Of Promises and Paopu
By The Ambitious Blank
Disclaimer- Kingdom Hearts isn't mine. x.o;;; Getting kinda sick of writing this over and over..
Comments- Yes, chapter three.. wow, this is getting updated a lot faster than my other fics were/are. xD Whoops~ Warnings are for angst.. yes.. I have decided there shall be much more angst in this.. o_O; Guess I can't help it. Oh yeah. And hintings on a pairing between Leon and someone else. XD Not telling, you can probably figure it out on your own.
~*~
Just as Sora was beginning to first experience the painful ordeal of solitude, he met up with company. A tall stranger, who called himself Leon. They'd fought, Sora had won, somehow, using that Keyblade of his. But, he'd collapsed soon after, too tired and mentally exhausted to continue on.
"Hey, sleeping beauty. Wake up, before I have to kiss you."
"Nn..?" Sora stirred groggily.. there was.. a bed beneath him? So had the whole thing just been some foggy dream? His eyes opened slowly, and he looked up into the silver-framed face. He jerked in surprise.
"H-hey, what are you trying to pull, Riku?" He demanded, sitting up quickly and rubbing at his eyes. The image of the silver-haired boy faded, and a girl with dark, Kairi-style hair stood before him, blinking large blue eyes.
"..Riku?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, before turning around to face someone behind her. "I think you might have overdone it, Squall." She said, pointedly. The man behind her snorted quietly, brushing a few strands of hair from his face.
"That's Leon." He said, with the sort of exasperated tone one gets when correcting a child again and again. The man.. Leon, Sora supposed.. had a sort of cold air about him, but he also held that devil-may-care attitude that Riku always seemed to have.
Riku.
Sora's heart wrenched painfully in his chest, and he put a hand to his heart, gritting his teeth. He should be able to forget, right? It shouldn't be all that hard to forget just one insignificant person. It shouldn't be hard, he kept telling himself.. Riku was something of the past. He wasn't who he used to be.. and who knew if Sora would ever see him again. The tall man.. Squall.. or was it Leon? Was watching him, and though he made a vain attempt at hiding his emotion, Sora could read faint worry in those deep grey-blue hues.
"Something wrong, kid?" He asked, managing to carry his voice as though he could care less, but Sora appreciated the gesture anyway.
"..yeah.. no problem." He answered, looking around the small room, then down at his lap, when he realized..
"Hey.. where's my Keyblade?"
"We had to get it away from you." Leon said quietly, stepping forward. "The Heartless were tracking you through it.. they'll stop at nothing to steal your heart, you know." He picked up the weapon from where it was leaning against a wall, holding up and examining it in the light.
"But who would have thought.. you, of all people.. just a kid.. wielding the legendary Keyblade.." He murmured thoughtfully. Strands of a gold light wrapped around the blade suddenly, and Sora watched, wide eyed, as it vanished from Leon's hand and reappeared with a small jerk in his own. Leon sighed.
"Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers." He muttered, leaning against the wall. Sora's eyes narrowed.
"Would someone tell me what's going on?!" He demanded, scowling at both of them, who eyed him curiously. "I didn't ASK to come here, you know.. I was on my island, and.." He hesitated.. his island. What had happened to his island?? Both Leon and the girl averted their eyes.
"..it's most likely gone by now, kid.." The ninja girl said, a bit sadly as she hopped onto a table, sitting on the edge and letting her legs dangle off. Leon took up explaining.. and Sora heard them, but he couldn't listen. Gone.. his island was gone? What about Kairi, and Riku? He didn't even know if they were safe like him.. or even where they were. Were they still alive? Sora unconciously began pulling himself into a fetal position.. he didn't want to think about all this right now. He could hear Leon's voice still droning on faintly.. something about the Heartless and some guy he didn't care about named Ansem. He didn't care.. all he wanted to know was if Kairi, and most importantly, Riku.. were safe.
A desperate heart inside a pained chest wrenched in longing.
~*~
"What's the matter, boy?"
Riku glanced up at the sound of the now-familiar voice of the witch Maleficent. He was sitting on the cold floor, partially hidden in the shadows of a corner. He leaned against the wall, one knee pulled up to his chest, with his wrist resting on the upright knee. He'd been thinking, wondering what all these.. people, if they were people at all, wanted with Sora.. was it that important to be this so-called "Keybearer"? Riku began to wonder if it was worth giving into the darkness at all.
"Nothing." He finally replied, turning away. The woman sighed, taking a seat in a chair next to him. Her hand brushed over his cheek, and he flinched and pulled away as he always did. He hated that, honestly.. it was like Maleficent wanted to be his mother, sometimes.
"You try to be so tough." She said, sighing in slight exasperation.. no matter what, she always got the same response from the silver-haired boy, and it was getting tiring. Now, she decided, was time to try and win him over.
"I can see your pain.." She murmured, touching him again. Riku yanked away for a second time and glared up at her with annoyance through those brilliant aqua eyes.
"What do you know?!" He demanded, snarling. She laughed, amused by his furious display of fire.
"..you miss the boy.. the Keybearer.. Sora, was it?"
Sora.
"..no." Riku said, turning away.
Don't show weakness.
She can't know.
No one can.
"You need some practice with your lying, boy.." She ran her long fingers through the soft silver hair, and this time Riku stood up, practically radiating with hatred. He growled almost like a cat would when it was provoked, and Maleficent laughed.
"Calm down, boy. If you're so eager to go look for him, then go."
"..wh.. what?" Riku asked, his anger disappearing as a wisp of smoke does after it escapes from the rest of the fire. He stared at her, confused. "What do you mean, 'go'?"
"..you are such a naive little boy.." She murmured, standing up. "I shall show you to him tomorrow.. for now, you will get some sleep." She gestured and walked calmly down the dark hall, smirking to herself.. Riku followed like a curious puppy. So, she thought, this was the way to this boy's heart.. the Keybearer himself. She turned around, and Riku watched her, his lonely eyes quickly hardening and becoming defiant. Only smiling, she turned and kept walking through the pitch black.. and as the long hallway continued, she felt a faint sense of fear coming off the boy who followed her so blindly. He was afraid, she knew.. but he only followed her because he loved that boy so much.
Maleficent would be sure to take full advantage of that.
~*~
Sora had been once again cast out on his own into the strange town.. he was to find the leader of the Heartless there, and Leon was taking care of guarding the First District. So, he was alone again.. until company dropped in on him. Literally.
"Owww.." Sora muttered, clutching his head as the two figures on his back quickly hopped off.
"The Key!" Both of them were shouted excitedly, pointing at the Keyblade in Sora's hand. Sora blinked and stood up, brushing himself off.
"Yeah.. it's the Keyblade.. big deal. I--" He was cut off as a formidable group of Heartless began rising from the ground. Without question, he rushed forward, slashing through their numbers relentlessly. He noticed that the two figures, one dog-like, the other a duck.. were fighting as well. Sora leapt and dodged as Shadows clawed at his ankles, careful to avoid letting them get too close. He backed away as they surrounded him, watching him with those large yellow eyes.. there were too many.. he swung the blade, and several went flying, but they got back up and leapt upon him. He shouted out, crying for help, when someone else's answered.
"FIRE!"
The Shadows vanished, and Sora fell to his knees, looking up to see who'd saved him. The duck was standing there, staff pointed towards where the Heartless had once been.
"Hyuck.. nice shot, Donald." The dog said, walking over. His walk was somewhat slouched, Sora noticed.. and the duck, Donald.. had an odd, arrogant look he held about himself.
"Thanks." He said, seeming not to care. He stepped over to Sora, looking down at him. "Come on, get up. You need to come with us.. uh.." He paused. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Sora." Sora replied, standing. "My name's Sora."
"Nice to meet you, Sora." The dog said cheerfully, putting his hand out. "The name's Goofy." The duck followed with his own hand, placing it atop Goofy's.
"I'm Donald. Donald Duck." He said, glancing to Sora, who put his hand in the middle also.
"All for one and one for all!" Goofy cheered happily.
"Okay, then you're coming with us, Sora." Donald said, with a nod. Sora hesitated, then flinched as a voice spoke.
"Go with them, Sora."
He looked up. Leon was standing there, a few feet away from them, his arms crossed over his chest. His grey-blue eyes studied the other two for a moment, before he turned back to Sora.
"..maybe if you go with them, you can find your friends."
My friends?
Riku. Kairi. Sora knew he was ready to face anything if he could find his friends.. no matter what, he'd be ready.
~*~
Riku tossed and turned in the poor excuse for a bed that Maleficent had shown him to. He couldn't sleep, he could barely hold still. It was almost pitch black in the room, except for a tiny, flickering candle sitting on a table across from the bed. Maleficent had gone to her own room, and the others had returned to their own worlds. The silver-haired boy stood, walking back down the dark corridor, out to the chapel.
The pedestal stood there, beckoning. He stepped forward, slowly, his footsteps echoing slightly off the stone walls. He stepped lightly, carefully, making as little noise as possible so as to not stir Maleficent from her sleep. He reached the pedestal, the faint green dome flickered and brightened, and there he was.
"Sora.."
Riku reached out, brushing his hand over the image, which flickered. Sora blinked and turned, seeming to look straight at him. Riku's heart jumped in his chest, but then sighed as he saw a figure approach, some unknown man with long brown hair. So.. he couldn't be seen from here, after all. Eyes lowered.
"..what are you doing out so late, boy?"
Riku jumped and whirled about. The hologram vanished from the dome, but Maleficent had seen it already. She laughed quietly, looking at the pedestal, where Sora's image had just been.
"..I see. So.. you really do care for him, do you?" She asked, laughing as she stepped over. "Go on. Keep looking." She said. Riku looked up at her, confused.
Why is she helping me..?
"..go on." She put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around gently, and he looked back into the dome as Sora reappeared, fighting a few odd creatures.
"Heartless." Maleficent explained, pointing to the creatures. "They are all under our control.."
"Our?" Riku asked, blinking up at her. She smiled.
"Yes.. mine, and also the others, the ones you saw when you arrived." She said, and he nodded, eyes falling back down to Sora. He was now accompanied by two companions, one a duck and the other a dog-like figure. He blinked, eyes narrowing. Who were they?
Sora.. do you miss me.. at all?
~*~
Deciding to stay the night in one of the rooms at the Hotel, the three headed back to Second District with Leon, who introduced Sora to Aerith, a young woman who Goofy said had helped he and Donald find the Key. Yuffie ran ahead, full of energy, unlocking the door to her room and bursting inside. The others retired to their respective rooms, worn out.
Sora lay down on a bed in the room he was sharing with Leon.. the man had pulled him aside. He wanted to talk, he'd said. Sora watched him expectantly from the bed. He removed his jacket and set it down, then sat down on the second bed in the room, staring at the floor for a long while before he spoke.
"..your friends. Who are they?" He asked, his voice still soft, yet deep and strong at the same time. Sora blinked.
"..uh.. Kairi, and Riku. Kairi's this really nice girl.. and Riku.. well, Riku.." He hesitated, biting down on his lower lip. Leon watched him with piercing grey-blue eyes, understanding swirling somewhere within those depths. Sora watched him, giving up on finishing that sentence. Leon spoke again.
"You remind me a lot of someone I used to know." He said, faint traces of a smile on his face. "..Aerith knew him well.. I suppose you could call her.. his Kairi?" He asked. Sora blinked in confusion. Leon shook his head and explained.
"I mean.. Aerith liked him, as I assume Kairi likes you.. but he didn't exactly want the affection from her.. he wanted it from me." He shook his head again. "Not sure how that happened, it just kinda.. did. The same thing's going on with you and Riku, isn't it, Sora?"
Sora blinked, amazed.
"Y-yeah.. it is.. how'd you know?"
"..call it experience." Leon answered, rubbing the back of his head. Sora smiled.
"You'd better get some sleep." The man said, waving a hand. "I've gotta go check up on the town, make sure no Heartless are terrorizing anyone.." He picked up his gunblade from the ground and left the room.
Sora sighed, looking outside.. at some point during the conversation, it had started to rain. His heart ached, it seemed as though there was a void in the place that Riku had filled for him. He missed Kairi, sure.. but it was for the silver-haired boy that he longed the most for. He stepped outside the hotel, not really sure why, and stared up at the sky, raindroplets splattering on his face. No Heartless emerged, so Sora remained where he was. He leaned over the small wall that dropped down to the lower area of the Second District. Water pooled in the fountain, spilling over the wall. He sighed, the water was drenching him, but he didn't care.. he wasn't even cold.
"Riku.."
Sora let out a soft, involuntary whimper, sinking to his knees in the freezing rain. He let it pound down upon him relentlessly, thinking somewhere in the back of his mind that he could punish himself this way for letting all this happen. For not being able to save even one of his friends. For letting them slip away.
"I'm so sorry.."
He fell foward, on his hands and knees now. He sniffed, tears beginning to slip from his eyes for the first time since he'd arrived to his place. He collapsed into shuddering sobs, unable to help himself. He'd lost everything. His island, Riku, Kairi, everything and everyone.
It wasn't long before he felt himself collapse out of sheer exhaustion, passing out before he could feel the strong arms that lifted him up and carried him back inside.
~*~
Somewhere very far away, a pair of green eyes shed a single tear as they watched what was going on.
~*~To Be Continued...
Yep. Lots and lots of good angst for you there, folks. R&R, please? ^_^;