The Kingdom of My Heart

by reichirudesu.

NOTICE I do not own any of the characters for Kingdom Hearts. They belong to the Square-enix corporation. Thanks again! And especially thanks to the people who are reviewing, you are a great encouragement!

CHAPTER NINE

I was just outside my classroom door when the bell rang, I had my hand on the groove to slide it open...

"Rei." said a voice too familiar.

I turned my head and saw Riku walking down the hall, surrounded by girls, including Satori-san. She had yet to acknowledge me even though she heard him call my name. She was close to him, hanging on his arm, nestling her face against his chest.

I bit my lip and decided that I needed my bag back. My hand slid away from the door handle as I replied. "Riku-kun."

He looked up, his cold eyes piercing me. He was smirking. All the girls following him had halted, also giving me the stare of death.

"Hello, Rei, how are you today?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I heard from the nurse that you had my bag."

He smiled and produced my brown worn leather bag from seemingly nowhere. He balanced the handle on a few fingers, extending it out to me. I stepped forward to get it, moving slowly.

"If it was so important, why did you leave it behind?"

I gritted my teeth, not wanting to debate the craziness that had been discussed in front of these other girls. "I just forgot, thats all."

"You should be careful of that," he replied.

I reached for my bag from him, placing a tight grip on the handle. He also took a tight grip against me.

"Give me my bag, Riku."

Nothing.

"Let go."

Still nothing, I felt a rage boiling inside me.

"LET GO!" I yelled, tugging. He released his grip and I fell backwards, the contents spilling out all over the floor. Girls started laughing. The classroom door slid open and students were staring into the hallway to see what the commotion was about.

"Rei, you okay?" Jiyo was stooping over my stuff, gathering it-- while trying to find out what happened.

I got up, eye to eye with Riku. "I'm fine."

Jiyo handed me my bag and looked at Riku. "I don't know what you've been doing, but leave her alone, okay?"

"That's brave talk for someone who can't even admit his feelings."

"You bastard," Jiyo growled.

Riku walked past Jiyo and straight to me. "Remember what I said..." he muttered.

"Which part was I supposed to care about?"

"The closer you get to the light... the greater your shadow becomes. Do you understand it yet?"

"No."

He pointed behind me and I turned. My shadow had lengthened a good ten feet behind me. It was dramatically black, and it began to move on its own, dancing with some sort of violence and cheer. All of a sudden, a pair of yellow eyes appeared, but they were not alone. Many pairs of eyes began to appear as my shadow separated into the shadow creatures. They hopped away from me, towards the other student's shadows.

A girl's scream turned my attention to Satori-san, who had ran and clung to Riku. "What the hell are those?"

Riku shook his arm throwing her to the ground. "You annoy me."

She scrambled to get up, but it was too late. A shadow jumped through the air, claw outstretched, and stabbed Mina from the back. She yelled, then fell silent as the creature pulled away, holding a glowing red sphere. It devoured it, and Mina lay there as dead.

Panic struck as students and shadows began to run in all directions. I felt rooted to the floor, staring at Satori-- and then looking to Riku. He smiled.

"They are called Heartless."

"Your the heartless one! You monster!" I yelled. I was pulled away from the argument in the rush of panicked students. I began to try and fight the crowds. More and more people on all floors began to scream, and it was apparent that the creatures were spreading. I tried to stand still, to gain stock of the situation. I covered my face with my arms to avoid the flailing limbs of students, all trying to run to the ground floor. A shadow whisked past my leg, making it feel cold and icy.

A strong arm had taken me around the waist, and lifted me up. I managed to see a flash of black hair and glasses. Jiyo. We ran away from the students clogging the stairwells and instead to an empty office. Jiyo threw open the door and put me inside.

His glasses were askew, and his face was red, he stood in the doorway, catching his breath. "Stay here, Rei, I'm going to try and find Riku. Just stay safe from the shadows and the students, okay?"

"You're just leaving me here?"

"I need you to stay safe, okay? I'm going to protect you, Rei." With that he swooped out of view, and the door banged shut. I immediately ran to it, tugging on the handle. It wouldn't budge. I pulled with all my strength, my fingers gripping tightly until they were raw. I backed away, frustrated. Riku, that bastard! I banged into an chair. It looked old enough that the leg might have come off of it. I tore at the wood, sinking my feet into it.

"C'mon," I urged it. I had to find Jiyo, we had to escape. I was rewarded with the sound of tearing wood as I managed to separate the leg. I took it and banged it on the door. Nothing. I collapsed in another chair to catch my breath. The rain was still pouring outside, so I couldn't see what became of the students who even made it out of the building. What had I done? My shadow had produced those monsters-- the Heartless. No it wasn't what I had done, it was what Riku had done. I would love to bring that chair leg to his face.

Jiyo... I was worried for him, and where was I? Locked in a room, waiting for him to come back. Why did he have to protect me all the time? Why couldn't I be with him... I was so worried he'd be killed. He was important to me. I should have told him everything, I should have picked up the phone last night... I promised him.

I rose to my feet, more determined this time. I took the chair leg and walked to the door handle. I poised myself at an angle, striking the handle forcefully. The wood dented and the metal had come with it. I hit it again, and again. Breaking whatever wood held the handle. I made a hole big enough for my hand to fit through, and wiggled it to the other side. Something had been forcefully placed between the ground and the handle, preventing its movement. I grasped it and pulled, slowly moving it from underneath the handle, it clanging to the floor. The door fell open, me tumbling with it. I wrenched my hand loose and grabbed the chair leg.

"To find Jiyo," I muttered.

I ran from floor to floor, room to room searching for him or Riku. I ran down to the first floor, into the big cafeteria, where most of the students were running from shadows. I saw Jiyo in the corner, hitting them with a baseball bat. The shadows weren't harmed, but more annoyed at this. They moved back and came again. I ran towards Jiyo, swinging at the Heartless near him.

"What are you doing here?" he yelled.

"I want to help you, let's find Riku together... we have to make these things go away!"

"Watch out!" he yelled, and swung me around. A shadow had leapt into the air, launching its outstretched claw at my chest... at my heart. Everything seemed to slow as I watched my fate approach me.

A key.

I held up the weak chair leg in front of me in protection, hoping it would work.

A key.

As the creatures cold claw swiped by my skin, I felt something happen. There was so much warmth in my hands... then a blinding light.

I saw my drawing in my head... the key with wings. The one I had drawn so many times, but couldn't get quite right...

A heavy weight falling into my hands caused me to open my eyes. The shadow hit the weapon I was now wielding and screeched-- it disappeared in a cloud of shadowy smoke. The other heartless hissed and fell into the floor, slowly crawling away.

"What is that, Rei?" Jiyo asked.

I had no idea.

In my hand I was holding onto a giant key. It was large and silver, thick and heavy. I swung it in front of me, it moved quickly and skillfully. It had been what I had failed to draw. I looked on in amazement.

"Keyblade."

I looked up and saw Riku walking towards me, hand outstretched.

"Keyblade?" I questioned him.

"That's what the Heartless fear, yet want. It's the reason why they are here."

I looked at it, so this is why they had come and killed my fellow classmates.

Jiyo stepped forward. "Make them go away, Riku. You have everything to do with this!"

"I can't. They won't leave until they devour the heart of this world."

"What?" Jiyo yelled.

"The heartless want to destroy this world's heart-- they won't leave until they get what they want."

I gripped the giant key. "Not if I can help it!" I ran at Riku, swinging. He seemed to vanish at the point of impact. He was a few feet away, smiling gleefully. Jiyo called after me, it was such a blur... students were moving all around me. An upperclassman turned and yelled at me:

"It's just like Kingdom Hea--"

He stopped mid-sentence. In fact, everything had stopped. The shadows, the students, the noise. It was deathly quiet. I turned as saw Jiyo, standing and looking around. Riku laughed and then ran towards the front door.

I ran after him. Jiyo followed behind me. I had to move through the flailing bodies left motionless through time. I reached the front door and realized why no one had gotten out. The door had changed, it was locked. And in the center was a giant keyhole.

"Rei! Wait!" Jiyo caught up to me and grabbed my shoulders. "What's going on here?"

I looked him in the face, he was scared.

"I don't know... but there are some things it feels right to do."

"How could this happen!" He looked at some people who had fallen to the ground, who had lost their hearts.

I looked at the keyhole, and then the key. The key, or keyblade as it were began to glow. It shook violently in my hands and I was forced to hold it, outstretched at the door. A beam of light shot out from the end and into the keyhole, it unlocked and the door opened. Even the rain was stopped in time.

"Careful," I warned.

Together we stepped into the courtyard, which had become nothing but a field of mud. I set my loafer into the soil but it slid, causing me to slide to the ground. Jiyo slid even worse trying to help me up. My shoe came off and was swallowed whole in the muck. In the sky was a giant glowing orb, spinning, growing, devouring... It was wrenching up trees and buildings, and probably people. Sis...

"It's the end of the world," Jiyo said.

Riku stood on the low wall. He tossed his silver hair back and pointed to me.

"What's most important to you, Rei? What couldn't you live without? What makes you know that you are who you are?"

"I--"

"Are you afraid of the darkness?"

"I--"

"Do you still want to come to the island with me?"

"No," I replied icily.

He laughed. He laughed long and hard.

Riku stopped. "Too bad," he said.

"What!" Jiyo and I yelled at the same time, but it was too late. A heartless came out of nowhere, grabbing the edge of the key. It was bigger and more vicious that the others.

"Let go!" I screamed. I tried to swing the keyblade but it failed. I watched as the only weapon I could use shattered into a million glowing pieces, like glass, now fading away. I fell back into the mud, what could I do, now?

The shadow ran to Riku, as he held his hands out, calling something. The ground beneath us began to change. No longer was it cool, squishy mud-- it had turned into a dark swirling portal. The way it made my skin crawl, I knew it was the same stuff of the shadows-- darkness.

Jiyo's hand found mine, and gripped as tight as he could. I went to move to him, but couldn't. I was being slowly swallowed by the darkness.

"Jiyo, we're sinking!"

"Hold on, hold on, Rei!" My fingers were numb and so were his. He was sinking faster that me, I could feel his fingers sliding away.

"No!" I shrieked. "Jiyo! Don't let go of my hand!"

"Rei! I love you!"

His hand fell from mine. "Jiyo? JIYO?" I was up to my neck in the darkness, my hand outstretched upwards. Riku appeared over me, extending his hand.

"Take it, Rei."

His cold eyes and that smirk... The fact that he had hurt Jiyo and the students and me...

"Never."

He laughed, and the last thing I heard before I was completely swallowed was:

"Goodbye, Rei."

I felt myself falling... Falling into darkness.