The Paopu Fruit
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, but I own the idea for this fanfiction.
A/N: Ok, Mary-Sue time! Be prepared to read a REALLY weird family history for this girl. ;
Summery: In this story, Sora and Kairi have shared a papou fruit. Riku is heartbroken when he sees Sora proposing to Kairi. After that fateful day, Riku's heart turns to stone and he never shows any signs of emotion again. Until, a large Darkside Heartless appears on Destiny Islands. He must go into war, but then a new traveler comes into the scene. Is this a Heartless? Or is it the only thing that can melt Riku's icy heart?
Chapter 3: Traverse Town
Riku listened as the girl tried to explain herself.
"My name is Yume. I used to live in a totally different world, called Earth. You probably think I'm crazy, but I swear to you that I'm not! Well anyway, on my 13th birthday, as a gift, my mother sent me for magic lessons to the city magician. I hated him, but he was wise, and taught me a lot. A year later, on my 14th birthday, he claimed I had enough power to destroy a planet. He started showing me off like a carnival freak, and that's how Maleficent found me. She talked to the magician, but I never saw him again after that conversation. I have a strong suspicion that she killed him. With the magician being gone, Maleficent came to see me frequently. I hated talking to her, but my mother always insisted. Then, a few weeks ago, on my 15th birthday, Malificent offered to take me traveling with her. I would have said no, but mother just said to go with her, and that it would be a lot of fun. So, I packed my clothes and valuable possessions, and went on the spaceship cruiser with Malificent. The minute the door closed, she grabbed me and put me under a very powerful Aero spell. But this one was different - nothing could get in or out. I banged on the shield, screaming, though it was muffled by the spell. Malificent took off into orbit, and then turned the ship around so it was facing Earth. She shot some kind of torpedo, and then raced off. I turned around just in time to see Earth being covered in a dark blob, then seeing it destroyed. The Earth shattered into millions of pieces, and I haven't seen my family ever since."
Yume stopped talking, and stared at the sand. Her black high heels had fallen off while Riku had pulled her off the island and her feet made deep imprints.
Riku looked down at Yume's face, and saw that she was crying. He took her chin in his hands, and smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll help you find your family."
Riku saw that Yume was blushing lightly, and suddenly a picture of Kairi appeared in his face. He looked back down at the beach and saw that both she and Sora were gone.
"Wha-!? Where are Sora and Kairi?" He turned around wildly, not seeing either of them. He realized that Kairi must have dragged Sora off to someplace, and that she probably wouldn't want to see him anyway. He sighed and looked back down at Yume.
Riku let go of her chin, and started walking towards the cove. As Riku and Kate walked, Riku announced an important secret.
"I've been working on a spaceship for a year and a half. I think it's about ready. You want to give it a try, and see if it works?"
"Ok, let's go to it! Oh! But what did you name it?"
"I was going to name it Highwind, but I'm thinking of calling it Sora...."
Yume looked down at the ground with sadness in her eyes, but Riku wouldn't stand for it.
"Don't worry Yume! We WILL save Sora! I promise you!" He knew that his words had sounded hollow, and that there was no way to bring him back from the dead, but he had to try and give Yume some hope. He had no one else to talk to now. He put on a façade of cheerfulness and walked towards a rock.
Riku stopped in front of the large boulder, and pulled it back. There was a small cave, and Riku walked in. When he noticed Yume didn't follow, he sent her a questioning look. "Well? Aren't ya coming?"
Yume looked uneasily at the cave and said, "No, no. I'll be alright here."
Riku sent her a weak grin, and answered, "Ok! Here, I'll bring out Sora the Spaceship!" Riku laughed sadly, and ran in deeper.
The minute his silver-blue hair was out of view, a ball of dark energy appeared behind Yume. The sky grew darker, but only for a few seconds. Maleficent stepped outside, the energy ball disappeared.
"Well, have you found it yet, Yume?" Malificent asked with a cold, cruel voice.
In a hypnotized-like tone, Yume replied, "Yes Master, but I will not be able to attain it yet. Yume is resisting too much. She is very powerful for a young girl like her." By now, Yume's pupils had turned completely black.
In a silky voice, Maleficent stated, "That is why I chose her. She has strong magic, and a good heart for the Heartless to feed on. Well, I hope this body works for you. At least, for the meantime. Poor little Riku... he doesn't suspect a thing. Well, good luck and remember, for getting me the Keyblade, you will be greatly rewarded."
"I shall remember that Master. Have a safe journey."
"Don't worry, I will."
With that said, Maleficent disappeared in an instant, and Yume was no longer hypnotized.
Riku was pushing the ship out of the cave and he walked a little closer to Yume.
"Hop in Yume! We have to get going to Traverse Town before it gets dark."
"What's Traverse Town?"
Riku rolled his eyes and pulled her into the spaceship. "Just get on!"
The engine rumbled, and Riku switched the ship onto Warp Drive.
Yume's eyes bulged to the size of dish saucers. "WARP DRIVE!? EVEN I KNOW THAT IS REALLY, REALLY FAST!"
Riku chuckled. "Well, you wanted to save your parents, right? It would be better if we go faster."
Yume took a deep breath, and nodded. "Ok Riku, hurry up. Before I change my mi-"
She didn't even get to finish her sentence, because by then, Riku was already driving at Warp speed.
2 hours later, Riku and Yume were in Traverse Town, looking for Cid.
"CID! Where are ya old buddy! It's me, Riku!"
Suddenly, just as they were nearing the accessory shop, black Heartless surrounded them.
"Come on Yume! Time to show me your magic!"
While Riku flung at them with the Keyblade, Yume kept casting Fira and Thundara. After the Shadow Heartless was defeated, some Large Body and Blue Rhapsody Heartless appeared.
Riku battled the Large Body Heartless while Yume battled the Blue Rhapsody Heartless.
Unknown to them, someone was watching their battle.
Someone very evil...
During the battle, a Large Body crept up behind Yume and struck her to the ground. She winced in pain as blood started seeping slightly through her dress. There was a large gash in her back that was clearly visible. Blue Rhapsody Heartless surrounded her, and ignored Riku. It was better to get rid of the weaker one first, then go for the big one.
Riku tried to help her, but another Large Body kept him at bay.
"Yume!" He screamed. He barely knew her, but he knew it was his destiny to help her.
Suddenly, he heard her scream. "Someone please help!"
Yume was about to get whacked on the head when a flash of blonde came in front of her.
Riku took a big sigh of relief. "Thank you Cid."
"Anytime Riku buddy!" He started slashing at the Blue Rhapsody and Large Body Heartless while Riku ran over to Yume.
"Are you ok?" He asked, his voice now emotionless. He didn't want to reveal that he was protecting Yume, for the Heartless might think of it as a weakness. And he also didn't want to feel any more emotions, as they hurt too much,
"I'm... fine, Riku." She stood up and walked towards Cid, who had just finished off the last of the Heartless.
"Thank you for saving me. I was in a lot of-"
"CID! HOW ARE YOU BUDDY?" Riku shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Eh, I'm ok. The accessory shop is doing great though. So many people are coming, but it isn't for a good reason."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Well, everyone is leaving Traverse Town."
"WHAT!?"
"Well, you see, a lot of Heartless are being spotted again, even more than when Sora came here to save us. The Keyholes were unlocked again, I guess. And seeing as Sora is dead, people are freaking out and leaving."
"How did you know Sora died?"
"Everyone knows. We heard about the attacks on Destiny Islands. We also found out that Kairi has disappeared."
"WHAT!?"
"Don't scream, you'll hurt my ears. Yeah, Kairi disappeared that night. Some others as well."
"Like?"
"Like Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. Sora's body also is gone."
"........"
Riku remained silent for a few moments, and then said, "Cid, I might need your help, but first I gotta find Yuffie, Aerith, and Squall."
"Ok, Riku. I'll meet you back in the Accessory Shop."
Cid walked back along the bricks, and was out of sight.
"Ok, Yume. It's time to go. I gotta find some friends of mine."
"Who are they?"
"One is named Squall Leonhart, but he likes to be called Leon. He is a graduate of the SeeD academy at Balamb Garden. He is also the captain of the advanced squad. He met Sora after Sora looked for me and Kairi here. He has strong fire attacks and a sword that shoots out fireballs."
"Wow.... who're the other two?"
"Another friend is Yuffie. She claims she is one of the best ninjas. She is best friends with Leon, but does not like Aerith very much. She came to live in Traverse Town because the Heartless destroyed her world, and no one ever wanted to help her get it back."
"So there is a way to get back a destroyed world?"
"Of course. It's just really hard. Now, the last friend is Aerith. She is a flower girl, and she lives in Traverse Town just for the same reason Yuffie does."
"Her world was destroyed as well?"
"Bingo. She is also really gentle and strong-willed. She is very shy, and wise as well. She seems to know a lot of information about Ansem."
"Ansem?"
"Ansem researched the Heartless. He disappeared after Maleficent found out about his research. He wrote many pages of information, and they were scattered over the different worlds. Now Maleficent and I tried to find them once before, but that arrangement didn't work out too well. But now I have an advantage. I know where the first page is."
"Where is it?"
"It is in Agrabah. Jafar has it."
"How did you find this out?"
"Let's just say an ugly bird named Iago helped me. Now we really gotta get going."
Riku led Kate into the three districts of Traverse Town. On the way, they saw many Heartless, and defeated them. Kate kept getting hurt, because she was still cut in the back, so Riku gave her a Potion to help her. Immediately, she was healed, and felt much better.
They went back to Cid in the First District.
"Cid, we couldn't find them."
"You couldn't?"
"No."
"Well, for all I know, they might have already left town. Did you check at the hotel?"
"Yeah, they weren't there."
"Did you check the Item Shop?"
"Yeah."
"The Gizmo Shop?"
"YES ALREADY!"
"Ack! What did I tell you about yelling?"
"Whoops, sorry Cid. Anyway, wouldn't someone have noticed them leaving?"
"I don't know. For young people, they seem to be able to sneak away easily."
"Well, I asked some people, and they haven't seen them."
"Or they have seen them, but they are in a rush to leave."
"Well, whatever the case, I'm gonna keep looking."
"Well, good luck Riku and friend."
"Her name is Yume."
"Well, then good luck Riku and Yume."
Riku and Yume stepped out of the Accessory Shop. They were about to get attacked from behind when red hot fireballs shot at the Heartless.
Riku turned around and sighed with relief.
"Squall..."
Immediately, Squall responded.
"It's Leon."
Riku and Leon laughed, and Leon hugged Riku.
"How ya been Riku? I mean, after Sora's death and all? And who's the girl?"
"Well, I've been ok. I have tried not to think about Sora's death. I know he would not like me to be sad. And this is my new friend, Yume. I found her on the island after Sora's death."
Leon eyed Yume with suspicion, and Yume squirmed uneasily. Riku looked nervously at Yume, then at Leon.
"Leon, stop freaking her out. She's ok, seriously."
Leon looked at Yume one more time, and then sighed. "If you say so. Anyway, come with me to my hotel room. Yuffie and Aerith are already there."
"Ok, but first answer my question. How did you know I was here?"
"Well, I was going to the item shop, when I picked up that some people were talking about you and Yume."
"Oh? What did they say?"
"They said that there were mysterious strangers in town. Actually, you are scaring most people. They think you are spies for Maleficent or something."
Leon and Riku laughed at this, while Yume just stood there, staring at the ground guiltily.
"Well, let's get going!"
As they talked, Riku asked Leon a question.
"Hey Leon? What room are you staying in? I asked the inn keeper, and he said you weren't staying there."
"I'm staying in the Green Room. The only reason he didn't tell you was probably because of the spy rumors."
Leon pushed open the hotel doors and stepped inside. He went to the clerk and looked him in the eye.
"Look pal, why didn't you tell my friends I was staying here?"
"Y-your f-f-friends? These spies are your friends!?"
Leon was pushed over the edge when the clerk said this. He picked the poor little clerk up by the collar of his shirt and said in a low, growling voice, "I would never work for Maleficent. So you better understand that before you get hurt."
He put the clerk down and headed to the Green Room.
He stopped in front of a bright green door, and knocked.
A girl's voice asked, "Who is it?"
Leon responded, "It's me, Leon, talking to the greatest ninja ever, Yuffie."
Quickly the door was opened, and Leon, Riku, and Yume were dragged inside. Yuffie slammed the door shut, and then locked it.
"Oh thank goodness you are here Leon! A Guard Armor Heartless was seen in the Third District! It's destroying everything, and stealing hearts. Everyone is in a pandemonium! You have to help them! Oh, Riku! You're here too! You can go help Leon. Uh, who's the girl?"
Everyone, including Aerith, who had just come in, stared at Yume. Yume smiled nervously and looked at Riku.
"Um, this is Yume. She was found on the island after Riku's death."
Everyone looked at her with the same suspicion Leon had done when they first met. Yume was sweating bullets, and backing up slowly.
"Don't worry guys - she's ok! Really!"
Everyone sighed with relief, including Yume. Finally, after a long period of silence, Aerith spoke.
"Perhaps you should go stop that Guard Armor Heatless?"
"Alright guys! It's time to fight! Yahoo!" Yuffie shouted. She picked up her ninja stars and bounded for the door. Leon picked up his flamethrower, and Riku summoned the Keyblade. Yume just stood there.
When everyone except Yume and Aerith left, Yume spoke.
"Nice disguise, Maleficent. Nobody suspects a thing."
Aerith transformed into Maleficent, and smiled.
"So, Yume, what have you learned of?"
"Before I tell you, please call me by my real name." Yume's pupils were black again.
"Alright. So Kairi, what have you learned."
"I have learned that Riku knows where a page of Ansem's report is. And, I have also learned that the real Aerith has much knowledge about Ansem."
"Very good work Kairi. When this is over, you shall have both Riku and Sora. Then you may do whatever you please to Yume."
"I think I shall use her vessel of a body for a while longer, and then go take someone else's. Physically, this is not a strong body, and mentally, the real Yume is breaking from having me take over her body once in a while. So I will get a new one soon."
"Good idea Kairi. Now, go and help them fight the Guard Armor."
"But he is on our side!"
"Yes, but you must destroy him in order to gain Leon and Yuffie's trust. You have already gained Riku's, I can tell. Now, GO FIGHT!"
Maleficent disappeared and in her place, was Aerith.
"Now go and help Riku. I will watch and protect you from the side in case things get out of hand."
Yume ran out of the room into the Third District.
The minute she was there, she saw the battle. It was quite large, and everything was blowing up. Then, she saw them.
Goofy and Donald.
They fell on top of her, actually.
Goofy was the first one to shout, "Sora! Is that you?"
Donald replied with a "NO! That can't be Sora, you pea brain! He died!"
Goofy cried, and said, "Oh Sora! WAH!"
Donald was getting annoyed with Goofy. He was about to cast Thundara on him to get him to shut up, when Yume yelled, "If you're gonna cast Thundara, at least get off me first!!"
Goofy and Donald got off of Yume. Goofy helped her up, and Donald brushed dust off her black dress.
"Hiya, I'm Donald, and this is my idiotic companion, Goofy. What's your name?"
"My name is Yume, and I gotta get going. I'm gonna go help my friends fight that Guard Armor Heartless over there." She pointed towards the battle, and Goofy and Donald gasped.
"Well, we are going with you." Donald said.
"What? I don't need your help. You are too klutzy. And besides, my other friends are fighting it right now, so I got nothing to worry about."
Yume ran off in the direction of the battle, and Goofy and Donald followed her. She noticed this, and shouted, "I said, I don't need your help!" She cast a Fira spell, and sent it flying towards them. She kept on running while Goofy got hit with the Fira spell.
She finally got to the Guard Armor, and was shocked at what she saw.
Leon was fighting, but covered in blood. Riku was on the ground, but not unconscious. Yuffie was sprawled farther away, covered in blood and out cold.
Yume could tell the monster was almost dead, but would need one final spell to kill it off.
Leon finally fainted, and the Guard Armor was getting ready to steal hearts. It walked over to Riku, and opened its mouth. Inside were many different hearts.
The Guard Armor was about to steal Riku's heart when a Fira spell rammed into his head. It fell to the ground, and shattered into a million pieces. The hearts all disappeared, back into the rightful bodies, and Kate ran over to Riku, then Yuffie, then Leon. She cast Cure spells on them until she was very weak, then fainted.
Riku was the first to wake up. Immediately, he ran to Yume, and slapped her face gently.
"Yume, get up. Yume, get up!"
He kept repeating it until she woke up. She saw his face and smiled.
"You know, you almost lost your heart Riku? I'm so glad I saved you."
"You saved me? What about Yuffie and Leon?"
"They both fainted. I had run into some of your friends though, Riku."
"Really? Who?"
"Donald and Goofy."
"WHAT!? THEY'RE HERE!? Oh my god, I gotta go find them. I'll be right back Yume."
He ran off, leaving Yume behind. She left some items on the ground, with a note attached, then left for Sora the Spaceship.
When Leon and Yuffie woke up, they saw the Potions on the ground, and read the note. It said:
I think you guys might need these. You owe me for saving your lives.
Love, Yume
Leon and Yuffie laughed and then went out to find Aerith and Riku.
Riku had found Donald and Goofy, and was headed for the Green Room. He knocked, and they let him in quickly.
"Hey Riku! Thank Yume for us with this gift, ok?" Leon handed him a small pouch.
"Oh? What is it?"
"100 munny."
"WHAT!? THAT MUCH!?"
"Well, Aerith has been saving it for a special occasion."
"Well, I will make sure she gets it. Oh guess who Yume and I ran into?"
"Who?"
"Donald and Goofy!"
"Really, wow! Say hi to them for me!" Yuffie said.
"Don't worry, I will." Riku responded. "Now, I really have to go."
"Goodbye Riku! Oh, wait! I found this among the remains of the Guard Armor."
Leon handed Riku a small piece of something brown. Riku looked at it with a puzzled expression for a moment, and then put it in his pocket.
"I don't know what it is, but I'll show it to Yume."
"Come on! What's the hold up Riku!? Let's go!" Donald shouted through the door.
"Ok! Ok! I'm coming! Bye you guys!"
"Bye Riku!" They said in unison.
Riku, Donald and Goofy left the hotel, and headed for the spaceship. They climbed inside, and saw Yume in the driver's seat.
"Yume, there is no way I'm gonna let you drive. Besides, I gotta talk to you before we go."
"Ok- HEY! WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE!?" Yume shouted and pointed at Goofy and Donald.
"They're coming with us. They may help us."
"No way!"
"Look, either they are coming, or you are getting left here."
"Fine." Yume pouted like a small child and sat back on the seat. "So what did you want to talk about?"
"Two things. One, Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie asked me to give this to you."
Riku handed Yume the pouch and she opened it.
"MUNNY!" She shouted with glee and hugged the pouch tightly. "Riku, how much is in here?"
"100 munny."
"WOW! YAY! Where did they get all of this munny?"
"Aerith said she had been saving it for a special occasion."
Yume smiled at Maleficent's clever ways.
"I gotta come back here sometime and thank them. Anyway, what was the other thing you wanted to tell me about?"
"Leon found this among the Guard Armor remains. I don't know what it is, so I thought you might know."
Riku took the brown thing out of his pocket and handed it to Yume. She looked at it for a few seconds then gasped. "Oh my god..."
"What is it?"
"It's a piece of Earth! I guess that when they exploded, they were placed inside the big Heartless. We gotta find more!"
"Maybe if we find them all, we can bring your world back!"
"And my family...."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find out!!"
Riku pushed Yume out of the driver's seat, she ended up sitting next to Donald and plotted a course for Wonderland, the next closest world.
A/N: OMG! This is the longest chapter I have ever written! It turned out to be 13 pages!!! ACK! 8dies of a heart attack Anyway, please R&R, and I will post the next chapter as soon as I can!