Author's Note: Ugh... School started... and I have to carry around 5 textbooks everyday... Sure, I have a book locker but when I arrive and leave school, I still have to carry them around... Anyway, here's a long awaited Chapter 7.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Kingdom Hearts characters, places, and/or plot lines. My recent obsession is: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 and... it's rated M... -cries into the sunset-
Tainted Summer Light
Chapter 7
Broaden my Horizons
Grass weaved through my wiggling toes, completely compelled by anxiety. I twirled and played with my fingers, hoping to reduce my worry. Dreams aren't wonderful things, are they? Oh, I hope they didn't catch him. I mean, if they do, it'll be my entire fault… Then why does he come to see me then…? Shaking my stabbing thoughts, I stood, facing the flowing river that cut through the forest.
Green eyes stared back at the anxious pale face, framed by strands of brown. Clutching the rim of my white plain dress, reaching my back, my fingertips brushing against fluff. I craned my neck, spying pure white feathers. Flapping my tiny wings, I stretched my arms, reaching for the sky.
Heaven wasn't really heaven those "humans" thought it was. It was strict, worse than what they call home. I found that this forest, this creek was my only escape because, he, was from the inferno. They say that the flames leak into the less pure of the clouds. I guess they were right…
"There you are." His voice sighed, heart-meltingly dark yet friendly and warm. I turned around, eagerly, my dress lifting from my sudden motion. Smiling, I clasped my hands, practically basking in his mere presence. His outfit was much more complicated, silver chains and sippers over black fabric. Prodding from his back was large, elegant black wings, completely out sizing my small pathetic slabs of meat.
"Did you have any trouble getting here?" I asked my worry resurfacing. He smirked, a spark of arrogance and victory in his sea aqua eyes, a fang poking out from his perfect lips.
"Are you kidding? Getting here is too easy." He gloated, his fingers trailing his chin seductively from the clearing between the trees. I giggled, relieved that he came safely. He took notice, raising a brow curiously.
"Is our little angel aiming for something a little out of hand?" he asked teasingly, approaching with a glint in his eye. I raised my brow, tilting my head to the side, watching him circle me. Devils these days… they all are the same… well not all of them…
"What are you talking about?" I questioned, folding my arms uneasily.
"Oh, you know." He replied, poking his head over my shoulder, his hot breath on my neck. I blushed, tightening my grip on my body, feeling warm arms pull me close. We stayed in that position for what seems like an eternity, the sounds of the rushing water of the creek, the rustle of the wind, and our soft breaths filling our ears.
"You know," he started, flittering my wings slightly in surprise, "your wings, I like them." I blushed at the compliment, drooping my feathered appendages from embarrassment.
"T-they're practically nothing…" I bashfully denied. "I mean, compared to yours…" I felt his chest vibrate from a low chuckle, my face flushed a deep embarrass red.
"My wings are cool," he said, "but they're a pain to lug around." I giggled, lightly fluttering my wings happily. I'm so happy… he likes something about me…! Comforted by our warmth, we stood in silence, enjoying one's company.
"…I'm aiming for something too…" his voice softly said, "something too pure." A spread of confusion appeared on my face before turning to a look of sorrow.
"Oh… who's the girl…?" I asked, sadness coating my tone. It was obviously not me. I was not pure. I went against the rules. I'm seeing you, a dark entity. He didn't say anything, a sigh passing through my lips. With a deep breath, I thrashed out of his arms. Looking at his demonic lined face, we stared within each other's eyes. With a smirk, he disappeared in a blast of black wind.
I sat up, lying back down almost immediately from pain. Two days of training, including my first session, have past. Almost every muscle was tingling with agony. My first day wasn't this bad but this is ridiculous! With difficulty, I stood, looking at the familiar orange leaved trees with a bored expression. Another dream, another attempted attack… When will it stop…? I miss Riku… I miss him a lot…
"Here." Viz's all too familiar voice rang out. I quickly turned, a jolt of pain shot through my legs, a pouch fumbling into my hands. I looked curiously at the pouch, then back in the direction of Viz.
"Viz, what is this?" I asked, turning back to the pouch, examining it from all sides.
"Breakfast and a potion." Viz answered, my head tilting at the mention of potion. I shrugged, opening the pouch, a peach and a vial rolling into my outstretched palm. A green liquid homed the vial, a cork stopper at the end. A curious look shined in my eye, opening the corked vial and smelling the strange substance. I was a mix between mint and fruit… With a final gulp of doubt, I hesitantly brought the vial to my lips, the liquid passing down my throat. It tasted pretty good actually, to my surprise… like… mint and apples…
Popping the vial and cork into the pouch, I took hold of the long forgotten peach with a spring in my step and ripped off a chunk happily. Wait, "spring in my step?" Hey, I just noticed…! The soreness… it's gone…! I guess that's what a potion is for… Chewing off a piece of the sweet fruit, I discarded the pouch and looked around. I found Viz in his usual spot, a fair distance away from a barely visible upside down tree in the near distance.
"Viz, how's Sora?" I asked the idle marionette.
"Sora and the king's servants have sealed four keyholes and acquired transportation needs to travel to the next world." Viz reported, a small nod from my chewing face.
"What about Riku and Kairi?" I questioned further, munching on the skin.
"The darkness is too strong to search for the latter." Viz said, a raise of the brow to his statement, my cheeks filled with peach mush. This isn't a usual Viz response.
"The former has made recent contact with Sora before disappearing into the darkness." Viz explained. I spat out the peach mush in surprise, coughing out that in which planned to choke me to my death.
"W-what?" I coughed, wiping my lips, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"False hope." Viz simply answered. I ripped off another piece of my half-eaten peach, slightly disappointed. The rest of breakfast was completely silent, mostly because I was focusing on my peach and Viz being Viz. When I ripped off the final slab of flesh from the peach, Viz broke the silence.
"We shall continue training today." He said, while I dropped the bare pit. I sighed inwardly, turned off at the thought of training but I knew had to do it. The rustle of cloth brushed in my ears, immediately looking up in an alert rush. Thoughts barely passing through my brain, I quickly jumped to the side, the air cut by the familiar black blade.
"Your senses aren't drugged." Viz commented, a curious look on the corners of my face. Is there supposed to be a side effect to that potion? "You've learned well." I said nothing, pursing my lips and staying alert. Orange Dawn comes in and out, never on my will, and always when I least expect it. Also, I didn't know what Viz has for me next…
"Lesson four:" Viz announced, "magic." Ever since my home has been destroyed, the last word on my mind was "magic." It clearly hasn't since I stared, mouth agape.
"M-magic?" I repeated, "Are you sure anybody can do it?" Not that I doubted myself. Well, ok maybe just a little, but still!
"Only ones that train hard." Viz answered. I gulped, bringing a hand to my cheek.
"We need you to be able to conjure a successful spell by the end of the day so I'll keep things simple." Viz explained. "We cannot have the darkness be aware of your connection with the bearer." I gave him a lost look, conflicted between my darkness, the darkness in general, or another darkness. I don't even know what the darkness really is…
"The darkness that's manipulating your friend can benefit from that information along with others." Viz continued. "We must keep you hidden until the time is right." We? Who's we? I put the question on my "questions bound to the usual Viz answer" list and took a deep breath.
"Ok, I understand." I said, dropping my hand to my side. I don't need this information this early since I'll be pondering answers over training.
"Onto the lesson then." Viz said. The forgotten blade that sat in his hand disappeared in a flurry of darkness, my head tilting from my act of confusion. A ball of fire appeared before his outstretched hand, startling me into an alert stance.
"Magic is simply taking your inner energy and warping it into the power needed." Viz instructed. "We must first find and bring out that power from within." I thought hard, wondering what this would be. It wouldn't hurt ask, right?
"Viz, what does this power feel like?" I asked curiously.
"It depends on the person." Viz bluntly answered, my head hanging in my efforts to sulk. That doesn't help very much… How am I going to find it if I don't know what it feels like…?
"It takes determination, patience, and concentration to find this power, however, once you do, you can never lose it." Viz continued. "This is a task that you alone can do. I shall leave to monitor Sora." With a tilt of the head, he was gone in whizzing darkness, leaving me alone in the tree dotted abyss. I guess some things can't be explained and you must find out yourself… Sitting on the ground, I sighed, overwhelmed by the greatness of the task before me. Where in my heart could it be? Lying back with my eyes close, I thought hard, searching for answers.
Could it be that burning sensation I felt before? No… It was used to summon Orange Dawn so it would seemed the power I'm looking for isn't connected to that… Could it be hidden beneath my emotions? A thoughtful look appeared on my face, eyes still tightly shut. Let's look past the negative because that's probably where it isn't placed. Happiness… Love… Determination… Now that I think about it, I haven't experience these emotions very much, well, not as much as the negative… Concentrating all my thoughts on my positive emotions, remembering memories linked to them, I couldn't help but to smile.
The time Sora slipped off the island housing the paopu fruit in attempts to cheer me up, causing everyone to laugh, including myself. The time when Kairi and I were scratching pictures into the walls of the secret place; that was a good memory. We kept on messing up and all we were trying to make was the paopu tree. We laughed so hard that day; my sides just hurt looking back on it. Oh, and there was the time Riku treated my scraped knee. He took me home and stayed with me until Sora came home. After that, he would help and cheer me up, despite my protests. I felt so loved those few days… I wish we could return to those days…
Shaking my head of my memories, I nodded to myself in determination. This isn't the time to be reminiscing about the old times like an elderly man…! I need to find that power… Sacking my emotions as a temporarily clear, I thought of my next destination in my thorn-encrusted mind. Well, while we're on the subject, why don't we continue revisiting memories? Sitting up, eyes now opened, I blankly stared into the darkness before me, thinking of a subject to visit. Well, school memories were always depressing, good or not… Home was boring, even though Sora was an endless supply of interest. The only place I can think of that holds my happiest memories was the play island. That's where I met Riku and Kairi, spent most of my time developing my overactive imagination, and where I discovered my feelings for Riku…
Although I treasured all my memories spent with Riku, I have to say all my memories with Kairi were just as groundbreaking… On that day when she dragged me away from the boys and asked if we could be friends, I couldn't deny her offer. She was the first who actually asked, better yet, offer. From then on, we were inseparable. Whenever the boys would go off and have one of their "contests," the two of us would talk about practically everything, except for a few little details. And when they came back with a victor, we laughed ever so hard at their clueless faces. Actually, we most of our moments ended up in laughter… It was great…
I felt so warm inside at that moment, looking back at the laughter like an old man… it felt nice. But… for some reason, it feels so dark at the end, at the edge of the feeling. Warm, but dark… Clasping my hands to my heart, I looked up; an orange leaved peach tree floating aimlessly as I sighed. This warm feeling… it feels like a power… a tiny but fluffy kind of power… If… if I were to put it into words, I would describe it as yellow, I don't know why though… A ring of darkness as its shell… Ugh, I feel like breaking that annoying shell! Wait, why am I getting so angry over a trivial thing? My arms relaxing at my side, I stood, looking around the darkness curiously, although my surroundings were oh so familiar. I knew only one person has some answers…
"Viz!" I called, my hands cupped near my mouth in hopes in amplifying the echoing call. After a moment of complete silence, I sighed, knowing he wouldn't hear me but did so anyway.
"Is there anything wrong?" Viz's familiar voice asked, whisking darkness appearing a fair distance away, startling me a step back. The marionette stepped out of the darkness, his eyes gazing at my lingering figure. I stood, shell-shocked, before answering.
"Oh, yeah. I think I found the power." I replied.
"Can you describe this power?" Viz questioned further. Man… why does he have to sound as if he's mad and all…
"Well, it's warm and fluffy, but kinda tiny." I said, recalling the, what I would call, "cute" sensation. Hey, why should I kid myself? The way I'm describing it, it sounds like a stuffed animal!
"It also has darkness as a shell, I don't know why." I continued. "And, let's see… I see it as yellow and that seems like it."
"Hmm, interesting." Viz commented. "Is this a power you can easily find?" I blinked once before scanning my memories of Kairi. I felt the same sensation once more at the thought of laughing with Kairi, nodding to mostly myself.
"Yeah, I can find it easily." I answered my eyes still on Viz.
"Then that is your power." Viz said, a droop of the shoulders as a sign of disappointment was my seldom reply. That's it for this step? No anti-climatic twist?
"We shall commence with the lesson." Viz continued. I nodded silently, ready for anything.
"We'll try learning Fire first." Viz stated. "First, starting thinking about a fireball. Knowing what the form of the fire will be is important." I pictured a fireball in my head, really small but still a fireball… hmmm… I know I shouldn't do this but let's make it talk. That would be cute, heh heh.
"I got my fireball." I informed.
"Now, bring up your power and focus it into your hand. Apply the surge to the picture in your mind." Viz continued. Thoughts of shared memories popped into my head, the yellow power coming back. I concentrated the fluffy energy into my left hand, for I was a lefty, feeling it get stronger and larger by the minute. The picture of the little fireball with little eyes and a just as small mouth was suddenly wiped from my mind, leaving a white canvas. Where was it?! Looking down at my outstretched hand, I saw the fireball form but, it look different… The flames were a dark inferno, not the expected bright red orange.
"That is strange…" Viz commented, while I stared at my creation, marveling at its cuteness.
"Hi Mommy!" the little fireball cried happily. I looked at Viz who gave me an unreadable look, disregarding it, and looking down at the cute little fireball in my hands. So cute… even though I won't say it out loud!
"What did you exactly imagine?" Viz asked, my shoulders sulking from embarrassment.
"A red orange fireball with eyes and a mouth with the ability to talk…?" I answered unsure of my answer.
"That darkness you mentioned before must be effecting the magic…" Viz stated thoughtfully. "And with this method, you must imagine your fireball being shot at your target." I sighed into a sulk, the fireball still in my hand, panicking over its "Mommy's" sudden little break down.
"Anything else?" I asked, my voice also in a sulk.
"That's it." Viz answered, my gaze zipping back to him in surprise.
"That's it?" I repeated, the fireball much more happier that I was talking again.
"This method is the easiest but less powerful of magic." Viz explained, "It would take one years to bring out powerful magic so this is a substitute." Well that was unexpected…
"So, I can make anything happen with this method, all I need is a clear picture in my mind?" I asked.
"It would seem so, but I wouldn't recommend it…" Viz responded, probably referring to my little fireball. "Now, it is up to you if you want to spend the rest of the day training." I gave a confused stare at the leaving Viz, whisking my little fireball away.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"To check on your brother." Viz answered after a moment.
"Can you tell him that I said hi and that I'm ok?" I requested. Viz said nothing and was whisked away into the darkness. I sighed, doubting the chance the marionette giving my request. I guess I can make up some more spells…
"Sora, I've been waiting for you…"
I jumped in surprise, Goosebumps crawling up my arms. That was Viz's voice, I'm sure of it! But I thought…
"Who are you?"
The second voice was familiar as well. It was none other than my older brother. But why can I hear his voice? I can tell a conversation is going to erupt from this but why can I hear it?
"Sora! Don't talk to him; we have to follow that carpet!"
It was a squeaky voice this time. That must be one of the king's servants since I don't recognize it. I wonder what the owner of the voice looks like…
"But he could be a Heartless."
A change of pace, this one was more of an invert of the first strange voice. Lower and dumb sounding, even though it would be rude to call one dumb without knowing them. Maybe the people were just as inverted as their voices are… Viz didn't reply, but rather changed the subject.
"I'd advise to halt your search for you beloved sister."
"Natsuno? You know where she is?!"
I felt so strange, listening to people talk about me. It felt so weird and, ugh, I can't describe it. As if… someone was stalking me.
"She sends her greetings and insures her safety."
"So you do know where she is! Tell me!"
"If you were to make contact, the shadows' numbers will grow."
Wait, I heard that line before! The shadows' numbers will grow… it was from that dream! Let's see… Don't step near the light; the shadows' numbers will grow. So, the light is Sora! That means those other quotes are hints as well. Could Viz…?
"What do you mean by that?"
"All in due time."
"Looks like Sora got the usual Viz answer…" I commented. Just like me…
"I shall take my leave."
"Wait! I want to know where-"
Sora was cut off in mid sentence. What could that mean? The sounds of whisking darkness rang from behind, leading me to face marionette that stepped out.
"Viz, what was that all about?" I asked, tilting my head.
"This world and I are connected." Viz answered. "How else was I able to hear your cry?" Now that you think about it, it would make sense…
"So through you, I can hear conversations?" I asked.
"If thou wishes it." Viz replied.
"You know, Sora will hunt you down from that encounter..." I commented in a low husk.
"I am fully aware." Viz stated. He said nothing afterward while I was in thought. If Viz is my only connection to the outside world, then I'm going to have to use it… I need a battle plan… fast. Although I may not like to say so, my main mission is to not be reunited with Sora, Kairi, and Riku. It is to defeat the darkness that replaced me.
"Hey Viz," I started, the marionette turning his full attention to me, "do you know where my darkness is?"
"I can't pinpoint its exact location, but in the outside world." Viz responded, a nod from me as a reply. If he can't find it, then I'll find it myself. I have to! Then, maybe, I'll escape from this world and help Sora. We'll find Riku and Kairi and go home, together. But, isn't Riku on the darkness's side? …Is he some kind of dark angel now…? Or did he sink lower than that? Shaking my head, I turned away from Viz. Why must I be so pure? Actually, I'm not pure at all when I think about it… Riku… I miss you so very much… Please, wait for me to return and you had better not do something crazy…
In Hopes of Running into your Arms
End of Chapter 7
That was back breaking... I didn't know any other way to describe magic so, I did that! Hate me! HATE ME! Heh heh, the next chapter will be fun... Anyway, with school in the air I might not get to finish Chapter 8 by my deadline of Tuesday so the next updates will be spaced out on random Tuesdays. The update day will be Tuesday, but probably not consistantly a week apart. I'm sorry for the inconvienence, but school is my greatest concern right now... Look forward to Chapter 8!