My Dream Eater
Summary-
Riku's a Dream Eater, but not just any kind of Dream Eater. He's Sora's personal Dream Eater, having dove into his dreams again and again and connect their hearts with a link unlike any other. He sees it as not just his responsibility, but his destiny.
Sora sees it as an opportunity to win the Flick Rush tournaments and change Riku's hair color.
An Alternate Ending of DDD leading into KHIII, where Sora somehow convinces everyone that he and Riku should go back to the Sleeping Worlds to learn how to use their Dream Eater Link abilities. Slow burn, fluffy Soriku.
Notes -
I wanted to write something based on the Dream Eater lore, and Riku being Sora's Dream Eater. This started as a small idea and then quickly avalanched into a much bigger, better idea. As the summary says, this takes place after DDD and into KHIII, but I'm not sure how far into KHIII I'm going to go. I'm still planning that much out. I have a lot planned before then, so, I've got time.
I hope you enjoy this fluffy thing I've conjured up.
-Shadow
My Dream Eater
Written by Shadow
Beta'd by Capi
Chapter One - Dream Eater
He's tired, and it's laughable.
After all that time running around in the Sleeping Worlds, the last thing Riku wanted to do was sleep. He wasn't expecting to crash into his bed in the Mysterious Tower and black out so quickly. He woke up only a few hours later, however, a bit panicked and wondering where the hell he was going to wake up this time, or how many Nightmares he was going to have to take on. Of course, there were none, but he still felt…uneasy. Like he should be up with his Keyblade in hand, or calling out to the Dream Eaters for help.
He decides the best thing to do at the moment was to get up and shower, since he honestly couldn't remember the last time he had one (how much time passed while he was in the Sleeping Worlds, he wondered to himself), and it might help ease the unsteady feeling building in his gut.
He pulls his shirt over his head and throws it somewhere on the floor, not really caring where it landed at the moment, stepping into the bathroom connected to his room and flicking the light on. He doesn't even look at himself in the mirror as he finishes undressing, for some reason wanting to avoid his reflection until he didn't feel like such a mess. Something about the past, reminding him of how he looked when he first looked at himself in a mirror, blindfold in his hands…
He shakes the thoughts out of his head, turning the water on so it was warm, but not hot, not wanting to suffocate himself with his mind as boggy as it already was. He steps in, shutting the glass door behind him, letting the water run down his face to soak himself, before turning around and-
"Hah!" he suddenly exclaims, jumping away from the water as if he had been scorched. It certainly felt like it. He stares, cyan eyes wide as they glued themselves to the water falling innocently from the shower head. He tentatively reaches out, expecting to be burned again, but is stumped to find the water just as he had it when he first stepped in.
So...what gives? he thinks bitterly, not understanding why his back had burned in the water. He reaches behind him almost subconsciously, feeling for any kind of burn or scar he may have that didn't like the heat of the water.
His fingers brushed against...something.
It was sensitive skin, slightly sticking up from the rest, but he couldn't exactly tell what it was. Stepping out of the shower, he grabs his towel and tip toes over to the mirror, hesitantly looking at himself. His cyan eyes were filled with confusion, his hair matted from the water and dripping all over his pale skin. He slowly turns, eyes on his back as he looks behind himself at the mirror, and his jaw snaps open.
He...didn't know how to feel.
On his back, with a thick black outline, colored a deep blue that faded into a light pink, was the Dream Eater symbol.
He stared at it, completely awestruck and asking himself too many questions at once. How was it there? How long has it been there? Why was the coloring different from the normal Dream Eater insignia? The biggest question, was why there was a crown shape sitting atop the symbol, a deep blue color. The crown, was exactly like the crown Sora wore around his neck at all times.
He stares at it for a second longer, not getting any answers from himself, before he turns and shakes his head, water flinging in all directions.
This was definitely a question for Master Yen Sid, he thought. He seemed to know everything about these Dream Eater things, so it made sense to go to him about it.
He steps back into the shower, deciding to finish and clean himself up before he went to see the old wizard. It wasn't too weird, was it? He hadn't realized before that he had been marked by the symbol on his jacket until Ansem had pointed it out. In the end, it made sense, and he was proud to bare the insignia if it labeled him as Sora's protector. He wasn't expecting to see that same symbol tattooed into his skin, though. It continued to irritate while the water hit it, and he ignored it with slightly clenched teeth. He made his wash and rinse quick, turning off the water and reaching for his towel to wipe off his back as quickly as possible.
Well, it would have been easy and quick, had the towel not catch on wings.
"What the-?!" he calls out, feeling the small purple wings just suddenly there, without his knowledge or even sense of them. He dashes to the mirror again, this time not hesitant at all as he stares at the wings outstretched from his back.
His eyes were also orange.
He never dressed so fast in his life, running through the tower in nothing but sweat pants, bare feet barely touching the floor as his wings carried him most of the way. He doesn't even knock as he rushes through the door to Yen Sid's office, the door slamming open and startling everyone inside.
The wizard was seated in his chair, Mickey was standing across from the desk, Donald and Goofy standing on either side of him, and Lea and Kairi were standing next to them. They looked like they were in some kind of meeting, but now…
Now they were all just staring at him with widened, surprised eyes.
"R-Riku?" Mickey calls, taking a step forward, hand outstretched. The island boy stomps over, turning so everyone could see the wings and now glowing Dream Eater symbol on his back.
"What is happening?!" he yells out, throwing his arms up and letting them fall back to his sides with a soft thud, orange eyes narrowed. He suddenly feels a lightness to his head, and with a confused frown, lifts a hand to his head.
Soft, fluffy, tall, pointy ears.
"Woah!" was Lea's surprised call, and soon everyone was talking, all losing their minds over Riku slowly turning into a Dream Eater before their eyes.
"That's crazy!" Kairi was the next to say something, reaching for one of the bat-like ears now ontop her friend's head.
"Hey, don't!" he says, pushing her hand away, ignoring her disappointed look.
"That's the symbol of the Dream Eaters," Mickey notes out loud, tilting his head and crossing his arms, fingers tapping at his chin thoughtfully. "...which doesn't make sense because you're not in the Sleeping Worlds anymore."
When he turns around again and looks almost helplessly at Yen Sid, he gets to watch in a small burst of light as a long tail with an arrow tip forms as well, swirling around him.
"Master?" he asks, watching the wizard run a hand down his long, grey beard, studying Riku as if he were the strangest thing he'd ever seen. Well, he probably was at this point, he thinks.
"This is indeed very unusual," Yen Sid speaks up, getting all of their attention. "Although, it isn't impossible for something like this to happen. This was almost expected, but this is the first time this has ever transpired before."
"You mean, this is normal?" Riku asks, voice uncertain. The Master wizard nods slowly.
"For you, it is," he explains. "When you and Sora fell into the Sleeping Worlds, you sensed danger, and dove instead into Sora's dreams, not the dreams of the worlds. Your inner drive to protect him, granted you the abilities of a Dream Eater. In this sense, you became one."
"I know that," the silver teen huffs, crossing his arms, "but why would I still have these powers when we're in the real world? I'm still a Dream Eater?"
"Dream Eaters are capable of living in the real world, not just the Sleeping Worlds," the wizard explains. "Ones that dwell in the Sleeping Worlds can be called through with a Dream Eater Link, from whomever that link is connected to. In your case, your link is with Sora." He then holds up a hand, and a ball of light forms above him, before a small, pink transparent trinket appears before Riku, and the boy grabs it, frowning at it. It had a Dream Eater symbol on it, reflecting off of its smooth surface in the light of the Tower.
"What is this?" he asks, turning it around in his hands.
"That is a Heartbinder," the wizard states, while Riku continues to study it. "I was going to give it to Sora, so he could summon his Dream Eaters while on his adventures to aid him. If you really are a Dream Eater, you may be affected by it."
"Summon the Dream Eaters?" Riku murmurs almost to himself. He holds it up, watching the way the light shown through it. "That means, he could call me whenever he needs me?"
He looks back at Yen Sid, and almost wavers under the sudden intensity in the old man's gaze.
"Yes, however, with this new knowledge of you being a Dream Eater, you must resist the urges to be called when he uses it," he says, using a tone that spoke volumes on Riku's behavior. Of course he would suspect the two to abuse the Dream Eater Link, with Sora's behavior towards anything Riku, and Riku's undying need to always protect him.
"Do we know what caused his sudden transformation?" Mickey suddenly interjects, as if trying to cut off any other warnings Yen Sid might have given the islander. Riku looks over at his friend, feeling both relieved and grateful. Mickey knew him too well.
Yen Sid seems to notice this as well, but moves on, if for the sake of the King's friendship with Riku. "It may be because Sora is either asleep, in the Sleeping Worlds, or his heart is calling out on its own."
"He still hasn't come back, yet," Goofy speaks up, sounding worried.
Riku frowns, looking back to Yen Sid. "He can go to the Sleeping Worlds whenever he wants now?"
The wizard nods. "As long as there is a world for him to go to, he can access it at any time. His heart, and his Dream Eaters, are tied to that world."
"Traverse Town," Riku realizes out loud, looking back down at the Heartbinder. So that's where Sora went. He probably went back to see the Dream Eaters. If he was there, interacting with them, then his heart must have called out to all of them...including Riku.
After all, if he felt enough through the link, he didn't feel like it was urgent. Sora didn't feel like he was in danger, and his gut feeling told him he was fine.
He just felt...sad.
Was Sora sad?
He closes his fist around the Heartbinder, looking back up at Yen Sid almost determinedly. "He should have this. I'll only answer the summons if it's an emergency." When Yen Sid raises a suspicious eyebrow at him, the boy continues. "This way if something happens, and we can't find him, I can just trace him with the link."
"He does have Xehanort after him," Lea speaks up, getting their attention. "What if he's kidnapped again?" Riku feels that's two he owes the redhead.
"He's right," Mickey agrees. "Sora was supposed to be the thirteenth vessel. Now that we have him back, Xehanort might try and go after him again, especially if he's desperate."
"Should we...have gone with him?" Donald suddenly asks, holding up a hand to his face. "What if he's in danger?"
Riku shakes his head. "I don't think he is. I mean, I would feel it if he were, right?"
"You would," Yen Sid nods, getting them to look back at him. "I suppose...if you were to master your Dream Eater abilities and powers, it would give you an ultimate advantage over your opponents...and if something were to happen to Sora again, we would be able to find him."
"So, I can give this to him?" Riku asks, holding up the Heartbinder. Yen Sid looks at it, looks back at him, then looks to Mickey. When the mouse nods, the wizard takes in a deep breath, and nods.
"Very well. It may be best, however, if he does not know that he can summon you with it."
Riku inwardly winces, but nods anyway. "Of course."
Something told him Sora was going to find out anyway.
Being told to rest was not easy when he had so much on his mind already. The wings, ears, and tail didn't go anywhere after he had left Yen Sid's study, and by the time he made it back to his room, he was questioning how he was going to put his shirt and other clothes on.
In the end, he cut small slits in his new garments, feeling slightly bad about it, but not seeing any other choice. His tail could thankfully stick out of his jeans without too much stress, so he didn't have to cut any awkward holes in his pants.
Letting his wings through the holes in his shirt and jacket, he turns and looks at himself in the tall mirror in the corner of his bedroom, watching in slight awe as the Dream Eater insignia glowed through his jacket, leaving a black print there that seemed permanent. His eyes were surprisingly pink, and he wondered what kind of disposition that meant. All he knew, was that he was feeling happy.
Really happy.
Fond, even, of this new discovery. Yen Sid probably had reason to be worried about it after all, he thinks, considering he was already looking forward to what ways he could use this new power. The best part of it, being the link with Sora.
Yen Sid explained before he had left, that he himself didn't know of all the abilities and powers he and Sora would unlock with the Dream Eater Link, but to expect anything. Knowing how Dream Eaters could grant so many different types of abilities, Riku was ready for it.
A link with Sora…
He could really protect him if he needed to. No more stressing about how he could get to Sora, being separated, or not being able to look out for him. As long as he had the link, he knew he would always be there for him.
He had come so close to almost losing Sora. The idea of Sora being Xehanort's puppet...made him scared and angry in a way he had never felt before. It was beyond Darkness, beyond anything he could think of.
He would not fail again.
Holding up the Heartbinder, Riku smiles at it.
Time to go see Sora.
Traverse Town seemed emptier with Joshua and the others gone, Riku noticed as he headed through it. It also seemed smaller, now that he wasn't in his younger body anymore, and stood at his full height. When he arrived, he was in the First District, but there wasn't any sign of Sora anywhere. There were Dream Eaters running around though, and he could definitely feel the link tugging stronger than it had before.
He follows the link into the Second District, then makes his way to the Third. It's there that a familiar Meow Wow comes running to him at full speed, jumping up into his arms and proceeding to assault his face with licks and squeals.
He can't help but laugh, knowing for sure that this was Sora's favorite Meow Wow. It was the same one that led him into the Castle that Never Was.
Wait, if this Meow Wow was here, then-
"Riku?"
His thoughts derail at the call of Sora's voice, and as he looks up and meets cerulean eyes and chocolate hair, he can't help but share the Meow Wow's enthusiasm.
Except...Sora looks sad. Almost as if he had been crying.
His concern must have been noticeable on his face, because Sora wipes at his own and walks up to him, putting on a smile that seemed so fake it was almost bitter.
"Sora," he greets, the Meow Wow sitting at his feet as he turns his attention to his friend. "Are you okay?"
...but now Sora is looking at him with wide eyes filled with wonder, and Riku couldn't stop him before hands are on his bat ears and thumbs are pulling on them, making him lean forward in surprise.
"H-Hey!" he exclaims, but Sora doesn't listen.
"You have bat ears!" the boy exclaims, before seeing the wings and fawning over them, too. "...and wings!"
He can't help but laugh at Sora's reaction to them, gently grabbing the brunette's wrists and pushing him back. "Easy, they're super sensitive."
"...but they're so cool!" Sora grins. "How, or-why? Why do you have these?"
Letting go of him after deeming it safe, Riku smiles. "I guess we forgot to tell you. When we went into the Sleeping Worlds, I actually went into your dreams, because I knew something was wrong."
Sora blinks at him, visibly trying to process this. "You...went into my dreams?"
The silver teen nods. "Yeah. I became a special Dream Eater. I can fuse with other Dream Eaters, but I guess I have my own abilities, too."
Sora's mouth falls open, before a crooked smile curves his lips. "You're a Dream Eater? That's amazing!"
"It caught me by surprise," Riku explains, flexing the wings behind his back. "I have a symbol on my back and everything. When I asked Yen Sid about it, he said if I can master these powers, I can use them whenever."
"So, right now you can't control it?" Sora asks, folding his arms over his chest.
Riku shakes his head. "Not now, but I want to learn how."
The brunette smiles brightly, and this time, it's a real smile. "Then we should train! I have to train again anyway, and you can train to be a Dream Eater!"
Riku frowns slightly, running a hand through his hair. "...but Mickey and I have to go look for Aqua."
All of Sora's enthusiasm died immediately. "You...have to what?"
The amount of despair he felt from Sora at that moment was so heavy, he was pretty sure he didn't even need the Dream Eater Link to feel it.
"I," he starts, before sighing and looking away. "Master Yen Sid wants Mickey and I to go to the Realm of Darkness to save Aqua."
Sora's hands fall to his sides, disappointment the only thing reflecting in his blue eyes. "A-Already? You...b-but…"
Riku reaches forward, putting his hands on the younger one's shoulders. "I know, I really don't want to go back there, either, but I'm ready this time, and we need to find Aqua. If it weren't for her, we never would have been able to close the door, Sora. She saved my life."
Sora pulls back, looking away. His eyes seemed glossy. "I know, Riku. It's just...too fast. When are you leaving?"
Riku frowns, thinking. "I'm not sure. Yen Sid hasn't said when we're leaving. He wants us to rest first before we go, so that way we're ready for anything."
Sora looks back to him so fast, Riku was surprised he didn't snap his own neck. "So that means we have time!" he exclaimed, smiling again. "We can convince him to let you stay! I mean," he grins sheepishly, "for enough time for you to learn how to use your Dream Eater powers."
Riku studies his best friend for a moment, wanting to tell him how much he wished he didn't have to leave him again, or how it wasn't fair that Sora wasn't a Keyblade Master with him, or that Sora was more than capable of going to the Realm of Darkness with him, so they could do it together…
...but he can't, because no matter how strong he feels about it, he doesn't want Sora to get hurt, has to trust that Mickey and Yen Sid know what they're doing.
Still...maybe it wouldn't be too much to ask for some time. Time to train with Sora, maybe help him get his strength back. Learn how to use their new Dream Eater Link powers.
Sora is giving him a hopeful expression, and when he tilts his head and asks, "Please?" in the most innocent way possible, Riku feels Cupid's arrow go straight through his heart.
Anything for Sora.
He gives him a small smile. "I guess we can talk to them and convince them to let us have some time to train," he says, to which Sora throws a fist into the air.
"Yes! Oh, this is going to be awesome!" he exclaims happily, and Riku feels that fondness from earlier bloom in his chest, and Sora stops, looking at him with slight wonder. "Riku, your eyes turned pink."
Those pink eyes widen. What color were they before? Why did they change? Was it his disposition? Was it because…?
He clears his thoughts and chuckles unsteadily, scratching his cheek. "I guess I'll have to get use to that." Then a thought hits him. "Oh, remember, this is only if Master Yen Sid says okay to this. Don't get too excited."
Sora shrugs and smiles anyway. "We'll just have to be extra convincing."
Riku smiles. 'Your smile could convince anyone to do anything,' he thinks to himself.
Sora's smile fades for a split second, giving him another curious look, before he turns away quickly, as if dismissing something.
Riku looks questioningly at him, confused by the sudden shift in his friend, but pushing it aside for now. Sora was going through a lot; it was better to not stand over his shoulders on anything.
"So, why did you come here?" Sora asks, a bit quietly. Riku remembers the Heartbinder, then, and reaches for it in his pocket. He hands it to Sora, who looks at it with a raised brow. "What's this?"
"A Dream Eater Hearbinder," Riku says. "It's from Master Yen Sid, so you can summon your Dream Eaters in the real world."
Sora looks up at him, face unreadable. "Any Dream Eater?"
Riku answers without thinking. "Yeah, I think so at least. That's what he told me-" he cuts himself off at the look Sora is giving him.
So much for him not finding out.
"You're a Dream Eater," the boy says pointedly. "Does this work for you?"
Riku feels his mouth go dry. Sora is looking at him with that same unreadable expression, with only a tiny upturn of his lips at the side in somewhat of a smirk.
He sighs.
"Yeah, but I'm not allowed to answer the summons unless it's an emergency," he states, quoting his earlier promise. "Yen Sid wasn't sure to give it to you after he found out I'm your Dream Eater."
Sora opens his mouth, as if to ask 'why,' but then closes it, as if already knowing the answer. Riku gestures to the Heartbinder.
"I want you to call me with it if something goes wrong and you need help."
Sora smiles then, holding the binder to his heart and meeting Riku's eyes with his own bright ones. "I will, and…" he stops, thinking his words over, before looking back at his friend. "It goes two ways, right?"
"What?" Riku tilts his head, his ears bouncing slightly. Sora's smile broadens.
"If you need me, you'll call me, right?" he asks. "I can usually feel when my Dream Eaters need me...I've gotten good at protecting them. I want to protect you, too, so, you'll call me when you need me, right?"
Riku can only stare at him, slightly flabbergasted, feeling as if the world completely crashed around him, and the only thing left was Sora.
Honestly, to him...that wouldn't be too bad.
He smiles, butterflies swirling in his stomach, trying to escape out of his throat as he says, "Yeah... I'll call you."
There's something unspoken between them, and he has to look away before it becomes too obvious. He sees Sora pocket the Heartbinder in the corner of his eye, before the brunette grabs his hand and is pulling him down the steps further into the Third District.
"Sora?"
The boy looks back at him and grins. "Did you know there's a mail system here? It's a huuuuge post office. There's these rails there that carry the packages? Great for Flow Motion. I want to show you!"
So he lets Sora lead him, followed by a group of Dream Eaters, through Traverse Town, not saying how they should go see Yen Sid, or make plans of how they wanted to train.
They could deal with business later.