And now I shall update this wondrous little story for you all. Enjoy~
I don't own Kingdom Hearts or dragons or...weirdos.
My mind and body was groggy once I began to wake. All of my limbs were heavy, wanting nothing more than for me to shut my mind down again and rest. My memory snapped me to attention, however, when it wearily brought my most recent moments to the surface, causing me to snap out of my sleepy state.
"Whoa! Sora, calm down, alright?"
I frantically looked around, my heart pounding and my chest heaving. It couldn't have been real…the whole thing was a hoax, a dream. And for a few seconds, it seemed like that was true. Riku was there, looking at me with worry in his eyes. Everything was normal again.
"I…sorry, I had a weird dream." I breathed.
He stared at me. "A dream?"
"Yeah. I was kidnapped and taken to some strange place and really weird people were there that knew my name. You were there, too. You turned into a dragon." I chuckled.
"…Sora. That wasn't a dream."
My smile vanished at hearing this, looking at him. His face was pinched with slight emotion, but he said nothing else to me. That's when I took in my surroundings and realized what he said was true; I was still in that large room, laying down on a pile of unknown skins.
The dream hadn't been a dream at all.
"…I must be going insane. " I groaned, rubbing my face with my hands. "This isn't happening right now."
"Sora, would you just relax?" Riku huffed, sitting down beside me. "I know that my transformation and all this is a lot to take in, but you don't need to freak out about it."
"So…you actually did…" I sat up slowly, unable to tear my eyes away from him. "So you're that dragon?"
"The very same." he replied.
"And…back at the island?" I couldn't help but ask.
"I was foolish for trying to fly through that previous storm and ended up nearly drowning. If it hadn't been for your island, I would have been dead."
"Why did you kidnap me, then?"
"I wanted to show you this place…it was obvious that you were lonely. Being on that island, all isolated, wasn't good for you, so I decided to take you with me."
"Then…what are you?"
"A shapeshifter would be the best way to describe me in words. I've been able to change into a dragon since my birth." I watched as his hand twisted and formed a dragon's claw before returning to normal. "My mother and father kept it a secret as best they could, but it's a secret you can't easily hide."
"So…since you're both a dragon and a human, does that mean you're not Unmarked?"
"I'm Unmarked from both sides, Sora." he sighed.
I shut my mouth and decided I had gotten enough answers for now and the remaining questions I had could wait to be solved. Riku stood to his feet and looked down at me thoughtfully, all traces of sadness gone.
"Come with me. I need you to try on a special yukata I had made just for you. You'll want it once we get deeper into these caves."
I got up and followed him towards the back of the room, where a curtain divided the main room from a smaller one, which appeared to be a closet of sorts. And in the very back, a beautiful blue and red garment hung. I stared at it in wonder as he took it and held it out to me.
"I've never wore one of these before." I said, taking it carefully.
"It's basically a kimono. Just put it on and I can help you with the rest, alright?" He walked out of the closet to give me privacy. "And I have a pair of geta if you want to wear them."
"I remember these." I said as I pulled my shirt over my head. "I've seen these worn on the mainland"
He chuckled. "They're used for special occasions, Sora. But most people wear them here cause its better."
"I'm used to being barefoot, you know. I don't need the sandals."
My pants fell to the ground and kicked aside with my other clothes. I smiled as I pulled the robe on, admiring the way it slid fondly over my skin. Was this what silk felt like?
"Can I come in and help you finish putting it on yet?" Riku called.
"Uh…" I hastily wrapped it around my body. "Yeah."
He stepped back inside and snickered at the way I was covering myself, walking past me to grab something from a shelf.
"This'll keep it tied up, so hold still."
The article of clothing he held looked like a giant, yellow ribbon to me, but said nothing. He then stood behind me and began to wrap the silk around my waist, to which I could only hold my breath, very aware of his closeness.
"And…there." He turned me around and chuckled. "You can stop trying to cover yourself now."
I lowered both my hands and face, allowing him to fix the robe to his liking. He stepped back and surveyed me. A smile formed on his face.
"You look perfect. Come on, I wanted to introduce you to some more people before the celebration." He took my hand and began to drag me out of the house, obviously excited. "You've already met Terra and Ven, right? And Aqua? She's beautiful, isn't she?"
"Wait…celebration? For what?"
He either ignored me or didn't hear my question. "And you've probably met a few other people, I'm guessing?"
"Uh…yeah, but-"
"You know, I think you and R-"
"Riku!" It was Terra, rushing at us with inhuman speed. "He's back again!"
The fun-loving, energetic aura evaporated from my friend, his aquamarine eyes narrowing in anger. He released my hand and the two stepped aside out of ear-shoot to have a private, but short, conversation. I watched as the two spoke for a few moments before both nodded and Terra ran back the way he had come. Riku came back to my side, that look of anger still clear on his face.
"What's going on?" I couldn't help asking.
"Let's just say an acquaintance of mine decided to show up." he snarled, sounding quite similar to his dragon counterpart.
A few others raced past us, some dressed in kimonos and yukatas while others wore simple clothes. From the looks of things, they were all headed in the same direction that Terra had gone. Who was this uninvited guest that I had shown up? How could the arrival of one being infuriate Riku so much?
A loud, ear-splitting roar suddenly echoed throughout the caverns, bouncing around the rocky walls and shaking the floor with its force. I clasped my hands to my ears in hopes of blocking it out, but the noise vibrated through my body in such a painful manner that it was useless. Riku's arm wrapped around my shoulders, holding me close to him, but I found the comforting embrace did nothing to stop my muscles from twitching and my head from aching with pain.
"What…was that?" I whispered.
"…he always did like making himself noticed. Damn him." He pulled away from and began to run. "Stay there, Sora! I'll be back soon!"
"Wait, I wanna come with you!" I called back, but he was already gone.
I stood there, alone, dazed and confused, wondering why my life seemed to revolve around such unwelcome surprises. And then I realized that I shouldn't just stand there and wait for my friend to come back; I was going to find him first and find out what was going on. By myself, if I had to.
Ah, yes. Wonder who decided to barge in and spoil the party, huh? Anyone wanna guess?
As for the previous chapter, I'm so sorry for my stupid mistake. Yes, I didn't continue onto the next chapter after i found out because i was currently in the form of moving, so that was a thing that wasn't happening any time soon. Forgive me, please?
I love you all, my readers! Until next time!
