police out to find me," Nami said giggling as she walked to the door, while Riku followed her. Before she opened the door, she turned to Riku, "thank you for dinner and for walking me home. Have a good night and I'll see you tomorrow."
"It was my pleasure, Nami. You have a good night yourself and I'll walk with you to school tomorrow too, if you'd like." Nami nodded and waved and she walked out the front door. Riku closed it behind him and plopped down on the couch. He couldn't help but smile as he looked up to the ceiling, he liked hanging out with Nami and hoped to be able to more often. As he lay there, he began to grow tired again, must have been the lack of sleep the night before. Within minutes, he was fast asleep, and he began to dream again, but this dream was much different.
-----------------------------------------Dream----------------------------------------
Riku opened his eyes to find his head on the lap of a blond-haired girl who was looking down at him, smiling. He knew it wasn't Nami, or at the very least it did not seem like her and he sat up quickly, causing the girl to giggle. He noticed Nami and the girl shared the same eye color, but this girl looked much older than Nami was. It was then that he remembered his last dream, where he was saved by a blonde haired girl, who closely resembled the one in front of him.
"You're the girl from last time that saved me from the darkness, please tell me your name."
The girl simply giggled again. "You've forgotten me already, Riku? Well, I guess I do look a bit different. It's me, Namine"
Riku's eyes widened when he heard the name. "But you were a part of Kairi, you disappeared. Why did you start appearing in my dreams now?"
"Well, I didn't find you until now. I came here to help you fight the darkness that haunts you." Namine looked over to Riku as he stood up, his back turned to her, and began walking away.
"I can't let you get involved…I don't want to see you or anyone get hurt because of me again. I've caused people so much pain that it keeps me up at night a lot. If something bad happened to you while you were trying to help me, I would never be able to forgive myself."
It was then that he felt Namine's arms around his waist from behind. "You always tended to be melodramatic about getting help. Please let me help you, everyone needs help sometimes."
Riku turned around to face her, who was now a few inches shorter than him. "Look…" was all he got out before Namine leaned in and kissed him gently. Riku's eyes widened as she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Please, Riku, no one should have to try and fight alone. I want to help you, and besides, you know I won't take no for an answer." Riku chuckled at that comment and he rubbed her back gently.
"Alright, I guess I have no choice, you can help if you really want. But how can you help me if I only see you in my dreams?"
Namine opened her eyes and smiled. "Well that's easy, because I also exist in the real world. I can even tell you…" That was all she said before everything went black again.
----------------------------------End of Dream---------------------------------------------------
"Namine!" Riku said as he sat up quickly. He looked around to notice that he was still on the couch and the clock read midnight. He sighed slightly as he got off the couch and made his way up to his room. All the lights were off as his mother had gone to sleep, but that didn't matter to him. He climbed the stairs as if lights illuminated the entire house, allowing him to see where everything was and avoid any potential accidents. As he went into his room, he fell onto his bed, landing on his back.
As he stared up at the ceiling, his began to think about everything that happened today. He thought about the dream he had that started everything, about meeting Nami on the way to class, and getting to know her a little. He then thought about Seifer getting a cheap shop on him, and how Nami helped him. The walk home and dinner across crossed his mind and then he thought how the new dream he had. Namine looked older than the last time he saw her, like she was about his age. Was she truly here in the real world, or did his brain make it all up? Would she really help him deal with the darkness or was he destined to fight the darkness alone?
For a year he had been trapped in the darkness with waves of Heartless. He did anything he could to survive, heightening his senses so that he could keep his guard up while he slept in case they attacked. For so long he kept up barriers to keep people from getting close, in fear of them getting close and ending up getting hurt. But now he was truly at an impasse; there were two in his life he had feelings for. Nami, who he had only known for a day, but it seemed as though they've known each other for longer. Then there was Namine, the only person who could calm him back then.
How could he choose between them? The choice was so difficult it was not something he could take lightly; he would need time to think everything through and decide. If only he knew what fate had in store for him, perhaps then the choice would not be so difficult.
Ace: Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I look forward to reading your reviews, so don't forget to review when your done.
I would also like to say welcome to my new readers, it's always nice to see new faces in the reviews. With that in mind, here are responses to everyone's reviews
cracker-jacks000... wow, this was soo long, but don't worry, there will be fluff before you know it.
Faint Whistle... Thanks for the compliments, first person to mention something about Wakka, ya.
zealaya... Heh, I'm updating as quick as possible, I just want to make sure that what I put out is the best it can be.
TwilightAngel013... I've already started working on the next chapter too, so keep reading and reviewing and I'll start writing even quicker.
Warrior of Virtue... Haha, Seifer was totally outclassed, Riku wouldn't even have to use it.
Alpha Male... Thanks, I try hard so that people can enjoy the story.
P.S.-You guys are all awesome and thanks for giving my story a chance. Hopefully I'll be able to get chapter 4 out next week baring any major events.
XFireFistAceX