Here's 10. Enjoy. I don't own the characters, blah blah blah, only Bruixe is mine. Review, please!
The four were drying in the sun when Sora finally stood, stetching. "Man, I'm bored," he commented. "Wish something would happen."
"Careful," Kairi warned. "Ask for trouble and you might get it."
"What do you do for fun, Bruixe?" Riku prodded.
She shrugged. "Axel and Roxas used to prank Demyx and Xigbar. Um… We used to spar a lot, too."
"Now there's an idea," Sora said thoughtfull. "Riku, you wanna go?"
"Nah," Riku declined. "Remember what happened last time? We fought for over an hour, and nobody won."
"You promised me a rematch," Sora pointed out.
Riku shrugged. "Not today, man. I've still got bruises. …Hey, Bruixe. You're a fighter, right? Show us what you've got."
"What, you'll fight her, but you won't fight me?" Sora protested.
"We've never seen Bruixe fight before," remarked Kairi.
Bruixe stood. "Alright, you're on," she said cockily. She removed the belt that held her kodachis and threw it asied, where it thumped into the sand. Then, holding out a hand, she summoned her new Fallen Angel.
Kairi gasped; Sora stuttered, "A Keyblade?" Riku merely raised an eyebrow and called his own Soul Eater to his hand.
"I won't go easy on you," he informed her.
"I wouldn't expect you to," she countered.
Sora and Kairi retreated to the ledge overlooking the beach so that they could referee. Riku back up so that he was a good ten feet from Bruixe. He took a high stance, Soul Eater poised above his shoulder. Bruixe turned so her right shoulder was facing him; she held her Fallen Angel easily in one hand, across her lap. It occurred to her that she had never used it to fight before.
"Kick her ass, Riku," Sora called competitively. Kairi punched him, then raised a hand in the air. "Ready? Go!" she shouted, and dropped her hand.
Riku charged at Bruixe, sweeping down with his blade; Bruixe whipped her own up, meeting his strike halfway, then counterattacked with a left roundhouse kick, which he dodged. He slashed again, and their Keyblades clashed once more. Bruixe's arm already stung from the blows. He's stronger than me, she thought, his blade's longer, and I'm on the defensive. But I'm faster.
No sooner had she thought this than Riku's foot caught her across the backs of the knees and she fell backwards, unbalanced. Instinctively she launched herself into a backwards roll, coming to her feet in time to block two more swift chops to her head. Taking the offensive, she darted around him, whirling her Keyblade in a lightning series of attacks.
Only one connected, clipping Riku's left shoulder. He winced but retaliated with a full-bodied charge, trapping the two Keyblades between their bodies, trying to force Bruixe to fall to the ground.
Bruixe did exactly that, dropping to her knees. With her free hand she grabbed a fistful of sand and threw it up into Riku's face. No one had ever said she didn't fight dirty.
But it didn't seem to affect him; he flicked Soul Eater, and Bruixe's Keyblade flew out of her hand, skidding across the sand. Riku lowered his key so that it rested on Bruixe's shoulder, just against her neck.
"Damnit," Bruixe cursed as Sora cheered and Kairi declared, "Match!"
Riku offered his hand to Bruixe, pulling her up off the sand. "You're really good," he conceded. "You actually hit me."
Bruixe made a face and called her Keyblade back to her hand, dusting off the sand before dismissing it. Riku did the same.
"You should fight Sora," he suggested.
"No thanks," Bruixe said, shuddering. "I'm not stupid. I used to spar with Roxas, and that is not worth the bruises."
Kairi giggled. "Hey, the fact that you can even keep up with these guys is amazing to me," she said.
Bruixe shrugged. "I'm no pushover."
"True," Riku said. "Sora, I still owe you a rematch."
"Tomorrow. It's getting late," Sora replied. "We should head back.
"Let's watch the sunset first," suggested Kairi.
The four climbed up through the old seaside shack to get to the paopu tree. It was a tight squeeze to get all four of them on the bench-like trunk, but they did, and Bruixe ended up on the end, next to Riku.
She was so close to him she could feel the warmth coming off his skin. Her breath caught, but she coughed to cover it up. To distract herself, she gazed out at the sea. The sun was bloodred as it slipped below the horizon, throwing off rays of orange, pink, and violet that seeped gently into the sparkling waters.
No one said a word as the sky gradually faded to black, the stars twinkling merrily down upon them. They returned to the docks, where Sora and Kairi lingered for a moment. Riku pulled Bruixe towards his boat, whispering, "We've teased them enough for one day. Let's go."
"This place is a paradise," Bruixe sighed as they rowed towards the main island. "A person could spend their whole life here, and never want anything more."
"You haven't experienced the school year yet," he joked. Then his face became serious. "You know… you could always stay. Or, you know, come back, after you do whatever it is you're doing next."
Next? Bruixe thought. What's next? I don't know where I'm going. But… She stared out at the ocean. "I don't belong here," she said softly. "This is no place for me… for a Nobody."
"For a Nobody, you sure have a great laugh," Riku remarked.
Bruixe could see by the look in his eyes that he knew exactly what had bothered her that afternoon by the waterfall. She looked away, unable to reply.
Neither of them spoke again until they pulled up to the docks. "Thanks for the lift," she mumbled as she started off for Kairi's house.
"Wait." Riku caught her by the elbow, turning her towards him; his face was less than eight inches from her own. "Bruixe… there's something you're not telling us."
Bruixe held his gaze, refusing to back down. "Believe me," she said, "if I knew anything, I'd tell you. I don't know what happened today… but…" Her voice trailed off.
"But what?" Riku prodded.
"Maybe… maybe I did feel something," she admitted. "I don't know what. But… thank you, Riku. After all… I haven't laughed like that in eleven years. Even if I'm not supposed to be able to feel happiness… even if it wasn't real… it was nice."
"You're welcome, I guess," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't really know what I did… but you're welcome." He released her arm, and this time Bruixe made it to the end of the docks before he called softly after her, "Good night."