There was a clink of coinage barely heard of cacophonous racket of drunken bar patrons singing rowdy songs and doing the stupidest things. Sora sighed as he slid the payment over a bit "Another drink please." The bartender scooped up the munny, the orbs of universal currency turning into coins in his hand from Sora's perspective "Okay then, kiddo."

Sora then slumped on the counter, trying to still his already spinning and numb head. Still, it wasn't numb enough. Nowhere near as numb as he wanted it to be. Vanitas grinned "It's not gonna work-" he paused as his requested drink arrived "Thank you." after taking a sip, he continued, turning to watch the crowd "I'm still here with you." he grinned sickeningly sweet "I always will be."

Sora swirled the drink around a bit and gazed at his rippled reflection "It's not for you..." he took a large gulp, chugging as much as he could. When he dropped it to wipe his mouth, he blinked away a few tears. He hiccuped a little, wiping the tears away, and slumped on the bar and muttered something. Vanitas laughed "Oh I get it." He ran a finger along the edge of Sora's glass and continued mockingly "It's for little bitch back home."

"Her name was Kairi." Sora said with an edge of anger "She was probably the only girl who'd like me, I liked her a whole lot- no I freaking loved her more than anything-" he suddenly halted, then took another drink, saying bitterly "And you made me dump her."

After a moment of mournful silence, he sighed "And remembering that is a sign that I haven't had enough." Sora was about to take another drink when Vanitas paused him "Correction, you dumped her BECAUSE of me."

Sora had a very unamused and broken expression.

Vanitas couldn't hide his glee "Just saying."

Sora resumed drinking away his sanity. Vanitas decided to stand aside and let Sora wreck himself on his own. Sora, meanwhile, just kept on drinking and drinking, occasionally stepping out into an alley or some other abandoned or unpopulated place to spill out his guts.

He didn't care.

Not anymore.

He continued on and on, his emotions blurring into grand swoops of violence and despair. The only thing that mattered was that Vanitas never got out far enough to seriously hurt anyone. Sora decided if his life was gonna be hell, he might as well turn himself into a living seal to hold back this terrible darkness. Step one in his plan: become an emotionless shell so nothing would hurt anymore. He had yet to think of step two as anything more than "Keep Vanitas tucked in as you wander the worlds until the day you collapse and die of exhaustion."

The whole night Vanitas would comment, he'd make Sora say the worst things to say and engage more than one light scuffle, but he would never take back the puppet strings he'd been using, oddly enough.

Then again, Sora did everything he needed to absolutely bring his rock bottom life even lower without his help.

...

Kairi was furious, heartbroken, desolate. But being such a pure heart of light made her sway between fine and not. It annoyed her that her own heart kept her from really expressing how she felt. She refused to talk with King Mickey or Queen Minnie, and conversation with Aqua was strained.

She couldn't trust anyone anymore. At least it sure felt like that.

She cuddled her pillow, screaming into it. Isn't separation and Sora completely broken what Vanitas wanted?! HE HAD BEEN GIVEN EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED WHY DIDN'T THEY SEE THAT? She screamed again, enjoying how cathartic it was. Her scream trickled into soft crying.

Sora was gone.

He was gonna be gone forever.

Another person leaving her.

And she couldn't do anything about it.

...

"Mate, you up yet?"

Sora groaned. He grabbed his splitting head, resisting the urge to vomit. He tried taking deep breaths, but paused at a familiar scent. That couldn't be... Then there was a slight rocking that he knew. He knew it right in his bones.

He was on a ship...?

He felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a different voice "Take it easy, you had probably a few too many drinks last night."

The first one again "Goodness, William, don't smother him can't you tell he's about to-"

Sora suddenly bolted to a railing and threw up. As he was coughing out the last dregs of last night he heard a small sigh "Either he hasn't quite gotten sea legs yet, or whatever he's drunk has come right back up." then a small chuckle "Or maybe both."

Sora made a slurred noise that could have been interpreted as a question as he got a good look as his new companions. There was a young man, looking well kept if not a little shabby with his slicked back brown hair and small goatee and mustache. Meanwhile, the man at the helm looked considerably more like...

Well, Sora thought in all his traveling recently that he would never meet a REAL pirate. His skin was much darker than his companion and his hair was done up in dangling dreadlocks with all sorts of bits and pieces woven in.

The man tilted his head, Sora finally identifying him as the first voice that woke him "So, I take it you're still not all awake then?"

"Don't... don't think so." Sora sighed, still feeling nauseous. The other man began leading him away "You know, I think you should really go below and rest-"

"The boy will be fine. After that many glasses and still able to wake in the morning, he's a strong one." the man at the helm waved his hand. Sora winced a little, trying to calm his headache and still how much he wanted to vomit, then asked "What's goin' on? Who are you guys?"

"Wow, maybe you did have a few too many drinks." The man at the helm mused. He then checked his bearings, and called over his friend "Will, be a lamb and steer our ship please. Just keep it straight on 'till I give any orders."

The man walked over as Will took up steering, and Sora noted he had an almost drunken swagger to his stride. He wrapped an arm around Sora's shoulders "You remember last night, correct?"

Sora scrunched his face in thought, and his mind met a blur of drinking and... well, he couldn't remember much else. He could almost hear Vanitas laughing at him for it. "No..." He replied cautiously "Not really."

The man then introduced himself as Captain Jack Sparrow, and explained that while Sora was too drunk to really remember anything he'd shown off what Jack had labeled rather ambiguously as "Useful skills" and had somehow ended up being hired by the pirate to go off and find his old ship, "The Black Pearl" and to help rescue some girl named "Elizabeth".

Sora felt his stomach sinking at how great a start he had with his new, lonely life as an outcast.


SORRY BOUT THE WAIT GUYS~ (unfortunately there's another on the way because I think Sora's going on strike for all the abuse I've poured on him)