title: fear
world: land of the dragons (Mulan)
short AN: Ha ha. This one's incredibly cheesy. Ah well. I like the idea of Sora/Mulan friendship, even if the Land of Dragons part of KH2 wasn't the most well done storywise. I'll just let my head draw out events and make up scenarios. Ha ha.
disclaimer: kingdom hearts © squarenix, mulan/true to your heart lyrics © disney

"I'm afraid, Sora."

He could barely hear Mulan's voice over the sound of the crickets outside. "You thinking about what'll happen if you get caught?" he asked, looking over at her slightly. The moon glowed just enough through the thin fabric of the tent that Sora was able to make out the majority of her features.

"Well, yes, but…" she trailed off, turning on her back and putting her hands behind her head. "Also…What if I just make a fool of myself? What if I don't prove anything? What if…by the end of this…nothing is better? What if I can't make it?"

Sora turned on his back too, imagining he could see the stars overhead.

In his mind, they were still blinking out, one-by-one.

Too often, he dreamed that he had failed. And it made him want to give up hope.

"You'll make it, Ping," he said softly. "You have a lot of spunk and courage."

He could see Mulan smile.

"For a girl," he added in a low whisper, smirking as he did so.

"Well, you have a big heart," she said kindly. And then she added, "For a boy."

They laid together for awhile longer, in silence.

"But I'm not courageous," she finally said. "I'm not brave."

A sigh.

"I'm only me. And that scares me."

Sora closed his eyes.

"And I'm only a disappointment."

"Mulan…" he whispered, grabbing her hand in the dark, squeezing it softly.

"If I'm caught, I'll just be even more of a disappointment. I can't even get married."

Sora smirked again, eyes lighting up. "You defeated Shang in one-on-one today, and you did Yao's laundry. Not to mention, you jump on that stupid horse that tried to kill me everyday. And now you're scared that you're not going to be married?" He laughed. "You really are a girl."

Mulan blushed slightly, but she still smiled. "He didn't try to kill you."

"And, I'll tell you what—you're not a disappointment. Who cares if the matchmaker lady thinks you are. I'm proud of you. Mushu's proud of you. I bet even Shang'd be proud of you if he'd just let himself. You're not a disappointment to us," he said with confidence and understanding. And, with a big grin, "And…I guess you do make the perfect boy."

She pretended to hit him, lightly, before looking in his eyes.

"You really are a good friend, Sora. Thank you."

When you doubt yourself, you don't just let you down. You let everyone down.

You give up hope.

You fail.

The smile on her face told him that there was hope. That he hadn't lost yet.

And, even though he was comforting her, it was almost like she had said:

"They're still there. Because of you. You did it. You won. You're a hero."

And fear was nothing. Fear was a figment.

But you'll never fall till you let go

Don't be so scared of what you don't know

…You must be true to your heart

…Your heart can tell you no lies