AN: WOW, OMG I am so sorry! XD I can't believe I've been so bad! How long has it been now... close to 3 months since I've updated? Aww, I'm soo very sorry *bows* but it's crazy being in high school :S messes ya up! Anyways, here's the next chapter, sorry again! (I'm so evil *evil laugh* *fans chase me with a giant lollie pop* HA HA!! I lost all my fans, you can't attack me! *fans..... poof*
Disclaimers: Yea, I still don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything in it. I really hate saying this over and over cuz it's annoying but if I don't' I might get sued that we don't' want that to happen now do we? (Rhetorical question!! *fans: AWW*
Time Flies
"Haven't you had enough already?" Sora said as the three beaten youths lying on the sand, panting. He had just whooped all of them in a three-on-one fight.
"Ok, so you have gotten better," said Wakka between pants.
"A lot better," added Tidus.
Selphie just sat there, defeated, but then went to the edge of the dock to stare out and daydream again.
"Wow, do you think you could teach me some of your moves some time?" asked Tidus, slapping Sora playfully across the back.
"Don't forget me," said Wakka pointing at himself with him thumb.
"Sure," said Sora. He had to admit, it was fun being the best for change, "But I'm going to head in. I want to get to the main island early today."
"Ok, Wakka and I will practice," said Tidus. The two boys bounded away and immediately started battling against each other.
"Sora," said a voice from behind him. It was Kairi's and he turned to face her, "Come on, you can come with me in my boat."
She smiled and Sora couldn't help but smile back.
'I'm going to go back too," said Selphie getting up, "You sure gave me a work out there Sora."
"Ok, hey do you mind if Donald and Goofy tag along in you're boat?" asked Sora as the two came up behind him.
"Sure," replied Selphie with a smile. They all got into the boats. Sora and Kairi was in one and Selphie, Donald and Goofy in the other. The two vessels made their way across the water toward the large main island of Destiny Islands. The sun still hadn't set by the time they docked and went their separate ways.
"Bye, see you tomorrow Selphie," Sora and Kairi each said.
"Hey, Sora," said Kairi. Sora looked over to her and she took a step closer. She leaned up and kissed him gently, "Good night."
Sora watched as she skipped away toward the mayor's house where she was found and where she had been welcomed to stay. Sora turned and with Donald and Goofy at his back, headed toward his own house.
"Hey, where did you two guys stay last night anyway?" Sora asked, coming to a stop.
"Well, you're friends told the mayor about how we help bring back the words so he gave us free rooms in a motel," answered Goofy.
"Ah, ok then," said Sora and continued walking.
When he finally reached the foot of the door to his house, he stopped and stared for a moment. Questions flooded into his mind. What would his parents think of Donald and Goofy? What would they say when he told then about him being the key bearer and saving countless words from the darkness? Had they even remembered him? Had they been looking for him? Or did they give him up for dead?
Sora forced all these thoughts out of his head for a moment and raised his hand to the doorknob. Slowly, he turned it, pushed the door open and gazed into the home he hand not seen for what seemed like forever.
~*~
She came right up behind him. All she needed to do was slam the end of the torch stick against Riku's head then she might just burn him alive once he was down. She was breathing heavy. She had to do it; do it, kill him.
'Yes,' said the voice inside her head, 'Do it, kill that good-for-nothing boy!'
Riku was still examining the wall when he heard Mariha behind. He could hear her breathing, panting almost right behind him. Something was wrong. He spun around quickly and caught that end of the stick that was aimed for his head. Mariha clutched it still, Riku's hands over hers to stop the impact of the blow, and stared at him in surprise.
When he looked at her, when she saw him, she let go of the torch, which fell to the ground, rolling a little as it landed. She still stared at him, stunned by surprise.
"Mariha?" said Riku looking at her in confusion.
She didn't reply, but stayed completely motionless. It seemed as if her body was just an empty shell, with no soul or mind. Riku gazed into her eyes, but they were blank and hollow. It's Ansem! It must be!
"Let her go!" he yelled and grabbed her shoulders and shaking her with great force, "You better leave her alone you!"
Then he felt it, the evil essence that was inside her, it lifted and darted away. Mariha went limp in his arms.
"Are you ok?" Riku asked. Mariha opened her eyes and stared at him with a puzzled look.
"Yea, why wouldn't I be?" she said, eyes whole again, "Hey, what happened?"
"You -a... nothing."
"Okaaaaaaaaaay...."
"You sure you feel alright?" asked Riku again, he wanted to make sure it was Mariha who was in there.
"Riku, you're creeping me out," she replied, "Are YOU ok?"
"O, sorry," Riku muttered, "I guess this place is just making me uptight."
"Sure is, hey, is that the door out of here?"
"Huh?" said Riku looking over his shoulder, "O, yea it is."
"Well, aren't you going to open it?" asked Mariha, still kneeling on the floor while Riku stood up and stared at the door, thought it looked more like he was looking right through it.
What had just happened? He knew it was Ansem who possessed her like that, but how? Maybe that dark thing did it for him. She was back, no doubt about it, but, and Riku feared the thought for a second, Ansem was getting closer to him, closer to breaking him.
"Riku!"
Mariha's call brought him back into reality.
"Riku, come on," she said and Riku only realized now that she was pushing on the big doors, "Help me with this will you!"
Riku went over and began pushing on the door. It was really heavy. He pushed with all his strength, not like there was much left, and both of them combined couldn't even move it an inch. Mariha slumped against it in exhaustion after pushing on it for a couple minutes, and Riku put one hand on it to support himself.
What if they couldn't get out of that tunnel? It already took them so long to get to this end, it'd take up too much time to go back, and then to have to go over those rocks could take days since they still didn't know how long it stretched for.
No! Riku yelled at himself, I won't let this stop us, I can't be late to meet Sora he can't wait forever for me. Riku had a passion so strong to go home, nothing could stop him, nothing would, not even this stupid door that would open! Where was his heart? Right when he needed it, it wasn't there. But with that determination to be back on his island again, a determination even greater than he had ever felt before, he felt it. He found it. His heart's light, it was back! The one he had when he was an innocent child on an island where no one understood him.
Riku took a glance from the floor to the door. He would open it no matter what! Suddenly, he thought he saw a speck of light appear on the stone surface, forming something on the door. It -it looked like a keyhole! Riku stared at it in shock then thought he felt something shoot out from his body, from his heart, like an invisible energy. But suddenly the door he was leaning on began to move. And the keyhole disappeared into another speck of light, fading away into nothing.
"Riku," Mariha gasped, confused yet amazed, "It's moving!"
He looked at the door with the same confused and surprised expression on his face. He took his hand off from the door. Then door stopped moving. Riku looked at his hands.
"Mariha, hurry! Help me push!"
Together they pushed, and to door slowly creaked open. When the two stopped pushing, the doors stopped, and they stared out into the dark waist land of Kingdom Hearts once more. Riku looked over to Mariha and was glad to see a big simile on her face.
"Whew! We're finally out!" she said, stepping out of the tunnel. Then adding with a glace over her shoulder at Riku, "I guess you were right, I didn't have anything to worry about with going through there."
"Umm... yea," was all Riku said, looking away from her glance awkwardly. She didn't know... she didn't need to know.
"Hey Riku," he heard her say from a surprisingly close distance. He looked in her direction and almost jumped backwards when he saw her face so close to his. It must've been no more than two or three centimeters away from his nose to hers.
He didn't realize he was staring at her with his mouth gawking open and face bushing a deep red, until she laughed and tugged on his arm.
"Catch me if you can!" she said, pushing him over before turning and bolting into a run.
"Hey!" shouted Riku as he fell against the rock wall behind him. Mariha stopped and looked back over at him, making taunting faces at him.
"O I'm so going to get you for that!" he called, rubbing his shoulder from the impact of the rock with it and chasing after her.
Mariha started running again as soon as he did, but even with her head start, Riku was still faster and eventually caught up with her. He grabbed her arm and she swung around, trying to get free. But as she pulled, she stumbled and fell forwards, landing on Riku. They both fell to the ground, Riku stuck under Mariha.
At first they both blushed as Riku let go of her arm and she tried to get off of him. Then she rolled over and started to laugh when he pushed her over. They say there, just laughing for a moment. They weren't laughing at anything, it wasn't that funny, but they laughed. Laughter was a way to cover their despair in the journey that seemed to get more and more hopeless as they went, to let them forget for a second about their dark reality.
They had stopped close to the start of a steep rocky hill. There were those black mushroom things around on side of a sort of path leading up, so Riku and Mariha took shelter under one of them. They hadn't said a word to each other while they crouched under the little roof of the strange plantlike thing as they came back into their desperate world of reality once more. The silence was then broken, but not by a voice, by Riku's stomach growling. He blushed in embarrassment while Mariha giggled.
"Hey, how about some of that soup you made last time?" he asked.
"Yea, I'm starving too," replied Mariha then crawled out to gather her ingredients. As Riku watched her go here and there picking up things as she went, another pang of hunger ran through him in an agonizing moan.
Yea, yea, he thought. But then, come to think of it, they hadn't had a proper meal all throughout their stay in Ansems dungeon. But that was no wonder anyways. Riku and Mariha had been living off the little bowl of water they'd get everyday and Mariha had used some for Riku's injuries even then.
Riku pulled up his shirt and looked at himself. He was so skinny! Nothing but skin and bones. But man he'd have fun filling it all up again! He felt like he could eat a world! This world in fact, it's not like anyone would miss its dark loneliness.
Riku chuckled a bit. He remembered when he was younger, back on his island, he was fascinated by how much Sora ate and yet stayed as skinny as ever. Yep, Sora had the stomach and Riku had the muscles. But now, Riku guessed that he probably had a bigger stomach than Sora, after being starved, and Sora would probably be able to beat Riku in a physical competition since he was now the key bearer. Actually, Sora had beaten Riku before, in Hollow Bastion, twice really, but the second had been Ansem controlling Riku's body so it didn't really count.
"Crazy how everything's the opposite now," he said to himself. After all, even though Mariha was still cheery, she became easily afraid thanks to that stupid Ansem; which wasn't like her before.
"Hmm?" said Mariha ducking in beside him, arms full of the things Riku recognized from the last time she cooked.
"Nothing," replied Riku. Mariha shrugged then when to work making the fire then mixing up the soup. When the both of them were fed to the max, Riku rested against the base of the mushroom thing they were under and made a deep sigh.
"Ah, that's better," he said. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he heard Mariha creep next to him and felt her head rest on his shoulder. He opened one eye to look at her then yawned and stretched his arm around her. She snuggled closer, wrapping her arms around his waist and now resting her head to the side of his chest. Then, they both fell into sleep.
~*~
Sora lay in his bed. Back in his room that was exactly the way he had left it. Cloths still scattered the floor, toys and games stashed messily on the shelves, and his little model sailboat hanging in its place from the ceiling.
His parents had taken his news very well, which he thought was just a bit odd. They sat and listened while he ran through everything that had happened. His mom didn't freak out like he thought she would. His dad didn't scold him for getting into those dangerous situations. No, they somehow understood completely why Sora had to do all the things he did. They trusted him to make the right decisions. But it seemed like something more. It seemed like they knew exactly what was going on... but how could that be?
Sora's parents had let Donald and Goofy stay in the spare bedroom and were very kind to them. But it was late now. Sora only just realized how long it had really been since all of his adventures. So he lay in bed now, glad to be in his soft bed once again. He lay there staring out his window, exactly like he had when he first noticed the storm that had started it all. So, as he had all that time ago, he lay there, unable to shake of the excitement about tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, Sora would set Riku free, then everyone would be safely back at last.
Sora was so excited about seeing his old friend again, he forgot about those questions that worried him before. Only one question was able to leek into his mind. 'Will it still be like old times when he gets back?' but Sora already knew the answer to this one. Surprisingly, it didn't bother him as much now that it did before. After all that answer was obvious from the start. That answer, was no.
~*~
Riku was back in his six-year-old body and mind. He had been living with Naomi in the orphanage for three months now. There was no real caretaker for the orphanage, only a young, but very smart 14-year-old girl named Yuna who acted as everyone's big sister. She was the one who took care of everyone, being the oldest, by watching over the younger children as they played and making sure there was food to feed their hungry stomachs. Yuna also had a bit of healing magic so all of the children could stay healthy and well.
After Yuna, Riku was the next oldest. There were only seven kids in their little family. Yuna; Naomi at five; a four-year-old girl named Tifa; Riona, same aged girl as Tifa; a quiet two-year-old who hardly ever left Yuna's side called Zack; and infant boy named Zadain; and Riku himself. Bur Riku never really spoke to the other kids save Naomi. All of them, even Yuna, were uncomfortable in his presence. So, Riku would take the only little fishing boat on the island and, with Naomi, they would go out to explore the seas.
One day, out on the water, Riku decided to go farther out that he had gone before. The two eventually landed on the little island that Riku would now remember as the one he used to visit everyday with Sora and Kairi.
"Wow, I didn't know this was here," said Naomi as they tied up their boat on the dock conveniently built there.
"Me neither," added Riku. Wide-eyed he gazed all around him. The sun was shining on a sandy beach. There were huge trees with massive trunks that many seemed to stand as tree houses. It was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. It was like a paradise island. Then, something caught his ear... it was laughter.
"Hey look," said Naomi pointing, "Looks like other people know about this place too."
Sure enough, there were four kids running along the beaches playing tag. They looked to be about the same age as Riku and Naomi and didn't notice the pair looked down at them. They ran in a line. The first runner was a dark-skinned boy with flaming red hair. The second, Riku recognized from his home on the main island, was a short boy with messy blond hair. The third was a girl with short blond hair that flipped outwards towards the bottom. And finally, the last boy, who apparently was also "it", was a lanky kid with light brown hair, even messier that the blond boy's, with bouncing blue eyes.
That boy, the brown haired one, was the first to notice Riku and Naomi standing there. He stopped running and stared at them, or was he staring at Riku?
Oh no, Riku thought. They were all the same. More kids to scare because of his different appearance. Naomi, however, smiled and waved cheerfully and nudged Riku to do the same. He smiled meekly and waved his hand a bit. Surprisingly, the boy grinned and waved back. He left the others to run as he bounded up to Naomi and Riku.
"Hi," he said cheerfully, "My name's Sora."
"Hello, I'm Naomi."
The new boy, Sora, looked over at Riku, waiting for his name. Riku just stared. This boy, he wasn't afraid of him! Maybe this was a sign that he was getting a fresh start, that these other kids wouldn't be afraid of him either! He totally zoned out and was only brought back when Naomi elbowed him in the side.
"Huh? O! I'm R-Riku," he stuttered, still dazed that more people seemed to be less afraid of him these days.
Sora smiled with a little nod. "Hey, you wanna play with us?"
Riku still couldn't believe it. Was it all to good to be true? He nodded vigorously.
"Ok," said Sora. He turned and called over to his companions, "Hey you guys! They're gonna play too ok?"
The other three children had been watching their friend confront the two new strangers the whole time but kept their distance. They were all staring frightfully at Riku.
Riku's heart sank. He knew it! It WAS all too good to be true. As he gazed up at the redheaded youth, the boy quickly glanced away. It was just like at home. He wasn't welcome here. But still, this boy Sora wasn't scared of him. Riku still didn't know why Naomi was unaffected by his looks and now Sora? It was all so confusing.
"Guys, this is Riku and Naomi," Sora announced proudly, no noticing his friends' uneasiness. He then turned to Riku, "The girl is Selphie, Wakka's that one with the orange hair and Tidus is the blond."
Despite Selphie, Wakka and Tidus' uneasiness around Riku, they all played tag together until the sun was low in the sky. Mind you, Riku noticed that Selphie and the others would never run after him. Finally, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka went home but Sora stayed back to talk to Riku some more.
"So, where do you live?" he asked, "I've never seen you on the main island before, although we did just move to it."
Naomi opened her mouth to reply but Riku cut her off before a word was said.
"On one of the other islands, not the main island," Riku replied, "But pretty far from this one, that's why we've never come here before."
Naomi gave him a questioning look. Why did he cut her off? Riku gave her a look that she could read no problem: just follow my lead. He hadn't lied at all about where they lived, but he hadn't mentioned them living in an orphanage either. But, if he didn't want Sora to know, I guess it was ok since no lie was told. It's not like it was that big of a deal anyways.
"That's neat," Sora said, "Well, it was fun playing with you, I gotta get back... see you tomorrow?"
"Definitely," said Naomi. She took a sideways glance at Riku and could tell by the combined surprised and excited look on his face from the invitation to come back and play with this boy that he wouldn't be able to say anything.
Sora grinned then with a wave goodbye, jumped into his boat and paddled away. Riku sat on the dock as Naomi got up to wave over to Sora out on the water. He still couldn't believe it, and he didn't know if he ever would. He finally had friends, playmates to have fun with, to talk to. After he thought the entire world hated him, there were still these two who would be by his side. He promised himself from then on, that he'd put his friends first. That he'd do anything for them. After all, if everyone else hated you, wouldn't you do the same for the few that accepted you?
AN: XD ME SORRY AGAIN!!!! Aww, there's prolly no one left to read this anymore cuz i prolly took to long so they left! O.o *sigh* the things i bring upon myself-_- anywho, hope ya like that up there *points to the chapter* yea, i wouldn't hold your breath for the next update if i were you... but i'll *try* to get it up pretty soon.... yea, later then!
Disclaimers: Yea, I still don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything in it. I really hate saying this over and over cuz it's annoying but if I don't' I might get sued that we don't' want that to happen now do we? (Rhetorical question!! *fans: AWW*
Time Flies
"Haven't you had enough already?" Sora said as the three beaten youths lying on the sand, panting. He had just whooped all of them in a three-on-one fight.
"Ok, so you have gotten better," said Wakka between pants.
"A lot better," added Tidus.
Selphie just sat there, defeated, but then went to the edge of the dock to stare out and daydream again.
"Wow, do you think you could teach me some of your moves some time?" asked Tidus, slapping Sora playfully across the back.
"Don't forget me," said Wakka pointing at himself with him thumb.
"Sure," said Sora. He had to admit, it was fun being the best for change, "But I'm going to head in. I want to get to the main island early today."
"Ok, Wakka and I will practice," said Tidus. The two boys bounded away and immediately started battling against each other.
"Sora," said a voice from behind him. It was Kairi's and he turned to face her, "Come on, you can come with me in my boat."
She smiled and Sora couldn't help but smile back.
'I'm going to go back too," said Selphie getting up, "You sure gave me a work out there Sora."
"Ok, hey do you mind if Donald and Goofy tag along in you're boat?" asked Sora as the two came up behind him.
"Sure," replied Selphie with a smile. They all got into the boats. Sora and Kairi was in one and Selphie, Donald and Goofy in the other. The two vessels made their way across the water toward the large main island of Destiny Islands. The sun still hadn't set by the time they docked and went their separate ways.
"Bye, see you tomorrow Selphie," Sora and Kairi each said.
"Hey, Sora," said Kairi. Sora looked over to her and she took a step closer. She leaned up and kissed him gently, "Good night."
Sora watched as she skipped away toward the mayor's house where she was found and where she had been welcomed to stay. Sora turned and with Donald and Goofy at his back, headed toward his own house.
"Hey, where did you two guys stay last night anyway?" Sora asked, coming to a stop.
"Well, you're friends told the mayor about how we help bring back the words so he gave us free rooms in a motel," answered Goofy.
"Ah, ok then," said Sora and continued walking.
When he finally reached the foot of the door to his house, he stopped and stared for a moment. Questions flooded into his mind. What would his parents think of Donald and Goofy? What would they say when he told then about him being the key bearer and saving countless words from the darkness? Had they even remembered him? Had they been looking for him? Or did they give him up for dead?
Sora forced all these thoughts out of his head for a moment and raised his hand to the doorknob. Slowly, he turned it, pushed the door open and gazed into the home he hand not seen for what seemed like forever.
~*~
She came right up behind him. All she needed to do was slam the end of the torch stick against Riku's head then she might just burn him alive once he was down. She was breathing heavy. She had to do it; do it, kill him.
'Yes,' said the voice inside her head, 'Do it, kill that good-for-nothing boy!'
Riku was still examining the wall when he heard Mariha behind. He could hear her breathing, panting almost right behind him. Something was wrong. He spun around quickly and caught that end of the stick that was aimed for his head. Mariha clutched it still, Riku's hands over hers to stop the impact of the blow, and stared at him in surprise.
When he looked at her, when she saw him, she let go of the torch, which fell to the ground, rolling a little as it landed. She still stared at him, stunned by surprise.
"Mariha?" said Riku looking at her in confusion.
She didn't reply, but stayed completely motionless. It seemed as if her body was just an empty shell, with no soul or mind. Riku gazed into her eyes, but they were blank and hollow. It's Ansem! It must be!
"Let her go!" he yelled and grabbed her shoulders and shaking her with great force, "You better leave her alone you!"
Then he felt it, the evil essence that was inside her, it lifted and darted away. Mariha went limp in his arms.
"Are you ok?" Riku asked. Mariha opened her eyes and stared at him with a puzzled look.
"Yea, why wouldn't I be?" she said, eyes whole again, "Hey, what happened?"
"You -a... nothing."
"Okaaaaaaaaaay...."
"You sure you feel alright?" asked Riku again, he wanted to make sure it was Mariha who was in there.
"Riku, you're creeping me out," she replied, "Are YOU ok?"
"O, sorry," Riku muttered, "I guess this place is just making me uptight."
"Sure is, hey, is that the door out of here?"
"Huh?" said Riku looking over his shoulder, "O, yea it is."
"Well, aren't you going to open it?" asked Mariha, still kneeling on the floor while Riku stood up and stared at the door, thought it looked more like he was looking right through it.
What had just happened? He knew it was Ansem who possessed her like that, but how? Maybe that dark thing did it for him. She was back, no doubt about it, but, and Riku feared the thought for a second, Ansem was getting closer to him, closer to breaking him.
"Riku!"
Mariha's call brought him back into reality.
"Riku, come on," she said and Riku only realized now that she was pushing on the big doors, "Help me with this will you!"
Riku went over and began pushing on the door. It was really heavy. He pushed with all his strength, not like there was much left, and both of them combined couldn't even move it an inch. Mariha slumped against it in exhaustion after pushing on it for a couple minutes, and Riku put one hand on it to support himself.
What if they couldn't get out of that tunnel? It already took them so long to get to this end, it'd take up too much time to go back, and then to have to go over those rocks could take days since they still didn't know how long it stretched for.
No! Riku yelled at himself, I won't let this stop us, I can't be late to meet Sora he can't wait forever for me. Riku had a passion so strong to go home, nothing could stop him, nothing would, not even this stupid door that would open! Where was his heart? Right when he needed it, it wasn't there. But with that determination to be back on his island again, a determination even greater than he had ever felt before, he felt it. He found it. His heart's light, it was back! The one he had when he was an innocent child on an island where no one understood him.
Riku took a glance from the floor to the door. He would open it no matter what! Suddenly, he thought he saw a speck of light appear on the stone surface, forming something on the door. It -it looked like a keyhole! Riku stared at it in shock then thought he felt something shoot out from his body, from his heart, like an invisible energy. But suddenly the door he was leaning on began to move. And the keyhole disappeared into another speck of light, fading away into nothing.
"Riku," Mariha gasped, confused yet amazed, "It's moving!"
He looked at the door with the same confused and surprised expression on his face. He took his hand off from the door. Then door stopped moving. Riku looked at his hands.
"Mariha, hurry! Help me push!"
Together they pushed, and to door slowly creaked open. When the two stopped pushing, the doors stopped, and they stared out into the dark waist land of Kingdom Hearts once more. Riku looked over to Mariha and was glad to see a big simile on her face.
"Whew! We're finally out!" she said, stepping out of the tunnel. Then adding with a glace over her shoulder at Riku, "I guess you were right, I didn't have anything to worry about with going through there."
"Umm... yea," was all Riku said, looking away from her glance awkwardly. She didn't know... she didn't need to know.
"Hey Riku," he heard her say from a surprisingly close distance. He looked in her direction and almost jumped backwards when he saw her face so close to his. It must've been no more than two or three centimeters away from his nose to hers.
He didn't realize he was staring at her with his mouth gawking open and face bushing a deep red, until she laughed and tugged on his arm.
"Catch me if you can!" she said, pushing him over before turning and bolting into a run.
"Hey!" shouted Riku as he fell against the rock wall behind him. Mariha stopped and looked back over at him, making taunting faces at him.
"O I'm so going to get you for that!" he called, rubbing his shoulder from the impact of the rock with it and chasing after her.
Mariha started running again as soon as he did, but even with her head start, Riku was still faster and eventually caught up with her. He grabbed her arm and she swung around, trying to get free. But as she pulled, she stumbled and fell forwards, landing on Riku. They both fell to the ground, Riku stuck under Mariha.
At first they both blushed as Riku let go of her arm and she tried to get off of him. Then she rolled over and started to laugh when he pushed her over. They say there, just laughing for a moment. They weren't laughing at anything, it wasn't that funny, but they laughed. Laughter was a way to cover their despair in the journey that seemed to get more and more hopeless as they went, to let them forget for a second about their dark reality.
They had stopped close to the start of a steep rocky hill. There were those black mushroom things around on side of a sort of path leading up, so Riku and Mariha took shelter under one of them. They hadn't said a word to each other while they crouched under the little roof of the strange plantlike thing as they came back into their desperate world of reality once more. The silence was then broken, but not by a voice, by Riku's stomach growling. He blushed in embarrassment while Mariha giggled.
"Hey, how about some of that soup you made last time?" he asked.
"Yea, I'm starving too," replied Mariha then crawled out to gather her ingredients. As Riku watched her go here and there picking up things as she went, another pang of hunger ran through him in an agonizing moan.
Yea, yea, he thought. But then, come to think of it, they hadn't had a proper meal all throughout their stay in Ansems dungeon. But that was no wonder anyways. Riku and Mariha had been living off the little bowl of water they'd get everyday and Mariha had used some for Riku's injuries even then.
Riku pulled up his shirt and looked at himself. He was so skinny! Nothing but skin and bones. But man he'd have fun filling it all up again! He felt like he could eat a world! This world in fact, it's not like anyone would miss its dark loneliness.
Riku chuckled a bit. He remembered when he was younger, back on his island, he was fascinated by how much Sora ate and yet stayed as skinny as ever. Yep, Sora had the stomach and Riku had the muscles. But now, Riku guessed that he probably had a bigger stomach than Sora, after being starved, and Sora would probably be able to beat Riku in a physical competition since he was now the key bearer. Actually, Sora had beaten Riku before, in Hollow Bastion, twice really, but the second had been Ansem controlling Riku's body so it didn't really count.
"Crazy how everything's the opposite now," he said to himself. After all, even though Mariha was still cheery, she became easily afraid thanks to that stupid Ansem; which wasn't like her before.
"Hmm?" said Mariha ducking in beside him, arms full of the things Riku recognized from the last time she cooked.
"Nothing," replied Riku. Mariha shrugged then when to work making the fire then mixing up the soup. When the both of them were fed to the max, Riku rested against the base of the mushroom thing they were under and made a deep sigh.
"Ah, that's better," he said. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he heard Mariha creep next to him and felt her head rest on his shoulder. He opened one eye to look at her then yawned and stretched his arm around her. She snuggled closer, wrapping her arms around his waist and now resting her head to the side of his chest. Then, they both fell into sleep.
~*~
Sora lay in his bed. Back in his room that was exactly the way he had left it. Cloths still scattered the floor, toys and games stashed messily on the shelves, and his little model sailboat hanging in its place from the ceiling.
His parents had taken his news very well, which he thought was just a bit odd. They sat and listened while he ran through everything that had happened. His mom didn't freak out like he thought she would. His dad didn't scold him for getting into those dangerous situations. No, they somehow understood completely why Sora had to do all the things he did. They trusted him to make the right decisions. But it seemed like something more. It seemed like they knew exactly what was going on... but how could that be?
Sora's parents had let Donald and Goofy stay in the spare bedroom and were very kind to them. But it was late now. Sora only just realized how long it had really been since all of his adventures. So he lay in bed now, glad to be in his soft bed once again. He lay there staring out his window, exactly like he had when he first noticed the storm that had started it all. So, as he had all that time ago, he lay there, unable to shake of the excitement about tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, Sora would set Riku free, then everyone would be safely back at last.
Sora was so excited about seeing his old friend again, he forgot about those questions that worried him before. Only one question was able to leek into his mind. 'Will it still be like old times when he gets back?' but Sora already knew the answer to this one. Surprisingly, it didn't bother him as much now that it did before. After all that answer was obvious from the start. That answer, was no.
~*~
Riku was back in his six-year-old body and mind. He had been living with Naomi in the orphanage for three months now. There was no real caretaker for the orphanage, only a young, but very smart 14-year-old girl named Yuna who acted as everyone's big sister. She was the one who took care of everyone, being the oldest, by watching over the younger children as they played and making sure there was food to feed their hungry stomachs. Yuna also had a bit of healing magic so all of the children could stay healthy and well.
After Yuna, Riku was the next oldest. There were only seven kids in their little family. Yuna; Naomi at five; a four-year-old girl named Tifa; Riona, same aged girl as Tifa; a quiet two-year-old who hardly ever left Yuna's side called Zack; and infant boy named Zadain; and Riku himself. Bur Riku never really spoke to the other kids save Naomi. All of them, even Yuna, were uncomfortable in his presence. So, Riku would take the only little fishing boat on the island and, with Naomi, they would go out to explore the seas.
One day, out on the water, Riku decided to go farther out that he had gone before. The two eventually landed on the little island that Riku would now remember as the one he used to visit everyday with Sora and Kairi.
"Wow, I didn't know this was here," said Naomi as they tied up their boat on the dock conveniently built there.
"Me neither," added Riku. Wide-eyed he gazed all around him. The sun was shining on a sandy beach. There were huge trees with massive trunks that many seemed to stand as tree houses. It was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. It was like a paradise island. Then, something caught his ear... it was laughter.
"Hey look," said Naomi pointing, "Looks like other people know about this place too."
Sure enough, there were four kids running along the beaches playing tag. They looked to be about the same age as Riku and Naomi and didn't notice the pair looked down at them. They ran in a line. The first runner was a dark-skinned boy with flaming red hair. The second, Riku recognized from his home on the main island, was a short boy with messy blond hair. The third was a girl with short blond hair that flipped outwards towards the bottom. And finally, the last boy, who apparently was also "it", was a lanky kid with light brown hair, even messier that the blond boy's, with bouncing blue eyes.
That boy, the brown haired one, was the first to notice Riku and Naomi standing there. He stopped running and stared at them, or was he staring at Riku?
Oh no, Riku thought. They were all the same. More kids to scare because of his different appearance. Naomi, however, smiled and waved cheerfully and nudged Riku to do the same. He smiled meekly and waved his hand a bit. Surprisingly, the boy grinned and waved back. He left the others to run as he bounded up to Naomi and Riku.
"Hi," he said cheerfully, "My name's Sora."
"Hello, I'm Naomi."
The new boy, Sora, looked over at Riku, waiting for his name. Riku just stared. This boy, he wasn't afraid of him! Maybe this was a sign that he was getting a fresh start, that these other kids wouldn't be afraid of him either! He totally zoned out and was only brought back when Naomi elbowed him in the side.
"Huh? O! I'm R-Riku," he stuttered, still dazed that more people seemed to be less afraid of him these days.
Sora smiled with a little nod. "Hey, you wanna play with us?"
Riku still couldn't believe it. Was it all to good to be true? He nodded vigorously.
"Ok," said Sora. He turned and called over to his companions, "Hey you guys! They're gonna play too ok?"
The other three children had been watching their friend confront the two new strangers the whole time but kept their distance. They were all staring frightfully at Riku.
Riku's heart sank. He knew it! It WAS all too good to be true. As he gazed up at the redheaded youth, the boy quickly glanced away. It was just like at home. He wasn't welcome here. But still, this boy Sora wasn't scared of him. Riku still didn't know why Naomi was unaffected by his looks and now Sora? It was all so confusing.
"Guys, this is Riku and Naomi," Sora announced proudly, no noticing his friends' uneasiness. He then turned to Riku, "The girl is Selphie, Wakka's that one with the orange hair and Tidus is the blond."
Despite Selphie, Wakka and Tidus' uneasiness around Riku, they all played tag together until the sun was low in the sky. Mind you, Riku noticed that Selphie and the others would never run after him. Finally, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka went home but Sora stayed back to talk to Riku some more.
"So, where do you live?" he asked, "I've never seen you on the main island before, although we did just move to it."
Naomi opened her mouth to reply but Riku cut her off before a word was said.
"On one of the other islands, not the main island," Riku replied, "But pretty far from this one, that's why we've never come here before."
Naomi gave him a questioning look. Why did he cut her off? Riku gave her a look that she could read no problem: just follow my lead. He hadn't lied at all about where they lived, but he hadn't mentioned them living in an orphanage either. But, if he didn't want Sora to know, I guess it was ok since no lie was told. It's not like it was that big of a deal anyways.
"That's neat," Sora said, "Well, it was fun playing with you, I gotta get back... see you tomorrow?"
"Definitely," said Naomi. She took a sideways glance at Riku and could tell by the combined surprised and excited look on his face from the invitation to come back and play with this boy that he wouldn't be able to say anything.
Sora grinned then with a wave goodbye, jumped into his boat and paddled away. Riku sat on the dock as Naomi got up to wave over to Sora out on the water. He still couldn't believe it, and he didn't know if he ever would. He finally had friends, playmates to have fun with, to talk to. After he thought the entire world hated him, there were still these two who would be by his side. He promised himself from then on, that he'd put his friends first. That he'd do anything for them. After all, if everyone else hated you, wouldn't you do the same for the few that accepted you?
AN: XD ME SORRY AGAIN!!!! Aww, there's prolly no one left to read this anymore cuz i prolly took to long so they left! O.o *sigh* the things i bring upon myself-_- anywho, hope ya like that up there *points to the chapter* yea, i wouldn't hold your breath for the next update if i were you... but i'll *try* to get it up pretty soon.... yea, later then!