Silver Lining: It Takes Two
Author's note: Sorry for taking some much time for this chapter. Gomen
Gomen. It's just that I have been having a hectic time lately and writing
had taken a backseat. To make up for the time loss, I present to you this
new chapter that is accompanied by a totally irrelevant picture of Riku I
did. For those who had read Mr Destiny Islands, you would probably realize
that I just could not resist not doing a fanart of the Riku-with-his-shirt-
off-sequences. *Stares* *prod* *poke*. Ah... now the story finally gets on
its way... a short gist of what has been happening: Riku (aka heartless
bishie) and his servant/slave Selphie (aka girl turn canary) set out on a
quest into the Real Realm in search of Riku's bride (?). Sora (aka poor my-
first-love-just-died-in-my-arms boy) happens to meet Riku and feels an
affinity for the silver haired hunk. Sparks (and feathers) fly and you
know... Okay. Onto the next chapter!
Now onto the serious bit: If you are not a Sora/ Riku fan, you either stay away or get converted. This piece of fiction is set in an alternate reality/universe. In other words, everything but the characters (they might also be altered) is different from the original Kingdom Heart storyline. Many apologies for naughty thoughts, bad grammar and spelling because I just cannot be bothered to check my work beyond a cursory glance. No offense to Kairi supporters for killing her off in the beginning of the story. It's just that slash would not work with a girl in the way. And since I am sure some people are irritated that I butcher my story with such callousness, I am looking for a nice beta reader to do all the checking for me ^-^.
Disclaimer: None of the KH characters belong to me, they belong to those who spent their youth designing and developing them.
Sora was not a morning person.
So when Riku had returned from his little quest to find some food for his travel mate, Sora was still stuck in the messy bundle of blankets and deep in sleep.
The morning was cold and Riku decided that a little heat to warm things up would be a good thing. And since little spikey was still lost in slumberland, Riku had no qualms of using a bit of his power to ignite a campfire. He held out one hand and gave it a casual twirl. Random stones and branches were guided by the unnatural wind to settle upon an open spot a safe distance away from "sleeping beauty". Then Riku snapped his fingers and "poof"---instant fire.
Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe it was intentional, but whatever the reason, the fire caught Selphie by surprise as the little yellow ball was making her way to Riku's side. Unable to stop herself in time, Selphie dived head first through the bright and dangerous flames. At the very last moment, Riku smiled and flicked his wrist. Selphie did not feel the heat from the still fire. To prevent his servant from being charbroiled, Riku had frozen the fire "in time", literally.
Selphie crash landed onto the soft dirt a safe distance away from the fire, which had melted into bright orange flames that flickered as if taunting her. She should have gotten used to Riku-sama's sardonic sense of humour by now. Shaking her little head, she shook away the negative thoughts. Her master enjoyed playing pranks on her (ref. Turning her into a bright yellow bird) and making her worry. But he never really did harm her. He would always stop before things got out of hand. Selphie did feel frightened by her narrow escape, but she knew Riku-sama was in control and did not blame him, as he would never hurt her. Selphie did not know if her master had the capacity to love anything or anyone. But she knew that he took care of her as she took care of him.
The sound tossing and turning in the bundle of blankets told Riku and his canary that Sora was waking up.
Riku withdrew the sparks of his power back into the depth of his hand. Cold blue eyes flashed. He walked towards Sora and kneeled down. As he bent forward to take a closer look at the half hidden face, locks of silver hair fell free from his loose braid and slide over his shoulder.
When Sora half-opened his eyes, he saw what seemed like silver threads of silk beckoning him to reach out and touch them. Sora's slender hand moved to caress the soft silver, taking a lock and twining it between his fingers. Then he saw a smile. A smile he liked as it radiated a gentle warmth that made him drowsy. Sora tugged on the silver cord he held and the smile came closer. Smiling too, Sora closed his eyes once again before opening them. His deep blue eyes meet a cold blue gaze.
Once the image of Riku registered in Sora's sleepy consciousness, he jerked back. Riku reflectively stopped Sora from withdrawing the hand that had toyed with his silver hair. Sora turned bright pink as his eyes fell on Riku's strong hand holding onto his wrist. He released his fingers and silver fell.
A playful grin played upon Riku's lips as he pulled Sora roughly, out of his cocoon of blankets. The boy stumbled out and into Riku's arms.
*
Selphie sighed as she watched her master toy with "porcupine head". She suddenly felt empathy towards Sora. She knew what things were in store for "spikey" if Riku-same felt a vague sense of interest in him. Poor Sora would have to 'suffer' at her master's hand. At least Riku-sama had found a new plaything to occupy himself with and Selphie did not have to worry about herself becoming the target of her masters' entertainment.
*
A tiny box fell out of Sora's pocket as he fell into Riku's arms.
Sora blushed furiously as he scrambled to get out of Riku's embrace.
"My... bo... box..." stuttered Sora as searched the ground for the fallen box.
Riku stood up slowly and folded his arms across his chest.
Sora scratched his head in puzzlement. He remembered that the box had fallen out of his pocket and onto the ground when Riku grabbed him. It could not have gone far. Yet, as he pawed the ground, he found no traces of the box. Riku found Sora's reaction totally fascinating. It was a pretty picture that Sora painted, looking all flustered and worried at the same time against the autumn backdrop of yellows and browns.
Sora's face fell as seconds passed with no box in sight. Selphie felt a surge of camaraderie and spread her yellow wings. She flew over to settle upon an exposed tree root, next to Sora. Selphie folded her wings and started to groom herself. When she looked up, Riku-sama was smiling smugly to himself and Selphie decided that poor Sora had suffer enough.
"Riku-sama! Stop playing with Sora! Can you see he is going to cry?"
Sora's head jerked up and teary orbs of baby blue stared at Riku. Riku sighed and offered a hand to Sora. The brown haired boy looked down again at his dirty hands and conveniently wiped the dirt off on his bright red pants, leaving streaks of light brown. Sora took Riku's hand and stood up unsteadily.
Front behind his back, Riku brought forward the palm sized box that Sora had been looking for. Instead of blowing up at Riku for is mischief, Sora flashed him a brilliant smile and took the box back and opened it.
The box was made of gold, and an intricate design of the letters "K" and "H" was engraved then filled with tiny diamonds, making the box seem more regal than it size befits it. Judging by the exterior appearance of the box, whatever lay within must be special.
A rare burst of curiosity filled Riku's soul.
"What is in the box?"
Sora looked up to see Riku staring intensely at him.
"Well... it's nothing much... the treasure I am suppose to deliver to someone."
Sora used his thumb and his middle finger to pick up the delicate silver chain within the box. At the end of the chain, were two pendants, shaped like keys.
What the pendants looked like was really hard describe as other then the fact that it resembled miniature keys, it was covered with a protective glow that muted any colour or design crafted upon the pendants. However, one key was covered with a silvery glow while the other was dusted with gold.
Riku was more interested in the look of delight upon Sora face, rather than the pendants that the latter was fascinated with.
Selphie was not as immune to the attractive glow of the pendants as her master was.
"Kirei~... its so pretty, what are they... really...?"
Sora looked to his side and saw Selphie hopping towards him. "I don't really know. But it is obvious that they are no ordinary pendants. All I know is that Princess Aurora hired me to deliver this to Queen Minnie."
"Oh... so we are heading to the King's palace aren't we?" asked Selphie perceptively.
"The King's palace..." words drifted off Sora's lips as memories of the past, of storming into the palaces to beg for help, rushed into his mind.
He did not want to accept this task, but he was indebted to Queen Minnie, for showing him sympathy and helping him bury the memories of a destroyed hometown. Princess Aurora had chosen him for the task as she saw the natural innocence that Sora possessed, despite his loss. Sora was a treasure hunter, but Princess Aurora was sure hewould carry out the mission without questioning the reason. Unlike other treasure hunters, Sora was not after the money or rewards.
Riku sensed a change in Sora's mood and changed the subject.
"Come, sit by the fire. The morning is still cold."
Sora's eyes dimmed but heed Riku's advice. He moved to sit next to Riku. But the heat he felt did not come from the fire, but from the subtle warmth that came from Riku's crystal blue eyes...
When the sun hung halfway from it's peak, the trio had cleared up the campsite and set off on the journey to the Southern Lakes. Once they crossed the lakes, the real journey would truly begin.
Ending Note: , sorry if the last bit sounded like Frodo on his quest to Mordor... but really, it's much more than that.
Now onto the serious bit: If you are not a Sora/ Riku fan, you either stay away or get converted. This piece of fiction is set in an alternate reality/universe. In other words, everything but the characters (they might also be altered) is different from the original Kingdom Heart storyline. Many apologies for naughty thoughts, bad grammar and spelling because I just cannot be bothered to check my work beyond a cursory glance. No offense to Kairi supporters for killing her off in the beginning of the story. It's just that slash would not work with a girl in the way. And since I am sure some people are irritated that I butcher my story with such callousness, I am looking for a nice beta reader to do all the checking for me ^-^.
Disclaimer: None of the KH characters belong to me, they belong to those who spent their youth designing and developing them.
Sora was not a morning person.
So when Riku had returned from his little quest to find some food for his travel mate, Sora was still stuck in the messy bundle of blankets and deep in sleep.
The morning was cold and Riku decided that a little heat to warm things up would be a good thing. And since little spikey was still lost in slumberland, Riku had no qualms of using a bit of his power to ignite a campfire. He held out one hand and gave it a casual twirl. Random stones and branches were guided by the unnatural wind to settle upon an open spot a safe distance away from "sleeping beauty". Then Riku snapped his fingers and "poof"---instant fire.
Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe it was intentional, but whatever the reason, the fire caught Selphie by surprise as the little yellow ball was making her way to Riku's side. Unable to stop herself in time, Selphie dived head first through the bright and dangerous flames. At the very last moment, Riku smiled and flicked his wrist. Selphie did not feel the heat from the still fire. To prevent his servant from being charbroiled, Riku had frozen the fire "in time", literally.
Selphie crash landed onto the soft dirt a safe distance away from the fire, which had melted into bright orange flames that flickered as if taunting her. She should have gotten used to Riku-sama's sardonic sense of humour by now. Shaking her little head, she shook away the negative thoughts. Her master enjoyed playing pranks on her (ref. Turning her into a bright yellow bird) and making her worry. But he never really did harm her. He would always stop before things got out of hand. Selphie did feel frightened by her narrow escape, but she knew Riku-sama was in control and did not blame him, as he would never hurt her. Selphie did not know if her master had the capacity to love anything or anyone. But she knew that he took care of her as she took care of him.
The sound tossing and turning in the bundle of blankets told Riku and his canary that Sora was waking up.
Riku withdrew the sparks of his power back into the depth of his hand. Cold blue eyes flashed. He walked towards Sora and kneeled down. As he bent forward to take a closer look at the half hidden face, locks of silver hair fell free from his loose braid and slide over his shoulder.
When Sora half-opened his eyes, he saw what seemed like silver threads of silk beckoning him to reach out and touch them. Sora's slender hand moved to caress the soft silver, taking a lock and twining it between his fingers. Then he saw a smile. A smile he liked as it radiated a gentle warmth that made him drowsy. Sora tugged on the silver cord he held and the smile came closer. Smiling too, Sora closed his eyes once again before opening them. His deep blue eyes meet a cold blue gaze.
Once the image of Riku registered in Sora's sleepy consciousness, he jerked back. Riku reflectively stopped Sora from withdrawing the hand that had toyed with his silver hair. Sora turned bright pink as his eyes fell on Riku's strong hand holding onto his wrist. He released his fingers and silver fell.
A playful grin played upon Riku's lips as he pulled Sora roughly, out of his cocoon of blankets. The boy stumbled out and into Riku's arms.
*
Selphie sighed as she watched her master toy with "porcupine head". She suddenly felt empathy towards Sora. She knew what things were in store for "spikey" if Riku-same felt a vague sense of interest in him. Poor Sora would have to 'suffer' at her master's hand. At least Riku-sama had found a new plaything to occupy himself with and Selphie did not have to worry about herself becoming the target of her masters' entertainment.
*
A tiny box fell out of Sora's pocket as he fell into Riku's arms.
Sora blushed furiously as he scrambled to get out of Riku's embrace.
"My... bo... box..." stuttered Sora as searched the ground for the fallen box.
Riku stood up slowly and folded his arms across his chest.
Sora scratched his head in puzzlement. He remembered that the box had fallen out of his pocket and onto the ground when Riku grabbed him. It could not have gone far. Yet, as he pawed the ground, he found no traces of the box. Riku found Sora's reaction totally fascinating. It was a pretty picture that Sora painted, looking all flustered and worried at the same time against the autumn backdrop of yellows and browns.
Sora's face fell as seconds passed with no box in sight. Selphie felt a surge of camaraderie and spread her yellow wings. She flew over to settle upon an exposed tree root, next to Sora. Selphie folded her wings and started to groom herself. When she looked up, Riku-sama was smiling smugly to himself and Selphie decided that poor Sora had suffer enough.
"Riku-sama! Stop playing with Sora! Can you see he is going to cry?"
Sora's head jerked up and teary orbs of baby blue stared at Riku. Riku sighed and offered a hand to Sora. The brown haired boy looked down again at his dirty hands and conveniently wiped the dirt off on his bright red pants, leaving streaks of light brown. Sora took Riku's hand and stood up unsteadily.
Front behind his back, Riku brought forward the palm sized box that Sora had been looking for. Instead of blowing up at Riku for is mischief, Sora flashed him a brilliant smile and took the box back and opened it.
The box was made of gold, and an intricate design of the letters "K" and "H" was engraved then filled with tiny diamonds, making the box seem more regal than it size befits it. Judging by the exterior appearance of the box, whatever lay within must be special.
A rare burst of curiosity filled Riku's soul.
"What is in the box?"
Sora looked up to see Riku staring intensely at him.
"Well... it's nothing much... the treasure I am suppose to deliver to someone."
Sora used his thumb and his middle finger to pick up the delicate silver chain within the box. At the end of the chain, were two pendants, shaped like keys.
What the pendants looked like was really hard describe as other then the fact that it resembled miniature keys, it was covered with a protective glow that muted any colour or design crafted upon the pendants. However, one key was covered with a silvery glow while the other was dusted with gold.
Riku was more interested in the look of delight upon Sora face, rather than the pendants that the latter was fascinated with.
Selphie was not as immune to the attractive glow of the pendants as her master was.
"Kirei~... its so pretty, what are they... really...?"
Sora looked to his side and saw Selphie hopping towards him. "I don't really know. But it is obvious that they are no ordinary pendants. All I know is that Princess Aurora hired me to deliver this to Queen Minnie."
"Oh... so we are heading to the King's palace aren't we?" asked Selphie perceptively.
"The King's palace..." words drifted off Sora's lips as memories of the past, of storming into the palaces to beg for help, rushed into his mind.
He did not want to accept this task, but he was indebted to Queen Minnie, for showing him sympathy and helping him bury the memories of a destroyed hometown. Princess Aurora had chosen him for the task as she saw the natural innocence that Sora possessed, despite his loss. Sora was a treasure hunter, but Princess Aurora was sure hewould carry out the mission without questioning the reason. Unlike other treasure hunters, Sora was not after the money or rewards.
Riku sensed a change in Sora's mood and changed the subject.
"Come, sit by the fire. The morning is still cold."
Sora's eyes dimmed but heed Riku's advice. He moved to sit next to Riku. But the heat he felt did not come from the fire, but from the subtle warmth that came from Riku's crystal blue eyes...
When the sun hung halfway from it's peak, the trio had cleared up the campsite and set off on the journey to the Southern Lakes. Once they crossed the lakes, the real journey would truly begin.
Ending Note: , sorry if the last bit sounded like Frodo on his quest to Mordor... but really, it's much more than that.