Revision of Washing Machine

Author's Note: Well, after rereading Washing Machine so far, I have to admit that this is one of the shittiest stories I've ever produced. And that's saying something. That's why I revised it, hopefully for the better. The revision helps clarify ooc-ness, the rushed plot, etc. etc. If, for any bizarre reason, you want to see the original versions of the first 2 chapters, feel free to IM me (dragoosey is my screen name) and I'll gladly send it your way.

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Kingdom Hearts, now reclusive to the outside world, was now swarming with the Heartless that had plagued the outside world years before. Now that the tipped balances have been restored to their former glories, everyone was getting on with their lives, only their dreaded memories of the past tainting their lives ahead of them. Needless to say, they were all off to a shaky, but promising start.

Except for two. Few are aware of their existence, but on the grandiose scale, the fate of the entire galaxy and all of the worlds rests on their hands. One wrong move, and everything would plummet out of control again. Luckily, destiny had chosen two seasoned warriors for the job, two that were capable of the job, and most importantly, two with common sense. Even though reluctant to preserve the balances, they're well aware of their duties and are able to fulfill them with ease, however daunting the job seemed.

Damn straight.

Riku grimaced at his opponent. A shadow Heartless. Back when Heartless inhabited other worlds, many would sneer at shadow Heartless when they appeared, knowing that they were weak and didn't cause much damage, even in moderate numbers. Now, easily adapting to the friendly darkness of Kingdom Hearts, the Shadow Heartless bred and mutated into a larger Heartless, much stronger than even the likes of any given Fat Bandit.

This didn't frighten or intimidate Riku, however. Hell no. Those damned Shadow Heartless never would, even if they just so happened to turn into carbon copies of Ansem himself. Beating them was a cinch to Riku, even without the help of his comrade, Mickey, who at the moment was battling off other Heartless with the same amount of ease.

Riku stood in a defensive stance, waiting for the Heartless to make its first move. The Heartless, unsure of whether it was a good idea to attack Riku or not, continued leering at Riku with its vermillion, orb-like eyes.

Riku, getting impatient, ran up to the predator, and ran his sword into the Heartless' back. The Heartless howled in pain as it drew its last breath, and then collapsed onto the ground, bursting into large MP balls. Riku frowned at his small award. He picked them up and absorbed their powers, although he was already fully capable of casting his strongest Magic spells many times over without the aid of the balls. It just wasn't worth the risk to have a Blue Rhapsody or a Red Nocturne pick them up and have the capabilities to cast spells like Firaga or Blizzaga. Not that Riku really minded battling against black magic, but if Mickey fought with the small mages and they happened to have cast high magic, Mickey would go to him and badger him about it. Mickey was also known to bring up Riku's mistakes and faults in impertinent arguments they had engaged in, which Riku definitely wasn't in any need of, or let alone wanted.

Riku observed his surroundings. Although he could barely see anything in the darkness of Kingdom Hearts, Riku's senses had improved while living in there, and he now could easily hear Heartless from a mile away and even distinguish the musk of various Heartless.

When he didn't detect any Heartless near, Riku sighed and collapsed onto the ground, hugging his sword to himself and letting energy run through and replenish his body. Riku would have never thought that boredom would be able to drain one's energy, but it had been a month since Riku had been fighting off Heartless and doing little else since the door closed again as he learned that lesson all to well.

This time around, however, Kingdom Hearts would probably close for the last time. One month, and Riku was already tired of it, yet he would have to face the rest of his life with the same, tedious chore. Mickey tried his best not to seem to mind or complain about it, but Riku saw easily through his wall of resistance as other faces of his personality burst out into the open, and Riku knew that Mickey did have a will to return to his other life. Who wouldn't?

Although Riku was eager to go back home to Destiny Islands, he was also afraid of doing so. If he went back, situations with Kairi definitely would become very awkward, let alone if she even welcomed him back. Even before the whole Kingdom Hearts incident, Riku felt somewhat detached between Kairi and Sora, and tried to hide his jealousy by covering it up with intellect, strength, and a lionhearted demeanor. Riku often wondered if that had worked, but with everything that had played out until now, it didn't matter now, did it?

There was, however, something that Riku wanted to do even more than he wanted to return to his home, or even see Kairi breathing and functioning like an ordinary human being again. He wanted to shrug this desire off, but that same, dreaded thought at the back of his mind often came out of the blue to constantly plague his thoughts.

Sora.

If there was anyone who had the complete right to hate Riku for all he had done, it would be him, although Riku certainly didn't want him to hold hostility toward him. Although the events that transpired before being locked away in the wastes of Kingdom Hearts weren't his fault, he put all the blame on himself.

It was only my desire to impress him. To show him. … Why the hell do I need to impress him, let alone care for him when he clearly doesn't care for me as much as I do to him? His new, damn friends. And Kairi. I guess I'm the one that can't let go of the past… maybe it's time for me to move along, here in Kingdom Hearts. Fulfill my duty that he entrusted me with.

Or maybe… Riku heard a faint clicking of footsteps come closer and closer that interrupted his train of thought. Mickey's vague figure appeared in the darkness, as if he was walking closer and closer in the midst of a morning fog. Looking not the slight bit exhausted from killing off several Heartless, he kicked Riku sharply in the ribs.

"Up," he demanded in one, convincing word. Riku groaned, got up, and faced Mickey. Some unknown source of dim lighting barely framed Mickey's features, hugging onto the curves of his ears tightly.

"You don't need to be so mean, you know… I hate doing this as much as you do." Mickey cocked his eyebrow at Riku.

"Hate doing this? Of course I do! I won't be reluctant to admit it," Mickey said snidely. "But… I need to keep my kingdom in tact. I have to."

"No you don't…" Riku smirked. "We can do whatever the hell we want, actually. Hell, we can capture a female Heartless and try to inbreed with it. I've always wanted to create a family."

Mickey glared, "Shut the fuck up."

"You really hate me, don't you?"

"Mmmm."

"I don't blame you, I'd hate myself too."

"What?"

"…Nevermind."

"…"

Riku regarded his surroundings again, taking in the darkness. Was this how they were going to tolerate each other for eternity?

"Mickey."

"…"

"Mickey?"

"WHAT?"

"Why us?"

He continued glaring. "Because I foolishly volunteered to do so… and because … well, I dunno. I guess Ansem inadvertently threw you in here… Lucky you," Mickey spat. Riku looked up, only to be greeted by darkness again. Yea, lucky me…

"I hate it," Riku said. When Mickey ignored him, he continued on. "It's dark here. I hate it! I can't see a thing here – I really want to get out of here. Hell, I'm willing to do whatever it takes! I don't care if I wreak havoc anymore. I'll chop down that damn door if it's what it takes!"

"You can't chop down that door…" Mickey said a little too quickly. Riku glared at Mickey through the darkness.

"Mickey, can you tell me what happens if one of us dies as a result of a Heartless assault?"

Mickey speculated briefly on Riku's random question. "… That wouldn't happen…"

"What if it did?"

Mickey didn't respond immediately. "Don't do it on purpose…" his tone suddenly became icy. "I swear, Riku, if you do, I'll kill you with my bare hands."

Riku looked at Mickey quizzically. "You moron, I'd already be dead. Or…" he smiled. "It must mean something else… hrmmmm…"

"Riku, I'm warning you!"

"I guess there's nothing to lose…" Riku said out loud, to purposely push Mickey's buttons. Mickey gave him a chilling glare, which was returned with an amiable smile on Riku's part.

With that, the rest of the day was spent in silence, where the two battled their own thoughts.

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Mickey woke up to a large, sharp object tickling the base of his neck. Mickey darted his eyes to his side and was met by Riku's visage. His silver bangs that usually softly framed his face were gently brushing the surface of Mickey's bare cheek. When their eyes locked, Riku smiled slowly and winked at him.

"Good morning Mickey… or whenever the hell it is right now," Riku greeted Mickey. Mickey snarled at Riku, who just pressed the blade closer onto his throat. "Give me answers, or I'll give you death."

"You know everything," Mickey said softly, fearing the small movements that the muscles of his neck produced could kill him. He breathed slowly and softly as Riku gave him a skeptical look.

"Don't bullshit me. You'll regret it… and… besides, if you don't open your mouth, it will be inevitable that one of us will die," he gave a small smile. Mickey buried his teeth into his bottom lip, as if thinking hard to come to a decision. "Mickey… do you really need to think about it, or are you just buying your time before I kill you?"

"… The death of one of the Guardians will lead to the rise of the Heartless again, the Guardian being the leader of such a cause… and also the opening of Kingdom Hearts… I… we… Riku…"

At that, Riku got up. "What?"

"Don't."

Riku didn't respond to his request, and trailed away, dragging his blade along with him.

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Well? Although I am not completely satisfied with this chapter, I definitely know for a fact that this is a big leap from the last version of chapter 1.

I'm not too sure, but I think that the last few paragraphs of this chapter are somewhat cryptic. Eh, it was my lame attempt at leaving a cliffhanger, but if you're completely confused, just read the 2nd to last thing Mickey says in this chapter and think about it. It'll come to you clearer, hopefully.

I can show you other things I'm not completely satisfied with, but it would take a long-ass time to type out and I really can't put my finger on how to improve these things. I need fresh eyes. If you see something out of place that you know how I can improve on, please take your time and drop it off in a review. Thanks!