A/N: This has been done for awhile. However it has taken me awhile to get to posting and writing again... The school year can be a major drag, and I must thank everyone who has been patient enough! Since it's taken so long to post, and since I have no internet connection this week, I am posting two chapters tonight because I am so nice... enjoy!!
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The trio approached a tall wooden archway. The doors were locked tightly, and not a sound whispered from beyond the formidable battlements. Riku shaded his eyes to look up. There was a little light peaking through the sharpened vertical logs, pressed tightly together and bound by hundreds of lengths of thick interwoven vine ropes.
"This is Cosmo Canyon village," Sephiroth answered Sora's burning question before it could fly out of his mouth. "They call it Cosmo Canyon because the wisest men and women have lived here for centuries, studying the paths of the stars and the Planet's life force itself... This is also where the Cosmo Candle burns. It's said to have burned for centuries... it only went out once during a great battle and a tragedy to these people."
He turned to look at Riku, who was tapping his hand against the tall walls. "In there is where your answers lie, boy. If you can get in. I'd imagine nobody will open the doors for fear of the monsters."
"Then we'll tell 'em we ain't monsters!" Sora piped up. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Heyyy!!! Anybody!! Let us in, we're starving and tired and we're not monsters!! We're really not!! Open up!" He gave the huge doors a kick with his boot and stumbled backwards, his face a look of hurt and disappointment as he landed on his rear.
The doors shook. Riku pulled Sora back from them as they swung slowly with a deep resonating groan from to let only one person through. A tall, dark-skinned man came forward with a spear, his eyes cold and black and tired. He watched the trio and narrowed those eyes further. He wore tanned leather leggings and boots and a beaded vest, his head shaved bald only to appear dotted with tribal tattoos.
"Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded slowly, his English perfect and precise to a tee.
"I'm Riku," the boy said in a soft, deep voice. He looked at him straight in the eyes. "This is Sora.. and that scary man there is--"
"--Seth." Sephiroth continued smoothly, reaching to pull Riku's hair sharply, to his alarm and irritation.
The man looked them over. Judging from the bruise on poor Sora's face and his poor lip, he nodded his approval. The doors opened a little more when he turned his back and waved to two torch-lit figures stand directly above the doorway. They shouted a reply and turned to previously unseen machinery, gears cranking and pulling the doors shut. Riku and Sora passed the man, who stopped and faced "Seth".
"I don't want those kids causing any trouble here. We've got enough on our minds what with... the sickness." The man leaned heavily on the wooden spear and looked down at the ground, his eyes gleaming mysteriously in the firelight.
Riku quickly realized as he stole a glance around that there were fewer people than he would have thought living here. Like the man with the spear, they wore ornamental clothing and beads in their dark hair. They also were of melancholy, shadowed eyes and haggard faces. Their homes were built, rather skillfully he thought, into the canyon walls and were accessible by long bridges built across the width of this canyon's section. And in the center of the village square was a hill, on top of which burned a bonfire that seemed to burn forever without change, and from no visible fuel.
Too many tears have been cried here,
Riku suddenly thought. His nerves sung with the amount of tension and anxiety and death that hummed in the air.He looked toward Sora, who was swaying slowly. His eyes were dull and he shivered once in awhile. Riku reached to hold onto him and ensure he didn't crash into the ground. Sephiroth didn't seem tired in the slightest. He thumbed through a pouch at his hip and tossed a few coins at the spear man.
"I am Varn," the man said. The villagers turned their attention back to their business, their voices low and muted. "If you want rest, follow me... like I said, don't cause trouble."
"Do I have to climb...?" Riku heard Sora murmur sleepily as he led him, holding him by the shoulders. What could have made him so tired...? Maybe he wasn't ready for this sort of running around. It was exceedingly late, the time probably much later than what Sora was accustomed to.
Varn led them to a ground-level inn, and he left them at the door where they passed through cloth and were greeted by the powerful scent of flowers and incense. Riku gritted his teeth at the sight of stairs, but continued upward, stopping in the middle only to simply pick Sora up in his arms and continue to the bedroom.
The rooms were seperate, very nicely furbished. The beds were built right into the stone, the mattresses set into the small alcoves and flourished with too many blankets to know what to do with them all. Sephiroth paused in amazement, and nodded his head appreciatively.
"They must have continued digging."
Sora stirred on the bed where Riku had placed him gently. "Nh...?"
"Shh... he's gonna need to rest..." Riku looked at Sephiroth, who leaned in the doorway and closed his eyes. He stepped close to the much taller man and spoke quietly, reaching to grab an edge of his long coat. "Look... I'll try to talk to him if he wakes up, if you promise to keep your nose out of my business!" Too tired to make a bigger deal out of it, Riku sagged with a sudden loss of energy against him. His eyes rolled back, drooping shut, while poor Sephiroth could but hold on with one arm.
"Maybe you should wait a little more," Sephiroth whispered to himself, hustling Riku over to Sora's side and plunking him down beside him. He took the time, with a dream-like daze, to remove the boys' boots for them and tuck them in. The act was as alien to him as kindliness - but somehow he was still doing it.
A shining gem rolled down Riku's cheek as unconscious peace stole over him. Sephiroth stepped away slowly, nearly reverently, until he stood in the threshold. Night had guided the village to a troubled, unwholesome slumber, but Sephiroth would not sleep tonight nor would he rest any other night. As though it occured to him at the last moment, he pressed a hand over his heart... and then let it hover over the sleeping figures, letting the healing light trickle over them and lessen their hurts.
He shut the door softly and left the room, slowly drifting outside on the second floor of the inn to stand on the balcony. The only light to continue burning was the Candle. Tomorrow he would take the boys to see the Elders, hopefully to find an answer to their peculiar riddle. Most importantly, Sephiroth wanted to know... Cloud had been right about many things. Right to hate him, but also right to guide him back to see about this... Riku.
He closed his eyes, and in his own spirit-bound way he dreamed... he remembered his swift and brutal journey from this world, with only half a pair of wings to guide him, charging into the Coliseum and challenging warrior after warrior... and he saw Cloud there as well. Why he had a wing of his own puzzled Sephiroth, but that wasn't important. It was before the Coliseum... why couldn't he remember before that?
Behind his eyelids flashed an exotic ocean sun. White sand, humble village... terrified of him, naturally, being torn and ripped from the cosmic winds. He saw their faces as they saw him, as though they were frozen in time, skewed and disturbed like an old painting from a forgotten attic. Then it burned out of recognition and he awoke, to find the sun was beginning to rise above the canyon's edges and spill golden sunlight into the mist-ridden village. He must have stood hence, dreaming all night.
I will remember,
Sephiroth promised himself firmly. And promises were Sephiroth's personal niche in life.* * * * *
Riku turned, encountering a warm body. Instinctively he embraced it, only to be squished by immeasurable strength by the other. He opened his eyes, only to find them a little blurred from sleep. But whoever it was, the warmth was welcome... he closed his eyes again and breathed out Sora's name calmly in a strange hope that it would be him.
He peaked through one eye, staring at Sora's soft throat. The boy was snoring gently, his mouth hanging open. Riku smirked and tried to hold back a shiver as he shimmied closer. He was dead asleep, he realized drowsily. His hand moved; it crept along Sora's arm, over to his shoulder and his fingertips rested against his neck gently. His thumb caressed his collar bone, which had a weird habit of sticking out sometimes.
"Only I would know this," Riku said with a degree of satisfaction. He sat up slowly, uncaring, the past unimportant as his mouth pressed against the soft piece of flesh connecting neck and shoulder.
Sora's muscles rippled slightly while he slept. His brows knit together curiously, but otherwise he made a pleased whine and reached out to find where this good sensation was coming from. Alarmed, Riku caught his hand, his nose flaring as his breath quickened. He held it against Sora's chest and felt his fingers twitch and constrict lightly with his.
Am I really doing this...? Molesting Sora while he's sleeping?
Thoughts buzzed around in his head like lazy, sleepy bees. He wished they'd go away. To encourage this, he let his tongue snake outward and taste the skin gently. It was salty and sweet, and strangely fragrant... Sora-scent. He recalled it from childhood, how good Sora smelled... like cookies and the paopu blossoms...
His hand pressed against Sora's stomach, migrating ever slightly to his hip. Sora shifted, turning his head toward Riku and breathing a soft moan. He still slept... Riku's teeth grazed the skin, suddenly hungry to hear that again, his breath puffing out slowly. His nerves burned and he hated to feel it, but he was drawing inexorably toward arousal and wanton lust. He craved the taste of Sora, wanted it and it was just a little bit more...
Sora shifted again, breathing hard, until he was nearly panting.
Riku broke away as quickly as possible, burning now with shame. He watched him, saw the marks where his teeth had pressed into the skin. His throat felt stuck with grief and loathing for what he'd done, had almost done. Slowly drawing away, Riku slid off of the bed and rose to his feet, finding his boots by the foot of the bed. He tried not to look at Sora as he stole out of the bedroom and outside to the balcony, 10 feet long and 4 feet wide.
He stepped into his boots. He didn't bother to tie them. His chest still ached with the injury of the beast from yesterday. He didn't look around, merely stood outside in the cool canyon air in the light of the Candle. Pulsing, his chest not only ached but now throbbed with an entirely different ailment.
Tears began to spill from his face. Idiot... idiotidiotidiot....!! He gripped at his chest over his heart. His strength abandoned him and he knelt on the wooden poles, his other hand lashing out to grab onto the railing. He hung his head, shuddering as each fit passed over him, leaving him breathless and gasping. Anger, cold and all-encompassing, trickled through until it burst into rage. He pounded against the railing, crying out in a choked roar, "GOD DAMN IT JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!! AGH--!!!"
Jealousy and rage blinded him, and for awhile he didn't feel any pain but he couldn't move. Time passed... maybe it was just a second or two. When he could see and feel again, the pain was still there and he was almost sitting on the floor. He lifted his head and blinked through teary eyes to find a familiar silver-haired shadow standing at the other end of the balcony, watching him.
"What the hell do you want?" Riku wheezed, trembling as his rage burbled, spent and useless, to the surface. "Just go away. I don't need your cynicism right now, okay?"
"For a dead boy, you sure seem to have a lot of spunk," Sephiroth intoned with both amusement and a pinch of annoyance. He moved forward and reached to pluck him off the ground. The motion seemed to pain Riku more than sitting still for he cried out.
"P-Put me down! Hey! Help!"
"Shut up," Sephiroth sighed, arching a brow. "I'm not going to hurt you." He lifted a hand, helping Riku stand beside the railing with the opposite. His hand came close to Riku's chest. Alarmed, the youth jerked his hand aside while he watched Sephiroth's gloved fingers drive into his chest as though the boy were made of butter.
It ached like nothing in the world. Riku felt nausea twisting his gut as he watched in horror as Sephiroth's whole hand, then most of his arm vanished inside his body. Small smokey green rings of energy spread out from the intrusion, burning hotter as Sephiroth's eyes shifted colors for one moment. He gritted his teeth, his expression hardening as he seemed to become aware of something.
And with all of his dark, fierce strength he pulled his arm free. Riku couldn't even yell, it was too quick. The pain nearly paralyzed him completely. He watched Sephiroth's arm come free, gripping something shining and metallic nearly as tall as Riku was himself. Sephiroth staggered backwards, the ring of cold steel singing through the air.
Bizarre semi-transparent blue liquid dripped from the thing that Sephiroth's hands grasped. It shined to Riku, making him lurch with alarm and longing.
"Tha... that's mine," he heard himself whimper childishly, the longing increasing. He reached out for the thing and took it, and the blue liquid vanished. It was a sword.
"Does it still hurt?" Sephiroth inquired mildly, folding his arms over his chest. He tilted his head to one side, staring at the weapon with the same fierce fascination Riku also felt for the object.
"This.... came from inside me," Riku mumbled. "Oh.... no, it doesn't hurt that much now... but.... h-how did--?"
"I have powers beyond what you may know already. Powers I'm willing to teach before we go to see the Elders, if you want." Sephiroth rubbed his hands together... as though they both tingled oddly. Riku felt around his chest under his shirt, feeling no scar, no mark at all. The skin was very warm, though.
"Alright... but I want to ask you something..."
"I get to ask you a question as well, then."
"Fine. I go first. Why did you say your name was Seth?" Riku folded his arms over his chest, feeling smug with his own clever question.
"My name brings ill luck," was all the man said. "I'm not.... popular, really... the only name more powerful than my own is Shinra... or Heartless.... which is something I wanted to question you..."
Riku's face flushed. He squared his shoulders before turning away sharply. "Hey, look... I said I can't talk about it..."
"What do you have to lose?" The warrior tilted his head to one side, his eyes softening. "The Elders will need to hear this as well, Riku. There's no point in keeping it so secretive."
"I..." Riku clenched his teeth. But after a moment, he started to talk. When he wasn't thinking about it, he found it extremely easy to talk to the man. He rattled on about how he had seen the Islands disappear before, about his home and his feelings for Sora... how Maleficent had twisted his emotions to evil ends, mostly how it was his fault for letting her, and finally the end... when the door was shut in Kingdom Hearts and King Mickey sealed it from his side.
Then he started with waking up on the islands again... Nothing was wrong and nobody seemed to remember, or even care to. Months went by... and his guilt poisoned him up inside and only his letters to Sora, unsent, gave him some sort of comfort. And the destruction of his home, once again.
"Kairi is the Final Princess of Heart... I'm thinking she's somehow involved and we've got to get her back," Riku said softly, leaning against the railing again and sighing. "There's nothing else I can think of... except... that... the figure from before. The one who keeps visiting me. I dream about him and it's odd... he seems so damn familiar."
"The Elders may help you figure that one out. I don't interpret dreams," Sephiroth said, having listened patiently for the while. He cracked his back and stretched, before he turned his head toward the door. "...He's waking up now."
Riku hurried past, stepping into the room. Sora was waking up... he was yawning and stretching and turning over this way, then the other... before he realized he was moving around. He sat up, his eyes wide and fearful with bits of his hair poking out at extremely odd angles. He looked like a disfunctional porcupine.
"Are you alright?" Riku smirked, covering his mouth and trying to keep the laughter from his voice. "You slept for a long time...or, well, I woke up early."
Sephiroth passed behind Riku, moving out the door possibly to see about the Elders. Right now Sora rubbed his face, shivering. "I-I h...had a dream, um," Sora blushed furiously. Riku balked and shook his head, bubbles of hope beginning to make his head light.
"Well, shake it off, silly. We've got to get some food into us and then, it's off to the Elders!"
"We go!" Sora completed quickly, his face fading to its normal shade. He jumped up, and raked his fingers through his hair, tousling it and raking as he stepped into his shoes once Riku pointed them out.
