Crowned Hearts Chapter
Twelve
By Blue Dragon
Riku ran. He ran so fast that the
tears in his eyes flew past and his bow flew off and he lost his
shoes and over shirt, and soon he felt he would lose his mind.
Well,
this must have been some cruel and unusual punishment for whatever he
had done in other world. Was he meant to live a life of despair? It
seemed that ever since the heartless had first attacked and he was
consumed by darkness misfortune had followed him.
He really
didn't care where he was running, but soon he found he was running in
the water. Then through the water, and for fourteen seconds he was
running on water. After that he looked down and immediately fell in.
From there he swam. His hair was no longer slicked back and waved
behind him in the water. For a while he didn't care where he was or
how far away from the shore he was. He thought that if he could swim
or run fast and far enough, the tears would go away. But they kept
coming. Or maybe the pain would evaporate? But it stayed. Or would he
have the fortune to feel his heart stop breaking? Impossible. It had
broken into two, then four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four,
one hundred and twenty-eight, and then two hundred and fifty-six.
Soon the water got shallower and he was running on water again, this
time for seventeen seconds. After that he ran on shore and smack into
a coconut tree. A coconut fell out and bonked him on the head. Then
two more fell.
"Damn tree!" he kicked it with all
his might. Eighteen coconuts came out and landed on him, three
breaking. Riku thought he would have a concussion. Then a rock fell
out and he DID have a concussion.
He awoke later, in a soft
bed inside an old style tropical hut made of straw and bamboo. To the
left of him was a desk, and then up ahead near the doorless doorway
he saw a wooden device with an uncharacteristic plastic dome covering
it.
He got up, quickly lying back down when his head
immediately began to ache.
"Ow"
An old man in
clothing similar to standard attire that contradicted the setting
walked through the doorway that Riku had intended to come
through.
"You shouldn't be trying to get up yet. You were
hit pretty badly back there. I found you in a pile of coconuts with a
large rock on your melon"
"Have you seen that tree?"
Riku asked from his back.
"Yes, its out back"
"Thank
you" Riku walked outside and pulled out the Oblivion.
"DAMN
TREE!" he slashed at it, cutting the trunk perfectly away from
the roots.
"Take that!" he yelled.
The tree
fell down and smashed him on the head.
Riku woke up again, but
this time on the floor and his head wasn't as foggy as it had
been.
"You shouldn't be attacking trees, they're known to
kill people" the old man said from over him.
"I.can't
imagine how." Riku said rubbing the twenty big lumps on his
head.
"You might want to stay her for a while" the
man walked to a dome he was studying.
"You know, my trees
aren't normal trees. They have spirits"
"Spirits.?"
"They
like to tell me when there is unrest in the 'other' world. That's
probably why your noggin was smashed. They were bringing you to me to
give me a message."
"Oh yeah?" Riku tried to
sit up.
"My name's Riku."
"I apologize,
how rude of me. Just call me old man"
"Okay. Hey
geezer"
"That's old man"
"Alright,
its old fart then?"
"How about I call you
faggot?"
"That won't be necessary then, old
man"
"Thank you. Now what I wanted to tell you is
that I am a researcher with the world of spirits"
"Yeah
right, old man. Listen, what I've been hearing really doesn't make
any sense, and sounds lame. I don't care about anything anymore. I
really don't"
The old man was suddenly interested.
"What
did you say? Your sad? What about?"
"I had this
friend that.forget it. You won't believe me"
"She
disappeared, didn't she?"
Riku's expression became
angry.
"What did you say! What do you have to do with
that! If you did anything then I'll-"
"Calm down,
boy, calm down. I know these things. If she's gone, I might be able
to help you get her back. You see, I have met patients like you and
am rarely unable to help them. I can help you get your friend back,
but you have to cooperate."
Riku sat back down and his
breathing softened. He didn't really know what he would do if Lisa
was gone forever.
"She said she was a product of my mind.
She said I imagined her into this reality because of my need to be
loved."
"This is because all minds are connected to
the world of the spirits. She was born in it and produced, and with
your need for love she came into this world, and then left with all
traces of her existence. She now only resides in your mind, which is
the link. My machine can utilize that link to your advantage so you
can visit that world."
"Huh?"
"Put
on my clear cap and you'll see your lover again"
"Oh"
Riku
made his way to the machine and wanted to do something with it, but
the old man stopped him.
"Hey there, you still need
rigorous preparation."
Riku eyed him.
"What
kind?"
"You have to make a journey into many
different worlds before you can gain the energy for this to
work"
"How do I know it won't work now? I've been to
a lot of worlds.
The man was surprised to hear
that.
"Apparently not enough or this thing would have
already worked."
"Oh." Riku looked down at the
floor.
"All you need is two keyblades, and you already
have one"
"Crap!"
"What?"
"Sora
has to go with me."
"?"
"I'll tell
you about him later. I'll be right back!" Riku was about to run
to the water.
"Wait! First I wanted to tell you something
that has happened to all of my patients before you run off to get
that other keyblade. Usually I have noticed that my three previous
patients had friends with a keyblade, and they also owned one. You
are another case, just like the previous. I wanted to ask you a
series of questions."
"Shoot"
"Does
your father own a sword?"
"Yes"
"Has
he ever used it?"
"Many times, yes"
"On
who?"
"He says that he has this annoying co-worker
named Cloud that he almost killed with it, and he almost stabbed this
other one, Aeris because he says she's always hitting on him. But he
mostly uses it to mow the lawn"
"How old are
you?"
"Fifteen"
"What's your
favorite color?"
"Silver"
"Have you
ever liked a girl?"
"Yes"
"Did your
best friend get her?"
"What is the relevance of
this?"
"That's a yes. How many girls have you
met?"
"Lots"
"Do you
skate?"
"Yes"
"Are you involved in
any illegal activities?"
"Ye-I mean no"
"Have
you ever stolen a bar of chocolate?"
"Once when I
was nine"
"Have you ever had a pet?"
"Two
years ago"
"What happened to it?"
"It
walked in on my father and he cut it in half"
"Are
you from this region of Destiny Islands?"
"No, the
eastern"
"How many fingers am I holding
up?"
"Nine"
"What is the color I'm
thinking of?"
"Purple"
"How much
wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
"Old
man, are you done?"
"Sorry, I got carried
away."
Before Riku left to get Sora, he turned
back.
"How do we get back? Will you come?"
The
man looked thoughtful.
"Have you ever heard of something
called a gummi ship?"
