Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to its rightful owners.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: SUNSET
SASUKE
"The sky takes on shades of orange during sunrise and sunset, the colour that gives you hope that the sun will set only to rise again."
— Ram Charan
MY TIME WAS endless.
Not literally, but figuratively. My mind explored places that no one dared to venture. It roamed to the edges of space that held the most questions left unanswered. I was a philosopher in that aspect, always questioning what was, what is, and what will be. It was how I spent a great deal of my time. Because of that, my thoughts would be eternal.
I often thought about the way other people see the world. I thought about if they saw shapes upon the clouds, or the bees that flocked and collected from flowers. If they thought about the who's, the what's, the where's, the why's—everything—and if they were content with only that knowledge. My best thoughts came to me whenever we were traveling through space. The dark abyss forced me to relive scenarios and to recollect data I had analyzed during our adventure. It was an oblivion, something my mind will never encounter.
There was something special about it. The way the stars twinkled, hiding behind swirls of blues, purples, and greens across the atmosphere. It was as if I had came across them all before. Perhaps in a different life, if all were to be magical like that. Perhaps we had been up in the passageways long enough for me to have crossed paths with them before. Still in yet, they made me wonder . . . wonder if I had set my eyes on a sky this magnificent, and if other people will ever get the chance to.
My gaze roamed over to where Sora sat on the other end of the Gummi Ship. His body was slumped over to rest his forehead against the cool window. His eyes were looking out at the multiple colors that made the space around us; he appeared at peace for some reason. Not that there was anything wrong with it. A peace of mind just seemed to be the last of his thoughts nowadays.
I cracked a small smile. Sora, just what goes through that head of yours?
There was a sound of static that echoed through the ship. It could have only came from one place. During our last adventure, we had been guided through problems with the Gummi Ship by none other than Chip and Dale. Donald had explained to me that they were brothers who ran the mechanics back on their world. They often gave us insight on how to fix things with the vessel, or if anything suspicious came up on their radars. The same went for our current adventure. They had told us that they were glad to see us back in action, and that they'd let us know if new problems were to arise. If they were contacting us now, it meant . . .
Everyone's attention was pulled away from what they had been doing. Sora's eyes left the window to peer into the front seat. Goofy sat up straight in a newfound nervousness. I had leaned forward a bit so that I could hear the speakers better. We were all invested in what was to come; something must have gone wrong if they were reaching out to us.
Chip's—or maybe Dale's—voice was coated in static. "Something new came up on our radar," he announced. "Normally, we wouldn't care about new worlds, but this one is just odd."
Donald made a confused face as if they could actually see it. "What do you mean?"
"It's Twilight Town," the buzzing speakers answered. "Yup, we can see it. It's back again."
Twilight Town. It was the place this chapter of our lives had began. It was the world in which we had woken up from our eternal rests. It was the place that I had gotten a true taste of sadness—the place I had witnessed Sora cry over people he did not know. It was the home of those kids, as well. There must have been a reason as to why it had came back to us. Worlds just didn't seem to appear for no reason.
"Well, where is it?" Sora suddenly asked.
Chip—or Dale—took a second to find the answer. "It's about forty minutes away from your current position. I could send directions, if you want."
Donald nodded. "Please."
I was growing anxious as I leaned back into my seat. Twilight Town was quite an eventful world. Though we had been there for no longer than two hours tops, a lot of things took place there. A lot of which had occurred in a certain abandoned mansion. I fingered a lock of my hair. Hopefully, it's reappearance wasn't for reasons dangerous and questionable.
IT WAS AS quiet as the last time we were here.
Roads lined with homes and stores were slanted from the hills they were created upon. Streetlights cast soft, yellow hues on every pathway. The sky was painted in shades of oranges, pinks, and blues; the sun was setting slowly in the distance. It blew around cool breezes throughout every corner. If I had not been here before, I would have thought this world was a gentle one.
There was nothing out of the ordinary. We had passed an iconic yellow and orange train making its rounds through the town. An elderly woman stood outside with her cat as they watched the beautiful scenery above. A few teenagers were walking about, complaining of homework they had yet to complete. The scent of vegetables had stuck around one particular street. It caused Goofy's stomach to rumble. We kept walking after promising him that we'd pick up food before we left.
We were a few minutes into our silent stroll when we heard a voice. It was a bit on the higher-pitched side; they sounded panicked and scared. Raced footsteps echoed off the road we were on. It wasn't usually a good sign. If there was panic, there was always something to cause it. Be it Heartless or Nobodies—a personal favourite of this world—it could have been trouble.
My suspicions were proved to be correct. A kid ran past us through the street. Their pitch black arms were flailing; their steps were clumsy and scrambled. It was no one that I recognized. A yellow hat sat on top of their head. It sort of shielded away their black, featureless face and bright, golden eyes. They resembled a Heartless upon first glance. But, I had never known a Heartless to scream . . . to beg for help, for that matter.
They ran as fast as their legs could carry them. "H-help! The sandlot! It's Seifer!" they cried. "Somebody please help us!"
Sora looked over at the three of us. "Sounds like we've got trouble."
Perhaps there was a reason this world had decided to turn up again. We were right on time, too.
Donald started off in the direction the kid had came from. We followed behind him instantly. The kid didn't sound the least bit happy about the happenings going on where he was. In fact, one would have thought someone died the way they were screaming at the top of their lungs.
It was our area of expertise, I supposed. It was where we came in—heroes (depending on who you asked) ever on the journey to ridding worlds of the lurking darkness. It was our job to ease the troubles scattered throughout the passageways. It was what we did best. It didn't matter who it was, where it was, or how we did it, we always made sure that we did the right thing in the end. That being said, in this circumstance, the right thing to do was to get to the sandlot and help the person named Seifer.
It was an easy feat to get lost in Twilight Town. There was tons of different corners, pathways, and alleys that led to places we didn't know how to get out of. Some led to trains and stations, some led to stores and homes. It was just the way the golden town operated. Fortunately for us, Donald had remembered some of the way around, claiming that the sandlot could be reached through the market place. Though, where the market place was, was beyond any of us.
Goofy's idea had been to follow the trail from which the frantic kid had came from. He was the only one who had seen where he came from. The rest of us knew which direction, but Goofy knew the place, so we rushed after the dog's instructions. We had ended up in the market place seconds later. It was a lot simpler than I thought.
The market place led into three different directions: the way we came, the train station, and the sandlot. I knew that much much due to each pathway holding a sign above it's entry. Scenarios ran through my head where people constantly got lost around the town, demanding signs to be put up so they'd at least knew where they were going. It would have been a good explanation. But, it didn't really explain why the market place was the only area with actual directions.
Three sets of rushed feet zoomed passed me. I made it my own mission to keep up with them as I sprinted into the sandlot. Still and yet, they got there before me, and they saw what lied ahead way before I got the chance to catch up.
It was the Nobodies that caused the kid to react the way he did. His screams for help were justified; the people I could only guess to be his friends were down for the count. They laid exhausted and defeated on the ground while the Nobodies eerily danced around their bodies. Two of the teens—a small blue-haired girl and a boy larger than the average high school-er—were unconscious. The third one—a boy whom covered his head of wild, blond strands with a dark beanie—was struggling to reach for his weapon. He was attempting to keep fighting a war he had already lost. It was no wonder why their friend had left to find reinforcements. The gliding Nobodies had the group beat.
Sora ran forward to shielf the blond from any further attacks. With his shining Kingdom Key suddenly in hand, he took a defensive stance against the creatures trapping them in a circle. Donald, Goofy, and I followed in his steps. My hands curled into a fist to summon the will to help protect the teenagers. Light flashed around the field until it faded away to leave my Keyblade within my grip. It couldn't have been any sooner, too; the only way to save those guys was by defeating everything that they couldn't. That much was obvious.
"We'll take it from here," Sora told the boy.
The blond seemed reluctant, but eventually gave into our assistance. He sent us a nod before he allowed his body to fall limp onto the ground.
The several Nobodies diverted their attention from the group of teenagers to us, having found someone else to fight. The battle started off with a bang after that. Literally—Donald summoned a storm of thunder to shock anything evil surrounding us. It managed to do some damage despite most of them twisting their forms around the volts. Not that the movements did anything to save them. Sharing looks of determination, Sora and I rushed into our offensive attacks, and Goofy remained locked up in his defense.
These particular types of Nobodies were my least favourites because of the fact that they never stayed still. When I struck them with my Keyblade, their limbs contorted at odd angles that made it hard for me to get a second hit in . . . let alone a third. They spun around to kick their legs at me as a counterattack. It left me a fraction of a second to roll out of the way; their kicks were lethal since their limbs were sharp. I had yet to be hit by one, but I couldn't rely on ducking and rolling forever.
One Nobody in the group seemed to realize that. It swung it's legs at me, which I dodged, before swinging its arms all in the same motion. I didn't have time to get out of the way of both attacks. Their arms were sharp enough to cut deep into my skin if they so wished. If I slipped up it would be over. I maneuvered myself to block against the hits the best that I could. Thankfully it never came to that, for Goofy appeared in front of me, using his shield to reflect any harm that the Nobody could've dealt. I sent the dog a smile of appreciation. He had really saved me there.
As the number of dancing Nobodies dwindled down to zero, the three of us grew more confident in our fights. If this were any other time, they would have came back then times fold—another thing that everyone hated about fighting them.
It was Donald who finished the last one off with a burst of flames from his staff. Yet, we didn't get the chance to rejoice in their riddance like we expected. They spawned again; I had spoken too soon. However, what came back wasn't the skinny Nobodies prior. The ones that made their appearances were double the size of them. Their silvery exterior was coated in a gold hue to match the giant, T-shaped swords they were equipped with. Swords in which were too heavy, I gathered, because they used them to drag themselves around like their couldn't use their legs.
They jumped into the air in fits of twirls and grand gestures. And in the blink of an eye, they came raining back down with their weapons barred. I shoved Goofy out of the way of one coming for him. He nodded a thank you. It was the least I could do for someone who saved me only minutes ago.
There were four of the bigger Nobodies. One for each of us. We ran off in opposite directions to commence in our own battles.
These opponents were a lot more defenseless against my Keyblade attacks. My enemy did nothing but stand there as I unleashed all of the strength I had onto it. Though, it soon got fed up with me winning, and lifted its weapon high before swinging it down at me. My body twisted out of the way in time to dodge the attack and keep going with my own. It was a constant cycle of the same dodge-hit-dodge-hit routine. After getting the hang off with, the Nobody disappeared in a cloud of light.
I glanced around the sandlot once I was done. Sora was done with his enemy and had proceeded to help Donald finish off. He had defeated his opponent a bit before I could finish mine. Goofy was putting away his shield upon noticing how the two didn't need any further assistance. I would have gone to do something, but Donald delivered the final blow to the Nobody faster than I could make my way to that side of the area.
Shockingly, no more re-spawned after that.
The four of us moved to meet each other in the middle. The battle was over, and the main concern now was the people we had came to save in the first place. I could only hope that they were okay as my eyes gazed around the sandlot in search of them. They were nowhere to be seen. The blond must have helped guide his friends out of the way so they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. It was a good thing in terms of safety.
"Impressive."
I felt my blood run cold, then.
It shouldn't have came as a surprise to anyone. It happened every time those mysterious voices made themselves known in the worlds across the passageways. The low octaves and ominous words were something that my nerves wouldn't get accustomed to. It didn't matter how many times we encountered them. It always set off what felt like a fire alarm within my blood stream, boosting my adrenaline in ways that I couldn't decide between scared or terrified. It was the tone that usually belonged to someone in the Organization XIII.
The four of us glanced around in search of whoever it was. We didn't have to look very far—the person stood at the other end of the sandlot as if they had been there watching all along. With their black hood thrown over their head, it was hard to tell what exactly the person wanted. But, judging by the shivers racing up my spine, my flight-or-fight instinct didn't find anything pleasant.
I wished I could ask myself why. I wished I could find the answers as to the reason my body reacted the way it did. We had never encountered the Organization XIII before this journey, so there was no reason for me to be afraid and the boys to not be. What was wrong with me that wasn't with them? Why did my bones rattle and shake while they were on guard? Why was I traumatized by people I didn't know?
"By the way," the man started, his voice deep, calm, and slightly grainy. "Have you seen a man named Axel? I expect he's here somewhere."
Sora was quick to respond, his fight clenching tighter around the handle of his Keyblade. "Like I care," he snapped.
The man ignored the boy's sour tone. "You see, Axel's no longer acting in our best interest."
My brows furrowed at the new information. Someone associated with the Organization XIII wasn't acting right. It was unknown to me whether that was a good or bad thing. The Organization themselves were a bad group of people from what I understood. If someone was ticking them off, they were either conforming to bend with the good guys, or getting too down and dirty for even the bad guys to accept.
"Is he with the Organization, too?" Goofy asked out of curiosity.
The man nodded once. "Yes."
Donald raised a brow. "You havin' a fight?"
"Not a very organized Organization . . ." Though Sora was by all means ready to fight, there was still a trace of teasing in his comment.
The Organization XIII was fighting with each other. I had collected that much from the short span of the conversation. Regardless, it was still a mystery whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. There was always that chance of the Organization deteriorating their numbers by themselves. There was always the chance of them dragging innocent people into their fights. Whichever way one looked at it, there was going to be a change in the way they did things from now on.
The man held up a gloved hand. His index finger pointed in our direction, and I involuntarily flinched at the movement, expecting something bad to come our way. But, nothing did. He simply pointed a finger at the brunet boy standing in front of us. The man had no intention of fighting at the moment, I concluded, but there was no way to judge with those guys. It still made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
"Don't let your guard down," his calming voice warned. "Axel will stop at nothing to turn you into a Heartless."
Sora let out an exasperated sigh, responding sarcastically, "Gee, thanks for looking out for us, Mister. But, I'm sure we can take care of ourselves just fine."
"Glad to hear it," the man said, and I found myself searching for the nonexistent traces of a joke in his tone. "Axel aside, it would break our hearts to hear something happened to you."
"Hearts? You don't have any hearts!" Donald quacked.
"True . . . We don't have hearts."
His hands raised up to reach for his hood. My eyes instinctively went wide, waiting to see what lied underneath that hood of his. And in one smooth tug of his fingers, the hood came off as strands of blue came barreling over his shoulders.
He was different from the rest. I could feel it deep within. The way the golden undertones in his irises glowed confused me to no end. Metal earring studs rested in his pointed ears, his blue brows were pulled low in a permanent scowl, and his tanned skin was void of blemishes except for the X-shaped scar from the bridge of his nose to his forehead . . . it all felt non-threatening. Not threatening as far as in looks, but not threatening as far as the way his features made me feel. Something told me he wouldn't hurt us . . . Something told me he was the first Organization member we'd come across that made me feel like I didn't have to be scared.
He was also familiar. In the same sense that I felt something towards the other members of the Organization, I felt something toward the blue-haired man standing in front of us. My eyes raked over his form in a blank stupor. In the moment I did so, his yellowy eyes peered into mine. Our connected stare only lasted for a second before he went back to Sora. Despite that, it felt like an eternity to me. The warm shades of orange that seemed to lie deep within his eyes were ones that I remembered . . . that I thought I remembered. Though I couldn't remember when, where, or how, I just knew that this man was someone I'd met before.
"I'm Azalea," the black-haired girl introduced. "That's Isa, Yukari, and—"
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. The man in front of us resembled a lot of the boy from my visions. The one Sora had claimed to be memories of some sorts. And if he was right . . . if they were my old memories . . . that meant . . .
"But, we remember what it was like," the man continued. "That's what makes us special."
Goofy frowned beside me. "Whaddaya mean?"
The man called upon a band of darkness to take his leave. I had barely noticed, my mind racing with questions and scenarios to put everything together. Just like the other members, he was planning to leave us confused and scatterbrained. However, before he left, I wanted to test my own theories, knowing I might not ever see the blue-haired man again. I wanted to see if this man was a piece of my past like Sora had suggested.
The thought of it was scaring me. Not because he was in the Organization XIII, but because if I did know him, it would only arouse more questions. How was I tied to him somehow? How did our paths cross? How did I forget? That was what made me weak in the stomach. I would have been sure to vomit out of nervousness had it not been for the tint of bravery keeping me afloat. This was something that I had to do . . . for myself.
"We know very well how to injure a heart," the man explained. "Sora, you just on fighting those Heartless."
Sora, whom I just noticed had taken on a stance directly in front of me, whispered back to the three of us. "Let's jump in after him," he suggested.
"How come?" Donald mumbled back.
"I'm not sure, but maybe he'll lead us to the Organization's world."
Obviously, the man heard them. "Don't be reckless." He sighed. "Do you want to end up like Riku?"
Sora's body tensed up at the mention of our friend. It was a low-blow for sure, something that was strong enough to knock the boy down from his previous defensive nature. His eyes went wide and his breathing slowed. The hands around the handle of his Kingdom Key eased up their grip. The man had got him there; Riku was a special case that none of us knew how to react to.
The man took a step backwards. "If you do come across Axel . . . the only thing that should keep you out of harms way is the girl you're hiding behind you. Exploit her if you need to."
His head nodded over to where Sora had tucked me out of the line of sight. The boys turned to glance over at me in confusion. We all had the same expression written onto our features. Whoever this Axel person was . . . he was going to pop up sooner or later. On top of that, he wanted to turn Sora into a Heartless, and I was the only chance we had at getting him to give up. But, why me of all people?
The man took another step backwards to leave. My voice caught in my throat at the thought of him going without me asking my questions. It was now or never.
I took a shaky side step from behind Sora. "I-Isa?" I stuttered.
His glowing eyes fitted down to mine once again. It was the name I remember being said in my vision, and it seemed to throw him off for a split second. Whether it was because that was his name, or because it was the first time that I had said something, I didn't know. He didn't give me time to think about it, either, for he broke eye contact soon after that, and retreated through his portal of darkness.
"Wait!" I shouted.
I ran forward to catch him before he could leave. However, Goofy grabbed onto my arm, not allowing me to get very far ahead. In the second it took the man to appear, it took him the same to be gone from sight. It reminded me just how dangerous what I tried to do was. I could have easily been separated from the group—snatched up into the darkness along with my unanswered questions. A sigh blew passed my lips. It may have been dangerous, but I probably would have been worth it.
Did I know him or not?
Sora crossed his arms over his chest. His brows were knitted together while his eyes were squinted. He was just as puzzled about the conversation as I was, if not more. I couldn't blame any of them for that. After my outburst, I would have been lost, too. Though, there were just some things that I had to find out for myself.
"Who is Isa?" Donald asked me.
I shrugged. "I don't know. I just . . . I just got a feeling . . . that he'd answer to that."
"Well, maybe ya got the wrong person," Goofy offered. "He didn't answer to it. Maybe that wasn't his name."
I nodded. Goofy was right. If that was his name, there would have at least been some kind of reaction to it. All the man did was stare at me and leave. It most likely hadn't been the boy from my memories. And now that it made sense—two and two were put together—I suddenly felt stupid for trying.
Sora scratched his head. "What did he mean "end up like Riku?"
The four of us stared at the spot the man had once stood in. We each had our own set of questions . . . questions that would have been answered had he decided to stick around for a moment longer. It was what the Organization did best. They jumbled up our thoughts so that we lost our minds, wondering about what was, what is, and what should have been. The blue-haired man had been better at it than the other ones we had encountered thus far.
"Hey, how 'bout you get out of my town now? You've caused enough trouble."
We turned our heads to find the source of the aggressive words. Standing to our left were the three teenagers that we had helped out. The blond stood in the middle, the boy and girl at either side of him as if he was the boss of their group. Like he was the one who gave out the orders. His teeth were clenched and his brows were scrunched, giving a more obvious view to the scar on his nose that reminded me a lot of Leon's. His blue-green eyes glared up something nasty as he crossed his toned arms over his chest. I sighed; so much for trying to help.
Donald returned the glare and stomped his foot. "Have it your way! C'mon, guys."
"Hold it!" the blond suddenly demanded.
Donald's face then and there was priceless. Not only did he not like being barked at, but he clearly didn't like the fact that the boy wanted something else from us every ten seconds. One moment he wanted us to get out, the next he wanted us to stay. He reminded me lot of Hayner in that aspect—so hot and cold that I didn't know how to keep up.
"Make up your mind!" Donald snapped.
The boy held something up for us to see. It was a trophy of some sorts, composed of blue swirls and different colors intertwined within its design. The golden plaque on the front had an image of a hand holding a weapon. It was beautiful, but I couldn't see why it was important right now. That being said, all four of us raised our brows in confusion.
"This goes to the strongest guy in Twilight Town," he clarified.
He was looking at Sora, so we turned to look at him, too. The brunet himself was shocked at the gesture. His eyes doubled in size and his jaw dropped as he pointed a finger at himself. "Who, me?" his face seemed to ask. Then, he smiled, radiating warmth and gratefulness.
"Thanks," he replied. "but . . . we don't really need it."
Seifer must not have wanted to take no for an answer. He didn't look like the type of person to accept rejection, anyways. He didn't care that being announced the strongest didn't matter to Sora. He simply walked on forward, shoved the giant trophy into Goofy's arms, and kept walking passed us. The dog nearly fell over from the amount of force that was applied. I bit down my laughter as the other two teens followed Seifer out of the sandlot. I guessed he really didn't want that trophy anymore.
There was always spontaneous things happening in Twilight Town. Everyone had their own amazing personalities; no two people were exactly alike. Regardless of all the violence that gathered here, people still managed to make us smile. For that, I shouldn't have been as skeptical as I was about coming back. Even though we did have to fight, seeing the town's citizens again was worth it.
"Oh! Hey, guys!"
We turned around yet again. It was just about the fourth random voice to greet us. No one in this town liked making their appearance before talking, I figured. Yet, as we laid eyes on the new person in front of us, I found myself glad that we got to hear this voice again before we left.
It was Pence. The messy, dark strands of his hair that weren't restricted by his headband blew around in the wind. His eyes were wide with just as much shock to see us as we were to see him. It was a good thing, too. He was our new friend. A minute later and we would have been on our way back to the Gummi Ship.
I smiled and sent the boy a wave. "Hey, long time no see."
"Heya, Sasuke," he greeted with a chuckle.
Sora's brows furrowed in thought. "Um . . . Pence, right?"
I sighed. It was just like Sora to forget his name. It had only been a few months since we last saw him.
"Right." Pence nodded, his tone suddenly turning urgent. "Do you know a girl named Kairi?"
What?
All four of us jumped at the name. "K-Kairi?!" Sora stuttered out, his eyes as wide as saucers.
What the hell was she doing here? I thought they said she went home.
I nodded frantically. "Yeah, of course we know her! Is she here?!"
Pence nodded, too. "You'd better come to the station—"
We didn't wait to hear the rest of what he had to say. Or, more specifically, I didn't wait. My legs broke off into a sprint before Pence could even finish his sentence. The boy followed soon after that, but by then, I was already out of the sandlot. I ran fast when I wanted to, and during times like this, my speed hit peaks it hadn't in months.
She was here. She was truly here in the world that we were in. It sounded silly when I thought about it; Kairi and I had been separated for so long that thoughts of us standing in the same place had seemed so distant and fake. A part of me felt like I was running into something that would turn out to be a let down. It felt like I would have to wait a century to be reunited with my best friend again. Yet, there was another part of me that couldn't contain the excitement—so much that it nearly hurt. If Kairi really was here, I wouldn't take it for granted.
My time was endless.
There were a lot of things that I wanted to say to her . . . wanted to show her. I wanted to hug her and apologize for not being able to do anything when she needed a hero. I wanted to tell her how much I missed her and how I still had her seashell jewelry with me on the Gummi Ship. I wanted to tell her how glad I was that she got to go home instead of me. I wanted to ask her how she was—how everyone was—and if she knew how much I honestly loved her. There was so much. If Kairi was here, I would make sure my time with her was endless. She would never leave again.
So, I ran—faster than my lungs could pump oxygen through my body. The trip to the train station was far and steep up the Twilight Town hill, but I didn't care. I tripped over my own two feet trying to race to where my best friend would be. I just wanted to catch up. Everyone was always leaving me, everyone was always faster than me, everyone had their own stories and journeys . . . and I hadn't been blessed with a story-line of my own. Which was okay for now. I just wanted to get to Kairi. I just wanted to be with my friends again. Was that too much to ask for?
The burning in my chest told me that it was.
I got the the train station by myself. My body had nearly doubled over from exhaustion, my hands resting on my knees as I attempted to get a grip on the air that I had lost on the way here. Despite that, my eyes darted around the area in search of the redhead. There was nothing.
The hill gave the perfect view of the sunset hanging overhead. Clouds twinkled with colors I had come all too familiar with these days. It was never sunrise, but sunset—the end to something spectacular. And as the others finally caught up with me, also excited with the possibility of seeing Kairi, I realized that things had been sunset for a long time.
We were drawing closer to the end of something beautiful.
"Hey!" someone called.
I stood up straight and walked over to where Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Pence were standing in front of the train station steps. Just in time, too, for Hayner and Olette ran up the hill to join us in our group. They both looked a little worn out upon first glance. A part of me wanted to hope that it was because of the run up here and not because of the news they had yet to tell us.
Sora was the first to speak. "Hey, so how do you know Kairi?" he asked the three.
My heart almost stopped when Hayner and Olette shared a worried glance. There was bad news coming up. I knew it. Something in my head told me not to get too worked up, and I had did it anyways. Now they were left with the task of letting me down.
"She was here," Olette answered.
"She was really here?!" Sora exclaimed.
Hayner nodded. "Yeah, and . . . she said she was looking for you guys."
I took a step closer to them. "So, where is she?"
"Well . . ." Olette started. "We were at the hang out spot. She had told us about how she knew you guys, and why she was looking for you. We told her to stick around because you were bound to come back. You said so yourself, Sora. But, then . . ."
"Then?" I asked, not a big fan of them drawing things out.
Hayner looked down at me with hooded blue eyes. "Some guy came out of the shadows. He had this black cloak on and bright red hair," he explained. "He said she had guts for jumping into the darkness. We tried to fight him off, but it was like . . . every punch we landed went right through him. I'm sorry guys, but . . ."
I didn't like the way this story was ending.
Olette finished it off for him. "He grabbed her and left through the shadows again. There was nothing we could do. We're sorry."
My eyes trailed down to the ground. The idea of her being here had me hopeful. I should have known that things wouldn't be that easy. Nothing ever was, for that matter. We always had to fight to make things right, and even though I was sad about her not being here, I was more disappointed in myself for getting my hopes up. Of course she wouldn't have lasted here long. Everything was one big game of tag.
I could do nothing but hope to find her in another world, or another one, or maybe another one. Just like us, she wasn't stationary. It taught me a lesson, though. Things were not to be rushed. I prayed that she was safe wherever she was. But, things happened for a reason, and when the time was right, I'd get the chance to be by my best friend's side again. Be it today, tomorrow, or years from now, I learned to wait for it.
Sora shook off his saddened expression when he saw our three friends. They were also staring at the ground, regret written on their faces for letting this happen. They were not to blame. Fate was—they had just gotten tangled into it. We all knew it wasn't their faults, but they still wore the guilt heavily on their shoulders.
"Hey, it's not your fault. C'mon, cheer up!" Sora tried to tell them, then slumped his shoulders. "Like I can even say that . . ."
Goofy took a step closer to pat Sora on the back. They must have felt bad about the situation, too, considering they knew just how much the redhead meant to us. However, before he could get the chance to do so, Sora stomped his foot in determination. It sent the dog tumbling to the ground; he had been scared by the sudden action. Their antics brought a small smile to my face.
"I've gotta help Kairi," Sora declared.
It was then did we notice the small crystals rolling passed us on the ground. I glanced back at Goofy; he had dropped the trophy when Sora scared him, which resulted in the ornaments falling off. Hayner, Pence, and Olette bent down to pick the colorful items up. So did Sora, who bent down to pick up the blue one by my foot.
Perhaps it was out of instinct. Perhaps they had just now noticed how gorgeous the sunset in front of us was. Either way, they must have saw something that we didn't. Pence, Hayner, and Olette all raised the little crystals toward the sun shining in the distance. I watched on in fascination. Maybe they really did see something that we couldn't. Though, I did see something that they hadn't. From where I stood, for a quick second of my imagination perhaps, Sora's spiky hair was the same color as the yellowy gold hanging in the sky.
Donald waved a hand in front of his face. "Sora?"
"Sora!" Goofy tried. "Are you okay?"
Sora shook his head as if to shake off the trance that he had been in. He lowered the hand containing the blue orb with a sigh. Something had happened to him in that head of his. That much was obvious. Nonetheless, my curiosity was replaced with amazement when the blue orb levitated out of his hand. It glowed a blinding white that was familiar to the four of us. The blue crystal was the Keyhole to this world.
The light flew up to the sky, and Sora took out his Keyblade. A few twirls later, a beam of light shot out of the Key. I closed my eyes before I could've seen what happened next. I already knew the light that followed would be bright, flashing across the sky in shades of purity. And it did like I predicted, ridding Twilight Town from the clutches of evildoers.
I opened my eyes once the light went away. Sora had already put his Keyblade up. The others were starting to recover from being momentarily blinded. All that the brunet could do was smile apologetically.
Pence shook his head a few times. "Wh-what just happened?"
"A new road has opened," Sora's voice was hopeful and matured as he spoke. "And Kairi and Riku are waiting somewhere along it."
Olette nodded. "You'd better hurry, then."
"You comin' back?" Hayner asked.
Sora held up his pinkie finger with a smile. "Promise."
He was feeling better. He must have came to a realization after locking the Keyhole. It was a good thing. While I had learned to live from experience, I wasn't all too sure that Sora had. Yet, here he was, showing me different each time.
We had exchanged our goodbyes soon after. Olette's hug was tight around me before they left; Hayner's was nothing more than a slightly rough slap against my shoulder. We had watched as our three friends retreated down the hill in silence, probably out of things to say now that we were going. Donald and Goofy went next, arguing about what they wanted to eat before we went. I moved to follow them, but stopped when I noticed that Sora wasn't moving.
I turned around to look up at him with questioning eyes. He was doing nothing more than watching the colors dance across the sunset in the sky. Despite putting on the front that he was okay after everything, it was clear that he was trouble inside about being let down. It was something that I could see all over his face.
Sighing slightly, I stepped over to stand beside him. The two of us stared up at the sky in silence; he didn't seem to mind that I had joined him. It wouldn't have been the first time we'd done it, but each time seemed more meaningful that the last. There was no wonder why he spent his time doing it. The sky sure did do a good job of relieving stress. It allowed the bad thought to carry away with the wind it blew. It was a reminder that even though things came to an end, they were bound to start back up again, just like the sunset and sunrise.
He looked down at me through the corner of his eye, then shook his head. "Sorry, I was just thinking."
"About?"
I turned to face him. He did the same, gazing down at me like I was crazy for wondering. It wasn't anything new to me. I had always wondered what fluttered through his head—wanted to know what he thought during the silence. It didn't matter if he was thinking about food, or sleeping, or even his parents, it all interested me.
He shook his head, so I reached up on the tips of my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck in a hug. He was reluctant at first, then allowed the contact. In fact, he own arms had wrapped around my waist. His chin found its usual spot on top of my head as his body relaxed into my embrace.
"It's okay, Sora," I told him softly. "There's nothing you can really do about these things."
He let out a breath. "I know. It's just draining."
Being the hero must have been. There were so many times were the promise of our friends had been dangled around in Sora's face, only for him to find out that he couldn't reach out long enough. There was also the stress of being the one to send Kairi home, and then finding out that she wasn't there anymore. I couldn't imagine how he was feeling inside. Still, I was sure that it all got tiring for him. Even more so that it did for me.
"Hey, what happens when the sun comes down?" I asked.
He snorted like I was joking with him. "Then it's nighttime."
"Do you think it's pretty at night?"
"Yeah," he replied. "There's stars and the moon out. It's just as good as daytime."
I nodded against his chest. "Well, though it feels like the sun is going down right now, just know that nighttime isn't that bad, either."
He pulled back with a laugh. "I haven't gotten a pep talk like that sine I was, like, twelve, Sasuke. Really?"
Even though he was laughing, I was just glad that the concerned aura around him had dissipated. My pep talk may have been childish, but at least it worked.
I shot him a guilty smile. Can't blame a girl for trying.
Sora had helped me a countless amount of times. Every time I needed someone, every time I felt doubt or sadness, he was there to provide words of encouragement and his iconic smile. Switching the roles this time made me realize why he had always done it for me. There was a sense of strength and satisfaction that came along with knowing you picked up someone when they were falling. Especially him—he made me feel like a superhero without the powers, and all I had to do was be there. And I wanted to be there for him no matter what the situation was.
One of the hands that had been wrapped around my waist trembled. It had gone unnoticed, of course, long forgotten in the context of our conversation. It was beyond me as to why he was trembling in the first place. For the entire time that I had known him, he had never been self-conscious or nervous when it came to simple hugs. But, I supposed it wasn't just that. The hand retreated from my waist to find a new spot caressing my cheek, and I felt my breath catch in my lungs. He was trembling because he was debating on if it was okay to touch me.
Warm fingertips guided stray hairs out of my face. Every touch was so light, nearly the opposite of everything else he did. The palm of his hand had formed to the shape of my cheek to stay in place. Just barely was I allowed to feel the callouses in his fingers from fighting so long. Just barely was I allowed to feel his thumb sweep across my cheekbones, absentmindedly drawing patterns in the pale skin that I wished would last.
My eyes raised to meet his, both wondering why he was doing this and holding interest in it. It was no easy feat. I was all for getting shy and nervous when it came to Sora in these situations. He was prone to it, too. He had told me so. But, he was still braver than I was in many, many ways. I knew because once I looked up into his eyes, his were already on me, waiting to get a reaction . . . waiting to see if I would actually look at him . . . waiting to see if I had any doubts.
I was scared. When it came to these things, I was terrified. Not of Sora, but my lack of experience thereof. I had never been exposed to the same affections as he had. He was always one step ahead of me, had one more story to tell, and it scared me that I was now becoming one of his stories. It scared me to think that he liked me and I liked him back. The concept was so foreign—he was the first time I had ever experienced what it was like to be with someone.
His gaze was unwavering. Not once did he try to break eye contact, trapping me in the ocean of blue that he had to offer. I tried not to look too far into the emotion behind them, knowing that I would spook myself out of his arms if I buried myself in too deep. But, the nerves deep in the pit of my stomach developing told me otherwise. I couldn't leave—I didn't want to. I wanted to stay and face my fears, to overcome the fact that this chapter in our relationship was new and terrifying, to show him that I wasn't scared of it anymore, to show that there were no doubts, and hopefully my eyes conveyed that.
Surely, it did; his head dipped down to close the gap our differences in heights had made. My eyes had fluttered shut the moment he began to tread the distance. He had tilted his head a bit once his nose had bumped against mine. Whether it was by accident or on purpose, I didn't know, but it added to the experience, making my toes curl with anticipation. Then was his lips, touching mine so softly that I wasn't sure I felt them at first. The light contact forced the nerves in my lips to stand on end, shocked at the feeling. Though, it didn't go passed that. He stilled there, steady breaths fanning over my face, waiting for me to do something. He probably thought I was having second thoughts.
I wasn't.
In the same way his lips had brushed against mine, I applied the same pressure, if not a bit more. I wanted him to know that I was fine with it. I was fine with everything he did simply because he was him. He was a good person on the side no matter how many strands of darkness lingered in the far, far depths of his heart. I had been given the opportunity to experience this . . . and I was glad that it was with him. Thankfully, he got the hint, moving his mouth away only to press against mine harder this time, fueled with the newfound confidence he saw in me.
His lips were always soft and warm. The last time we had kissed, he was well into the stages of a busted lip, and banged up from his encounter with the Organization XIII. I hadn't minded that three-and-something months ago. But, now that he was fully healed and not having to concentrate of injuring his already bruised face, it was something I realized had held him back a lot. This time was better than the last.
The hand that had been holding me against him in our continued hug went higher to press flat against the middle of my back. My hands remained where they were around his neck. It would have felt weird to move them, not knowing where else to put them in this case. All the while, he had no problem keeping me against him. We were close enough that I could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Maybe even his heart beating if I concentrated well enough. I could only hope that he couldn't hear mine—my heart rate had increased to something vicious.
He changed his approach as I parted my lips in attempt to control my thudding heart. He had pulled back at that moment, coming back in to place his top lip between both of mine. It left my bottom lip between the two of his. I couldn't help the squeak that surfaced when he had pulled my bottom lip into his mouth, flattening our lips together in ways that made my toes curl in my shoes. And surprisingly, he took that as a sign that we had done enough. He released me, and my bottom lip snapped back against my teeth with an audible click.
My face was red again. I could feel the way it sneaked up my ears and crept down my neck in shades of crimson. It felt like everything was on fire as my stomach tied knots hard to untangle. My lips felt hot and stung with the absence of his. It happened every time; his painfully slow kisses left me dazed, shy, and excited at the same time.
Unfortunately, the shy part had chose to take over once he settled back into the position we started in. My eyes slowly opened to look anywhere else but into his. It didn't help that there was an ever-setting sun beside us. I'm sure it did well to make my face appear even brighter, the romance having been a bit too much for my nerves to handle at once.
He still held my face in his hand, this thumb lightly traces stars and circles into my cheekbones again. He wasn't scared to look at me, so why should I have been? As if my pupils were being forced, my eyes slid to peer back up at him. His had widened a fraction at the visual contact. He was more than likely shocked that I was showing this amount of courage. But, I wanted him to know that I wasn't scared to be with him. Now he understood that, blue eyes searching through my gray ones before the corners of his lips pulled upwards.
Now, we could progress forward.
"So, where do we go from here?" he asked, softly, a complete subject change from what we had initially been discussing.
I found it hard to talk. Though we had only kissed perhaps four times just now, they all had managed to steal the air from my lungs. They managed to steal the ground beneath me, too, for it took all of my will to keep my legs from shaking. There was no backing down now.
I swallowed. "I don't know. You have more experience in this field than I do."
"Yeah, but, you're different." His face was mere inches from mine, his eyes darting back and forth between mine to see if I was uncomfortable with the conversation. "I don't wanna mess things up with you."
It was times like this that reminded me that Sora wasn't too different from me. Albeit braver, he still got shy, anxious . . . all of it. I wasn't the only one who had been afraid. He was facing his own fears head-on. He had just done a better job of hiding it. He had told me already that I made him nervous. Still, he wanted to give this a chance as much as I did, regardless of how jumpy it made him. It was a two-way street, after all. It required effort from both sides, and I decided then and there that this was truly what I wanted.
My response called upon the last bit of courage I had within. "When the time is right, I guess we'll know," I replied.
When it came to solidifying what we were, based on labels and superficial titles that became a damn near requirement in this day and age, I wanted to let it happen by itself. There was no reason to rush into something that we both wanted to succeed. Things like that took time, I supposed. Hurrying up the process was only going to make it crash and burn.
He nodded with a sigh, letting his forehead fall against mine. "Fine by me."
His hand subtracted itself from where it held my face to brush a lock of my dark hair behind my ear. The digits had lingered on the tip of my ear for a moment, no doubt feeling the heat that had gathered there. But, instead of flinching away from his advances in a fit of shivers, I watched as his eyes simply stared into mine. He must have been thinking about something because he didn't move; his blinks were slow and sparse. That was, until his hand trailed up my hair to ruffle the strands at the top of my head.
"Thanks for the pep talk, by the way," he said, moving his forehead from mine. "I'm glad you're here, Sasuke."
Trying to cover up the fact that my stomach was doing leaps from his praise, I ducked out of his clutches, embarrassed. "You know my hair gets tangled fast," I piped. "You're going to mess it all up."
"Oh, by doing this?"
Both his hands came up to my head this time. They created a hell-storm on my head, forcing the strands in this way and that for his own amusement. I struggled to get away from him. However, ever time I moved, he followed, laughing at my expense. I dodged out of his reach, and he retaliated by putting me into a headlock. I shrieked when the endless noogies began to rain down on me.
"Hey, cut it out!" I yelped, trying not to catch his contagious laughter. "What are you, six?"
I squeezed out of his grip. Thankfully, he didn't come for me again this time. My hands darted up to fix my hair, and I groaned upon my fingers getting stuck in the strands. He had done exactly what I didn't want him to do. Now I was going to have to go through the struggle of combing it out on the Gummi Ship.
I began the walk to the Gummi Ship, thinking that he was following behind me. Curses of how untangling my hair was going to take forever spilled from my lips. I had succeeded in smoothing ti down, but running my fingers through it was a whole different story. Nonetheless, I stopped walking when I didn't hear another pair of footsteps, turning around to see what he was doing.
He was looking up at the sunset again. His hair blew a bit in the wind, the sun sky in competition to see whether it or his eyes were bluer. Reflections from the chain around his neck sparkled in my line of sight. He appeared so concentrated . . . so beautiful that I had to look away to keep my blush at bay. Especially after all that we had just done.
"Sora," I called out. "Aren't you coming?"
He glanced over at me with wide eyes before a small smile fitted across his lips. "Yeah, I'm coming," he assured.
I waited for him to catch up with me. He did seconds later, my eyes following him as he marched up to my side, his hands buried deep in his pockets. Still, I couldn't shake the questions of what he was thinking about. Sora's head was an uncharted territory, I decided. There was absolutely no way of knowing. And perhaps, maybe that's what made him all the better.
I am in my last year of school. When I came into it, I was like, "Oh, it isn't going to be that bad. I'm going to update like crazy." -_- As you can see, that was NOT the case. I've never had to study this hard in school my entire life. But, I graduate in about a month and a half, so then I'll be able to throw out constant updates. I apologize for going M.I.A., but, to make up for it, we got the Sasuke/Sora time that had been cut short in the last chapter! :)
Fun Fact of the Chapter: As stated in the character database page I have saved, Sasuke's official height is 5'3" 1/2.
~ Insane