Chapter 21
*** Recap: Riku and Hinata were finally reunited with Sora in Traverse Town, however, things were far from perfect. Riku is struggling with the fact that his best friend is not only willingly travelling with new friends, but he also wields the legendary Keyblade-the same blade he was supposed to have for his own. Jealousy and a mixture of feelings are stewing inside of him as he and Hinata head back to Hollow Bastion to learn of their next mission. In addition, Hinata is struggling with going back to Maleficent and following her orders. She knows something is going on, but since Riku refuses to listen she begrudgingly follows his lead. ***
Hinata sat in the cockpit chair, staring out the windshield at the white streaks of stars as the ship flew through space, back to Hollow Bastion. Her mind kept replaying the final warning Sora had left her with: stay away from Maleficent. She swallowed hard, her stomach twisting tighter the longer she dwelled on it.
"Hey…" Riku's soft voice brought her out of her thoughts as his hand landed on her shoulder. She blinked before looking up at him, her golden eyes meeting his bright blue ones. "You alright?" he asked once he got her attention.
She furrowed her eyebrows in thought and slightly averted her gaze with a frown.
"I'll take that as a no," he surmised as he moved to sit in the seat across from her. Leaning forward, he placed his arms on his knees. "What's going on?"
"I'm…" she began but her voice trailed off. She let out a small huff of breath and tried again. "I'm trying to figure things out."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"There's a lot going on I don't understand," she admitted as she leaned back in her seat and re-met her gaze with his. "I can't figure out why you're so upset with Sora, for one." Riku tensed from her words, but remained silent as she continued. "And… I wish I knew what Maleficent wanted us for. The longer we're working for her the more uneasy I get." She looked down at her hands fidgeting in her lap; her fingers were chafed and cut from her most recent adventures. "I have a feeling that whatever she's using us for isn't good. I mean… we haven't seen or heard from Alice once since we brought her back."
"We haven't really had a chance to," he pointed out with an almost bored voice. "Hinata, I don't know how many times we can talk about this."
"I know," she agreed curtly with a long breath. "It's just… I can't help but feel that Maleficent's next mission for us is going to be bad. And I want you to know that if she wants us to do anything like what we did with Alice again, I'm not doing it. I'm not going to kidnap or hurt anyone."
Riku let out an exasperated breath and fell back in his seat, staring up at the ceiling as he ran his hand over his face. "Alright, fine," he told her shortly. "Do what you want." He abruptly got up from his seat. "But you being like this might keep us from finding Kairi." He began walking out of the cockpit.
"Excuse me," she stood up from her seat and caused Riku to pause in his steps. "I'm not going to put someone else's life, especially an innocent life, in danger just so some witch can tell me where to find my friends. Especially when I am fully capable of finding them on my own!"
"Fully capable?" he spun back around to face her with a glare. "Do you even remember what we just talked about before I beamed us back to the ship? Where the hell do you suggest we start looking for her? Do you seriously expect that Kairi is going to just happen to be waiting for us on the first planet we land on? That's not how it works, Hinata!"
"I know that-" she tried to defend herself before he cut her off.
"We have no idea where she could be," he continued with a raised angered voice. "For all we know, she could be in danger and needs our help as soon as possible." He stepped towards her and told her sternly, "I'm going to do whatever it takes to find her."
"Even if that means hurting other people?" she asked.
"Why the hell does it matter?" he countered.
"Why does it matter?!" she repeated incredulously. "Do you even hear yourself right now?"
"I hear myself just fine!" he growled before explaining, "I put the people I care about above everything else. You want to put your moral code ahead of Kairi go right ahead; I'll rescue her myself if I have to." With that, he turned back around and stormed out of the cockpit.
"Riku-" Hinata called after him, but the cockpit door slid closed, separating him from her. "Dammit…" she cursed under her breath as she placed her hand along the smooth silver door.
Turning around she leaned her back against the door and slid to the floor, letting out a long breath. Closing her eyes, she could imagine Riku sitting on the opposite side of the door, but she wasn't sure if she was merely wishing he was or if he was really there.
"Am I being ridiculous?" she asked with a quieted voice as she stared absently at the metal ceiling. "Why is he being like this?"
On the other side of the door in the living area, Riku was sitting on the floor. He leaned his back against the door and summoned Soul Eater, examining its details as he had already done dozens of times before. "Am I being too hard on her…?" he whispered, as if asking his blade. "Does it matter if she won't do the dangerous missions? I can handle them myself." He groaned and dispelled Soul Eater before placing both his hands behind his neck as he ducked his head between his knees. "Why does she have to make everything complicated?"
They stayed on opposite sides of the door for several minutes, both of them stewing and trying to figure out what they were going to do. Riku eventually got up from his seat on the floor and turned back towards the door. He stared at the button beside it for a moment before reluctantly reaching for it and pressing it. It lit up and slid the door open, causing Hinata to yelp surprised as she fell backwards, hardly expecting her back support to suddenly go missing. Riku jumped back as she fell and tried to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up into a smile. Hinata stared up at him on her back with embarrassed cheeks before scrambling to her feet and straightening out her clothes and hair.
Once she was standing back up straight, she cleared her throat and clasped her hands nervously in front of her as she averted her gaze from his, occasionally side-looking at him from the corner of her eyes. Riku did the same as he crossed his arms, trying to find the words to say to her. The longer they stood in silence, the thicker the awkward tension grew. Shaking his head, Riku abruptly stepped forward and grabbed Hinata's shoulders. With a small gasp she whipped her attention up to him, only to be met with his lips crashing into hers.
Ever so slowly, her tense body relaxed in his hold as she warmed considerably. Her hands unclasped and crept up to his chest, feeling his heart racing against her palms. Riku's hold on her shoulders also loosened as they slid up to the sides of her face, his fingers lacing into her hair behind her ears. He only pulled apart when he needed a breath of air and they breathlessly stared into each other's eyes, both apologizing without a word being said.
"What did we get ourselves into?" Riku broke the silence with a faint smirk.
Hinata slowly smiled back at him and breathily laughed. "I don't know, but we need to stop getting into fights like this."
"Agreed," he told her before pulling her in for another kiss. When he pulled away, he told her, "I don't care what you decide to do about the missions. I'm just going to support whatever you do."
Her eyes slightly widened in surprise and her smile grew as she simply replied, "Thank you. And…" The corner of her mouth barely tugged into a frown as she struggled to create the same sentiment. Taking in a breath, she replied, "I'm going to try to do the same thing for you."
He chuckled, "Thanks. I guess that's better than nothing."
"It's the best I can do right now," she admitted with a laugh in her voice.
He smirked and kissed her once more before stepping back and telling her, "Alright, come on, let's get those cuts cleaned up."
He led her to the bed with the sprawled-out first-aid kit still on top of its comforter. Hinata sat down and watched him as he grabbed the antibacterial ointment and squeezed a small amount into his palm. He sent her a small smile before rubbing it one some new cuts along her arms.
She winced from the sting before commenting, "You seem to be doing a lot better."
He glanced up at her, "What do you mean?"
"I mean… you were really upset before," she recalled, almost uncomfortably. "But now-"
"Hey," he interrupted her. "We're past it now. We don't need to talk about it anymore."
"Oh, right," she slightly frowned, but fell back to silence as he continued to treat her wounds.
He crawled to the other side of her to get her other arm before he asked. "So, what do you want to do after I'm done?"
She mulled it over for a moment before admitting, "Sleeping doesn't seem too bad."
He snickered, "Does sleep ever seem like a bad idea to you?"
She softly smiled, "Probably not. I'm always tired."
He looked up at her, noticing her downcast eyes. "You're really exhausted, huh?"
She slowly nodded. "That Heartless fight took a lot out of me. And getting cat naps on the ship between missions doesn't really cut for a good night's sleep."
"Yeah…" he agreed as he began rubbing the antibacterial gel onto a lengthy scratch along the side of her neck. Hinata closed her eyes and softly hummed from his touch. Riku's mouth twitched into a smirk as he took the opportunity and kissed her.
Hinata opened her eyes with a gasp and pulled back from his touch at first in surprise, but upon seeing Riku's face she smirked in return and leaned forward to kiss him.
When he broke away, he told her, "That was the last cut." He got up from the bed and held out his hand for hers. "Come on, let's get some sleep."
Without replying, she grabbed his hand and allowed him to help her up from her seat. Once she was up, Riku released her hand and went to the other bed, pulling back the comforter. He sat on the edge of the mattress and took off his shoes before pulling off his shirt and getting under the covers. Hinata let out a large yawn as she undid the ponytail her hair was tied in and took off her boots. She watched with a sleepy smile as Riku scooched over in the bed to allow her room. She happily took the invite and climbed onto the plush mattress, immediately feeling Riku's arms around her before she even pulled the comforter back up.
"Just a few days ago, being in the same bed with you seemed like a far off dream," Hinata spoke up with a tired voice.
Riku chuckled as he tightened his arms around her waist. "Yeah, I know. We were sort of forced to grow up a bit, huh?"
"I don't mind, though," she admitted as she turned to face him, leaning her cheek against his chest. "Not the romance stuff anyways."
"Hmm," he simply replied as he softly ran his hand up and down her back.
Before he could even think of a reply, she was already fast asleep in his arms. Once she was out, his cheery disposition began to fade. He laid beside her fully awake, scanning the bare room as his thoughts fell back to Traverse Town, seeing Sora with the Keyblade and hearing Maleficent's words echoing in his head… I'll help you find what you're looking for.
She had found him again on Traverse Town, shortly after he had found Sora and had called Hinata. Everything she had to tell him kept itching at his heart, festering inside of him and making him feel sick to his stomach. Closing his eyes, he could even hear her voice in his head.
"...While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he simply replaced you…"
"...He values them more than you…"
"...Forget that wretched boy… I'll help you find what you're looking for…"
He opened his eyes, feeling anger rising inside of him. "She doesn't know what she's talking about," he whispered as if to assure himself, "...right?"
Hinata slightly stirred from his words, nuzzling into him. "Are you alright…?" she asked him with a weak muffled voice.
He slightly smiled and kissed her forehead, "Yeah, don't worry. Go back to sleep."
"Alright…" she complied, easily falling back to slumber.
He listened to her peaceful breathing and felt his own heart calm from hers beside him. Closing his eyes he forced himself to think of happier things until he finally fell asleep.
The ship's intercom startled them awake hours later as it alerted them to their arrival back at Hollow Bastion. Once she realized it was only the ship, Hinata grumbled and buried her face back in her pillow, rather than Riku, who got up from the bed. He stretched his sore arms as he walked to the cockpit, his mind fuzzy as it still struggled to fully awaken. Looking out the windshield, he could see two stone walls along the back of the towering castle sliding apart to reveal the hangar bay. A deep rumble echoed around him, causing even the ship to slightly shake as the bay doors opened. He tightly grabbed a hold of the chair in front of him and watched as the ship slowly flew into the hangar. Once they entered the metal encased bay, Riku could already see the small distant figure of Maleficent; standing poised as ever with both her hands clasped around the orb on her staff.
Riku grimaced when he noticed her and turned around, heading back to the living area. He knelt down beside Hinata, who still remained snuggled under the comforter, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you might want to get up. Maleficent's waiting for us in the hangar."
Hinata let out a long breath, not attempting to hide her distaste as she sat up and rubbed her tired eyes. "Wouldn't want to keep her waiting." she mumbled as Riku stood back up to put his shirt and shoes back on.
"The sooner we hear about our next mission, the sooner we'll get to leave her again." Riku reminded her as she pulled on her boots at the foot of the bed.
"Let's just hope it's that simple." Hinata looked up at him with an unsure smile.
"One way to find out," he shrugged right before the ship abruptly shook as it landed.
Without pause, the entrance to the ship slid open and Maleficent walked in, a well worn frown on her green face. Hinata instantly tensed up as she entered and openly glared up at her, while Riku stood quietly with a hard to read expression.
"You're late," Maleficent simply told them as a greeting. "I would have hoped you had returned hours ago."
"I-" Hinata began to speak.
"We got held up," Riku stepped in with a short tone. "We made it back as fast as we could."
"Hmm…" Maleficent's frown only deepened as she spun around and walked out of the ship, expecting them to follow. "No matter, your next mission awaits."
Riku shortly glanced over at Hinata before going after Maleficent. "What type of mission is it this time?" he asked as he came out to the hangar bay.
His voice echoed through the vast metal room, mixing with their footsteps as Maleficent led the way out. Hinata hurried after them, quickly grabbing Riku's hand once she was beside him as if to make sure she wasn't left alone.
"That depends on your level of cooperation," Maleficent replied without looking back at them. "Or should I say, on Hinata's."
Hinata's expression contorted when Maleficent said her name; the sound of it rolling off her tongue made her feel sick to her stomach. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked curtly. She felt Riku's hand tighten around hers, as if telling her to remain silent.
Maleficent didn't reply, rather she continued leading the way in silence, only making the teens more uncomfortable by the second. She stopped in front of the large metal door that led out of the bay and tapped her scepter on the ground, the reverberation echoing through the room despite the seemingly soft tap. The door immediately slid open in response, leading them right into a dark room.
Hinata's heart began to race as she followed blindly into the almost pitch black room. As the
door slid closed behind them, a single light in the center of the room lit up: a dimly glowing blue orb floating atop a stone pillar. Around the orb stood two tall figures, their details difficult to make out. They both looked over at the group as they entered, their eyes almost glowing amidst the darkness. Blue flames shortly flickered atop one of the figure's heads, as if it were their hair. The other figure held a scepter similar to Maleficent's, yet it had two red, glistening eyes on the top, sparkling as it watched the teens come further into the room.
Hinata shortly stopped walking, instantly wishing for a way to escape back to the confines of the ship. Riku pulled on her hand, forcing her to begrudgingly move forward. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness they began to decipher different details about the people in front of them.
Maleficent stopped in front of the pillar in the center of the room and spoke up, "May I introduce you to Lord Hades and Jafar of Agrabah."
Hades was tall yet bulky, his skin was a lifeless gray and his long bony fingers strummed his beefy arms. His dark, chapped lips were turned into a scowl as he stared at the teens with glowing yellow eyes. A dark robe covered most of his body, billowing into a cloud at his feet. Hinata gulped before looking beside him to Jafar, a slender man with a long jawed face. A wiry black beard curled down from his rectangular chin and extravagant robes covered his dark-tan skin. Two beady eyes stared back at her from behind his almost beaked-like nose. In his hand, he held a golden scepter that resembled a cobra snake with two narrow ruby eyes looking wherever he pointed it.
"What do you want us to do?" Riku didn't pay either of the guest much mind and got straight to the point. He could feel Hinata's hand slightly shaking in his and made sure to keep his composure.
"You will accompany me to Agrabah to the Sultan's palace," Jafar spoke up with a slithery voice and looked right at Hinata, "and there you will perform for a banquet."
Hinata's eyes widened as Riku looked at her with confusion. "Perform?" she repeated with a soft voice as she shook her head. "That doesn't make sense. Perform what?"
"You fight with dao blades, do you not?" Maleficent recalled as she circled her hand over the glowing orb and brought up a moving image of Traverse Town, where Hinata and Sora were battling against the Heartless. The video showed Hinata doing various spins and attacks against the creature. "You are rather skilled with them."
Hinata looked up at Maleficent, bewildered by her compliment, as Riku asked, "What's that got to do with anything?" He didn't look up as he asked-instead, he watched the battle in the image, eyes focused on the Keyblade in Sora's hands.
"Certainly a routine with those blades will serve as an excellent performance," Maleficent replied with an almost unsettling kind voice.
"What?" Hinata asked, still not completely understanding.
Hades let out an audible sigh and motioned his bony hands in front of him. "Look, kid, you're getting asked to play around with those toy swords in front of a group. You in or out?"
Hinata whipped her attention to Hades and stammered, "I'm in… I-I guess. I just don't get why you want me to do it. It doesn't make any sense."
"You see," Jafar spoke up once again with an overly kind tone in his voice, causing chills to go up Hinata's spine. "A banquet is being held by the Sultan's orders, or really-" he smirked as he strummed his fingers atop his scepter. "My orders. There needs to be a performance that will captivate the audience while other events are carried out."
"Other events…?" Hinata hesitantly repeated.
"None that concerns you, I'm afraid," Maleficent brushed it off, sending Jafar a slight glare.
"So… that's the big important mission?" she asked them. She looked over at Riku, but his attention and gaze was still fixated on the glowing image. "You want me to perform at some banquet… that's it?"
"If you would rather I can devise a more life threatening mission to send both of you on," Maleficent told her.
Hinata looked up at her and then to the others with uncertainty in her eyes. "What's really going on here?" she asked them. "You aren't telling us everything."
"Sheesh," Hades rolled his eyes before he floated forward and flashed Hinata a sharp toothy grin. "Look, cupcake, all we're asking you to do is to do a little dance. No questions asked, capisce?"
Hinata frowned from his pet name, but looked beside her at Riku and spoke with a quieted voice, "What do you think?"
"What?" Riku finally tore his eyes away from the image, realizing he had completely missed what they were talking about.
"Do you think I should do it?" she asked him with a whisper. "Perform at the banquet?"
"That's up to you," he replied, glancing at the others, specifically noticing Hades' impatient expression. "If you're comfortable with it, I don't think there's anything to lose."
Hinata shortly nodded and thought it over before looking back to the others. "I'll do it, as long as you promise you aren't going to hurt anyone."
Maleficent smirked and placed her hand gracefully over her heart, "You have my word."
"Excellent," Jafar stepped towards Hinata with a grin on his face, showing off his long yellow teeth. He outstretched his scepter towards a lone, dark blue door along the wall. "Then, if you will, please follow me and I will prepare you for the performance."
When Hinata only stared at him with continued uncertainty, he drew back his scepter and turned it towards her. Its deep red eyes glistened, catching Hinata's attention. She couldn't explain it, but she couldn't take her eyes away from the ruby eyes of the serpent. Its eyes sparkled and almost seemed to glow before suddenly its light extinguished and Hinata shook her head, suddenly feeling clouded.
"Alright," she said as she looked back up at Jafar with a simple smile. "Lead the way."
Jafar simply smirked as he strode towards the door, swiping his long robes in a quick motion behind him. Hinata released her hold on Riku's hand, following after Jafar. Riku quickly spun around and grabbed her arm.
"You aren't taking her anywhere without me," he quickly cut in firmly, causing Jafar to pause.
"Riku, it's fine," Hinata assured him with a slight laugh in her voice. "Really. It's just a dance."
"What?" he shot his eyes to hers, noticing a strange glow in her eyes he hadn't seen before. "Are you alright?"
"Let her go, Riku," Maleficent spoke out to him. "There is more to discuss. She will be in capable hands."
"I-" he began to speak, slowly loosening his grip on her arm.
Before he could finish his thought, Hinata had continued walking, pulling her arm back from him and disappearing behind the door Jafar led her to.
"What did you do to her?" he asked with a low voice once the door had closed, his hands clenched into fists.
"Oh, nothing much," Hades shrugged. "Just a little nudge to get her to go along with the plan, that's all."
"She will be fine, I assure you," Maleficent added as Riku finally turned around, glaring darkly at each of them. "Now there is more we must discuss."
"So there is more than just a performance going on," Riku surmised, giving one last glance at the door Hinata had disappeared behind before reluctantly walking back to the stone pedestal.
"What, you really thought we'd be sending you pipsqueaks to put on a show with no ulterior motive?" Hades looked over at Maleficent and motioned his skeletal hands towards him. "I thought you said this kid had potential?"
"Potential?" Riku repeated, crossing his arms. "What's really going on?"
Maleficent let out an audible sigh as she looked away from Hades, down to Riku. Once her eyes met with his, she asked, "Did you not acquire a special blade the mission before last?"
Riku's eyes slightly widened as he looked between them. "How did you know?"
"Just show it," Hades hasted him.
He paused for a moment but held out his hand, summoning Soul Eater. He noticed their pleased smirks the moment it appeared.
"What do you know about it?" he asked them.
"Not much more than you do, I'm afraid," Maleficent informed him. "However, it does prove something I knew all along."
"What's that?" Riku looked up at her with uncertainty.
"That you indeed have the seeds of darkness within you," she told him plainly. "And if you would desire, I can aid in teaching you how to control it."
"Control… the darkness?" he asked with a slow quieted voice, feeling a sudden surge of an unexplainable power course through him. It was as if his entire body ached to feel the darkness, begging him for the adrenaline. He swallowed hard, unsure of what to think of the new founded feeling, but brought his eyes back up to Maleficent's, taking notice of the explicit joy burning in her eyes. "How?"
"Put out your hand," she instructed him.
Riku dispelled Soul Eater and did as she said. His opened palm was laid out in front of him and his pace quickened as he already felt something sparking. Maleficent held out her hand as well and suddenly it erupted with a ball of burning purple flame with a dense meld of darkness in the middle.
"Summon it," she simply told him. Riku opened his mouth to question her, but she explained, "Will it to appear, and it shall."
He frowned but averted his gaze to his hand, focusing on the strange energy he felt stirring inside of him. In his mind, he pictured the dark flames surrounding his hand and he closed his eyes. His heart beat loudly, being all he could hear. It swelled, making him take in a sharp breath, and a sudden surge of adrenaline coursed through him, driving to his palm. The moment he felt it reach his fingertips the adrenaline left him and a warm sensation encapsulated his entire hand. Opening his eyes, his lips turned upwards into an instant grin. The same purple flames covered his hand, flickering and sparking at his command.
"What is it?" he asked, once he found his voice, unable to tear his eyes away from the phenomenon.
"Dark fire," Maleficent informed him with a slight sense of pride laced into her voice.
"Cool," he replied quietly, clenching his hand into a fist, making the fire fizz out of existence. As it disappeared, a small amount of energy escaped him, making him suddenly feel a bout of exhaustion and an instant thirst for more. "What's next?" he asked, eager to learn more.
"Woah, woah, slow down, kid," Hades spoke up with a sarcastic chuckle. "One thing at a time, alright? You still need to hear about the rest of the mission."
Riku instantly tensed up as he put his hand back down at his side. "Let me guess-you aren't going to teach me more until the mission's finished?"
"It does seem like a fair trade," Maleficent told him with a smirk.
He let out a breath and shook his head, "Alright, fine, what is it?" he asked, prepared to hear out their plans.
...
In the dark halls, Hinata joyfully followed Jafar as he silently walked ahead of her. For the first time since the island had been destroyed, she felt downright giddy. A skip was in her step and she gazed at her surroundings with a fanciful smile on her face. Silky cobwebs hung from the corners of the walls, lacing between the picture frames and the green fire-lit torches that glowed brilliantly.
Jafar slowed his quick pace at a pair of double wooden doors with golden trim along the worn wood. He pushed them open, causing a billow of dust to rise in the air, making him and Hinata cough. The dark room they entered illuminated as a grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling lit up. Clear crystals hung from every metal facet, sparkling their light around the grand room. Hinata quickly went in, taking note of the marbled floors that were scuffed and marred, yet still shined and reflected the chandelier above.
"What is this place?" she asked with an almost childlike delight, spinning in place to take everything in. She went over to the wall, running her hand along a thick velvet curtain that draped from the cracked marbled pillars that lined the room.
"This is where you will practice for your performance," Jafar informed her as he strode further into the ballroom, shutting the doors behind them. "You will be dressed in traditional Arabian garb."
She turned towards him as he approached her and smiled curiously. He no longer appeared frightening to her, but rather interesting. His stature was royal compared to villainous as she had before assumed. Meeting her eyes with his, she asked, "What does it look like?"
Reaching into the cloth belt that was tightly wrapped around his waist, he pulled out a cloudy glass vial filled with a purple sparkling dust. Hinata watched with interest as Jafar easily took off the tiny cork lid and poured the contents into his bony hand before tossing it at Hinata. She gasped as the dust exploded into a cloud around her, making her cough and shield her eyes.
"Take a look for yourself," Jafar told her after a few moments.
She slowly opened her eyes, seeing the cloud of dust had disappeared. Bringing her gaze down, she gasped at the sight. Her once torn and plain clothes had changed completely. A tight royal purple top with oversized sleeves cascading off her shoulders, cut off at the bottom of her ribcage, baring her entire midriff. The neckline plunged, exposing more cleavage than she felt entirely comfortable with, but a thick golden barred necklace cleverly hid a majority of it. Similar styled bracelets jangled loosely on her wrists, clinking together with every move she made. Low on her hips were the pants, matching the hue of the top perfectly; they were tight around the top but then parachuted down with a sheer fabric, making her legs visible underneath with the right lighting, before meeting into a tight wrap above her ankles. Golden sandals adorned her feet, studded with various shining blue and violet jewels that matched the earrings dangling on either side of her face. Her long red hair was thickly braided down her back, laced with golden threads that shimmered with every movement, attaching to a golden crown that went across her forehead with a single purple jewel hanging down from the center.
"Wow…" she eventually managed to breath out in amazement. "This is traditional in your world?"
"You are performing," he reminded her with a slithery voice, taking no shame in looking her over head to toe, unbeknownst to her.
"That's true," she realized, "My outfit should be a little more showy than other girls."
"Do you have any routines suitable for the performance?" he inquired.
She thought for a moment, clasping her hands around the hilts of her blades that were sheathed around her hips. With a short nod, she replied, "I think so. I have a couple ideas."
"Well then, perform them."
She nodded again and happily obliged, jogging to the center of the room as she unsheathed her blades. Closing her eyes, she instantly fell into one of her many memorized dao blade routines, yet she found herself having a hard time focusing on the many aspects. Everything in her mind was clouded and all she had remaining was an overwhelming sense of happiness. Despite the fogged memory, she was able to flow her movements together enough to create something somewhat cohesive and enjoyable to watch.
"Excellent," Jafar told her with a large grin that would have normally hugely unnerved her, yet it only made her smile in return.
"You think so?" she asked him, as she walked towards him and put away her blades. "I was having a hard time focusing," she admitted with a slight chuckle. "It was like my mind was clouded or-" her voice trailed off and she tightly shut her eyes while she brought a hand to her face. "My… head…"
Jafar's eyes widened and he tapped his scepter on the floor, causing Hinata to jump as she whipped her attention back up, her eyes falling back on the snake's ruby eyes that seemed to bore into her.
"You were saying?" he asked her.
"Uh- nothing," she slightly shook her head and looked back up at him while letting out a small laugh. "I don't even remember, honestly."
"Happens to all of us, I assure you," he told her with his own smooth laugh.
She laughed in return and looked around the room, "So, is there anything else I need to do to prepare? Or can we head back to the others?"
"Whatever you wish," he replied.
She shrugged, "I'd like to head back." Letting out a short giggle, she added, "I can't wait to see how Riku reacts when he sees me in this."
Jafar coughed out a strained chuckle and held out his arm for her to lead the way. The moment she passed him, his smile immediately vanished and was replaced with an annoyed scowl and the faintest eyeroll.
…
"Are you prepared for what must happen?" Maleficent inquired of Riku, her voice and gaze stern.
Riku licked his lips and nodded, "Yeah, I got it."
"When you are in Agrabah, you are to follow every order Jafar gives you," she continued. "Only then will you be led to your last remaining friend and I will further your instruction in controlling the darkness inside you."
At the mention of his darkness, a faint surge of power stirred in his heart, making him smirk. "Alright," he simply replied, looking up at her and Hades, who was boredly half-listening to the conversation. "What about Hinata? She won't get hurt, right?"
"We gave her the simple distraction precisely to keep her from it," Maleficent assured him with a frown.
"Yeah," Hades cut in with a scoff as he pointed one of his fingers towards Riku. "But you better be thankful we're doing anything at all for that little smoochy-face girlfriend of yours. If it were up to me she'd get a one-way ticket to my domain, which-spoiler-is the Underworld."
Riku instantly glared at him and spat, "I'd like to see you try."
"While Lord Hades is out of turn," Maleficent sent Hades a warning glance, "he does have a valid point."
"What is it?" Riku asked, turning his attention up to her.
"She poses a threat to the mission," she informed him."Every mission in fact."
"What do you mean?" he shifted his weight a bit uncomfortably, not fully wanting to hear the answer.
Maleficent waved her hand over the glowing blue orb in the center of the room and it instantly transformed to a scene only hours before where Hinata and Riku were arguing in the cockpit of the gummi ship. Riku's eyes widened as he quickly moved towards the image, his heart stuck in his throat.
"It's just…" Hinata spoke in the scene, "I can't help but feel that Maleficent's next mission for us is going to be bad. And I want you to know that if she wants us to do anything like what we did with Alice again, I'm not doing it. I'm not going to kidnap or hurt anyone."
The scene continued playing but with mute voices and Riku swallowed hard, feeling a thin layer of nervous sweat on the back of his neck.
"You've been spying on us..." he realized with a quiet voice. "That's how you knew I found Soul Eater."
"It seems Hinata doesn't share the same vigor for missions as you," Maleficent told him, ignoring his words. "She said so herself."
"She doesn't mean anything by it," Riku shook his head and brought his gaze up to her almost pleadingly. "She's just worried."
"Seems to me like she's ungrateful," Hades chided, smirking at Riku's glare. "Look, kid," he moved forward and wrapped his arm around Riku's shoulder, much to his dismay, "how do I put this lightly…? Your little smoochy face is only getting in your way. Why you put up with it… I don't know. But I do know that you could do a whole lot better without having to worry about some whiny-brat following you around everywhere."
Riku growled and shoved Hades away, "I can take care of myself. She's fine."
"Woah, touchy," Hades chuckled as he put up his hands in fake surrender and backed off. "I was just putting in my two cents."
"Well, I don't remember asking for it," Riku bit back.
The sound of a door opening cut into their conversation and Riku quickly spun around, instantly losing his breath when he saw Hinata come back into the room. His eyes had accustomed to the darkness in the room and he could fully see her new attire. His entire face warmed as everyone else in the room seemed to fade away and he walked towards her, taking her hands in his and holding them out to her sides so he could get a better look at her. He took in every detail and then brought up his eyes to meet with hers. Glittering golden eyeshadow adorned her eyelids, bringing out the gold already in her eyes, yet Riku could still see the odd unfamiliar glow in them that caused an uncomfortable twist in the pit of his stomach. She awaited his response silently with a nervous expectant smile on her face.
He smiled at her and squeezed her hands, "You look amazing."
She slightly turned her head to avert her gaze as her cheeks blushed and opened her mouth to reply.
"Bleck!" Hades suddenly blurted, breaking them out of their trance and Riku instantly turned around with yet another glare. Hades overly exaggerated a gag as he stuck his finger down his throat.
Hinata giggled, causing Riku to look back at her in complete surprise. "Oh please," she rolled her eyes, "What were you expecting having me come out in this get up?"
"Eh, I sort of had the hope you wouldn't come back," Hades replied with a wistful sigh.
Maleficent cleared her throat. "If you are ready, Hinata, you all shall be on your way."
"Alright!" Hinata chimed to her with a smile. She noticed Riku frowning as he stared at her and turned her attention to him. "What's wrong?"
He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find the words. Eventually he turned his head away and just told her almost ashamed, "It's nothing."
Suddenly, a smoky black portal grew out of the ground just a few feet in front of them. It stood more than six feet tall in an oval shape, pulsating with swirls of dark blues and purples mixing with the dense darkness.
"What is that?" Hinata asked.
"Your way to Agrabah," Maleficent informed her before looking right at Riku. "It will be your next lesson."
"Next lesson?" Hinata repeated, looking at Riku with curiosity.
"Y-yeah," he slightly stammered uncomfortably before clearing his throat. "She's uh-"
"She's teachin' him how to control the darkness inside of him," Hades finished for him with a bored tone.
"Oh," Hinata realized as she squeezed Riku's hand with a grin on her face. "Why didn't you just say so, silly?"
"W-what?" he asked aghast. "You don't care?"
She shrugged, "Bedivere mentioned you had darkness. Why wouldn't you use it?" Giving him a peck on the cheek, she released his hand and waltzed right into the portal, disappearing the moment she stepped into it.
Riku stared at the portal with his mouth slightly agape, Hinata's words ringing in his mind. "What did you guys do to her?" he asked them again with a low voice.
"She'll be fine," Hades assured him, waving him off. "It'll wear off. Just enjoy it for a bit! Having her agree with you for once might be nice, huh?"
Riku shook his head with a scowl, but walked forward, disappearing into the portal with Jafar not far behind.