Fading Light
By: Koorino Megumi
Chapter 2: The Dream
Things were changing. Aros hated that fact with a passion, but it seemed like all he could do was watch as the changes happened.
It wasn't that things were changing in general, though. No, it was more that Kiru was changing, and this fact alone was shattering the life that he treasured.
Since that day when Ansem had visited them, Kiru's faint restlessness and boredom at life on the island had grown serious. He now believed wholeheartedly that other worlds existed, and he wanted to see them. Badly. He talked about them, guessing and daydreaming and wondering. Iraki always listened intently to whatever he had to say and was encouraging about the possibility of his getting to leave and see other worlds someday. Aros wanted so much to remind Kiru of what he had here, but with both Kiru and Iraki against him, he just couldn't bring himself to say anything.
And what was worse was that Kiru seemed to be losing interest in all the activities that they did here. He no longer wanted to spend whole afternoons dueling with Aros until they were both ready to drop. He would get bored of racing after just a couple goes and would claim that he'd run too hard and made his legs tired already. When the three sat and talked, Kiru would be quiet and withdrawn--unless the subject was travel to other worlds, of course.
It wasn't just when they talked that Kiru seemed withdrawn, either. Even when he and Aros were fighting or racing, often it seemed like Kiru's mind was in another place entirely. It was like the life that they had enjoyed for so many years suddenly wasn't good enough for him anymore, and without Kiru, Aros found that there was very little he knew of to do with his time. As much as he refused to admit it, life on the islands was becoming boring for him as well, and he didn't want that to happen. He wouldn't let it happen.
It was about a month and a half after the fateful day that the strange man had come. Aros and Iraki came to their island at the usual time in the morning to find Kiru already there, sitting on the beach, staring out at the sea. He looked deeply shaken. They had seen him like this before. It was his typical reaction after he'd had a particularly disturbing dream.
"Kiru, are you all right?" Iraki knelt beside him, putting a consoling hand on his shoulder.
Kiru kept his gaze fixed on the gentle waves. "Ansem was right," he stated simply.
"What!? Why are you saying that?" Aros cried, stopping in his tracks behind the two. In truth, Aros hadn't been too surprised to find Kiru sitting on the beach. Of course the prospect of a new dream had worried and disturbed him, but it wasn't something earth-shattering. Kiru didn't have these dreams often, but he had them enough that a new one wasn't too unexpected, and the dreams didn't usually mean the end of the world anyway. Maybe a broken arm or a terrifying storm. But now... Aros's heart was pounding. What did Kiru mean by saying that Ansem was right? His dream...it hadn't somehow proved things, had it? No, that couldn't be. Ansem had lied, and lies couldn't be proven true.
Kiru turned to the two of them. "Because I know that Sora's real now," he replied seriously, "I had a dream about him."
"Sora?" Iraki repeated.
"The kid Ansem helped me contact before. The Keyblade Master on the other side of the mirror."
Iraki gasped, and Aros had to hold back a gasp of his own. "Are you sure it was the same kid? I mean, it could have been someone else, couldn't it?" Aros demanded.
Kiru shook his head. "It was definitely the same person. And he was holding a Black Keyblade."
"Black!? But I thought the Masters Ansem was looking for were Silver and Golden?"
"I don't know for sure why it was black. It didn't seem to be his, though. And it..." Kiru trailed off, turning his gaze back to the sea. "A Keyblade that unlocks people's hearts..." he murmured, more to himself than to them.
"What?" Iraki asked quietly, her voice sounding as if she were frightened to hear his answer.
"The dream, it...it cut off abruptly..." Kiru breathed, his voice shaking slightly. He kept his gaze fixed on the ocean. "Sora, he..." His voice lowered to barely more than a whisper. "He stabbed himself with the Keyblade. And he lost his heart."
"What!?" Aros cried. Iraki was working her mouth, but no sound was coming out.
Kiru took a deep breath, his gaze still fixed on the ocean. "It was because of something about...Kairi, and...and waking her up. I'm sure he did it for a really important reason. I wish I knew why! But...I know what I saw. Ansem was telling the truth. This proves it."
"So...there really are other worlds?" Aros's voice was soft as well, his tone still skeptical, sounding as if he desperately wanted to deny the truth of what he was saying--of what Kiru had said. But Aros knew that he couldn't deny it. Kiru's dreams didn't lie, and Kiru wouldn't lie about his dreams. Aros knew both of these things for certain. This left him with no other option. He had to believe that Ansem had spoken the truth.
Aros stood abruptly.
"Aros!" Iraki looked up at him in alarm.
"I...I'll be back in a minute," Aros replied, his voice tight. He turned and did his very best to resist the urge to run from that shore. Walking as fast as he could without actually breaking out in a run, he let his legs take him where they willed. His mind was all turmoil. He hadn't even gotten out of sight of the beach before he did start running, although he didn't realize he was doing it.
*Ansem was telling the truth! So that means...if there are other worlds...*
Aros was running through the entrance of the Secret Place, into the cave with walls covered in children's drawings. He didn't even know he was headed there before he found himself standing in front of the strange, knobless door in the back. There was a pattern on the door, the sight of which jerked Aros from his thoughts. A pattern in gold that had never been there before...a giant shape...of a keyhole?
Aros frowned at it and extended a hand, running his fingers over the metallic gold designs. They were definitely real. It was almost as if they were a part of the door. But he knew that he had never seen them before. This door...it had never been more than an outline before.
On a hunch, Aros leaned against the door, trying to push it open, but it was as solid as ever and didn't budge one bit, as if it were simply part of the wall.
Aros turned away from it, shaking his head and trying to hold back the tears that were suddenly threatening to fall. More proof. Ansem had been telling the truth after all. Other worlds, the Keyblades--they were all real. It was all true.
*All of it?*
As the question came to his mind, Aros realized that it could be his saving grace. Of course. Even if the major facts of the report itself were true, it didn't mean that what Ansem had told them about this current "battle against the darkness" was true at all. In fact, for all Aros and the others knew, Ansem could be an enemy of the universe who was just trying to use them.
And why them, anyway? Why Kiru? Sure, it seemed that Ansem had needed Kiru's ability to send dreams, but if Ansem could travel to whatever world he wanted or send a representation of himself or whatever it was he had done to come see them, couldn't he just go talk to this Sora kid himself? If everything Ansem had said were true, then he probably wasn't crazy, although the possibility wasn't completely ruled out yet. But if Ansem weren't crazy, then what did he want with the three of them? He hadn't come looking for just Kiru, after all. He had been looking for three children, aged fourteen to fifteen, and hadn't known any of their names. So how had he known about them, and what did he want with the three of them?
Too many unanswered questions. Aros decided that, even if Ansem had been telling the truth in that report of his, Aros wasn't going to trust him. He couldn't risk trusting him and being wrong, especially not if Kiru trusted him and Iraki was going to let Kiru do so without speaking up about it at all. Aros had to be careful so that he would be ready to protect them if Ansem was deceiving them and things went wrong.
And Ansem...there was something about Ansem that bothered Aros. His whole speech about not hiding anything...that openness, that benevolence. It was too much. It had to be false. If it weren't, well...what was Ansem doing getting the help of three island kids to save the universe in the first place? He should talk to this Sora himself, or at least get himself some real help someplace else. After all, he apparently had a whole universe in which to find help.
*So why us?*
Ansem would come back; Aros was sure of it. For some reason Ansem wanted something from the three of them. And Aros decided that he would find out what that something was.
Aros took one last look at the strange new design on the door and turned, heading back to the beach. He would continue to act just as he had been since the day that Ansem had come--as if nothing had happened, as if nothing were wrong. He would let Kiru dream of leaving the islands for another world, let Iraki encourage Kiru while ignoring her own feelings. Aros would bottle up inside his own fear, misgivings, and his desperate wish that none of the three of them should ever leave this world. He would bottle up his wish to preserve the life that he loved so much. And all of this he would do so that, when Ansem came back to them again, Aros could find some way to reveal the truth, to reveal Ansem as the fraud that he obviously was.
And if Aros couldn't do that, if he couldn't prove to Kiru that Ansem was using him, then he would just have to stay by the sidelines, waiting and watching for Ansem to make a move. Because when Ansem did, Aros wouldn't let himself be caught unprepared.
Kiru and Iraki... He would protect them. No matter what folly they believed or got themselves into, he would always protect them.
Aros stepped back out onto the beach to find Kiru and Iraki both looking at him rather worriedly.
"Aros-" Iraki began.
"It's been a while since I started teaching you how to fight," Aros interrupted, trying to keep his tone nonchalant.
Iraki stared at him for a second, clearly surprised at his words. "Umm...yeah," she finally responded.
"If you and Kiru are up to it, maybe all three of us could work on that today," Aros suggested.
Kiru and Iraki both stared at him rather strangely for a second, then Iraki turned to face Kiru questioningly. He hesitated but then nodded. Iraki turned back to Aros, smiling a bit excitedly. "Sure. I'd like that."
"Great." Aros broke out in the best fake grin he could manage. "Let's get to Kiru's island, then!"
They walked almost silently there, Kiru and Iraki apparently still nervous about Aros's rather strange behavior. Although it hurt Aros to do it, he managed to maintain his cheerful front, and once the lesson had started, all three found themselves too distracted to think about Kiru's dream or their worries.
Well, Iraki at least seemed to be too distracted. Kiru got himself stabbed in the chest a few times because, any time Aros took a shot at his chest, he would suddenly freeze up. It didn't take much thought to figure out that seeing the sword thrust at Kiru at that angle probably reminded him too much of his dream. When Aros realized the reason for Kiru's behavior, he stopped stabbing at Kiru's chest. He wouldn't take advantage of such a weakness. Aros himself found that he was making careless mistakes. As much as he hated to admit it, on days like today, it was almost painful to spend time playing with his friends. It just put into sharp relief the rift that was growing between them--the rift that Aros kept telling himself did not exist.
After teaching Iraki a bit about actually striking, she said she was tired and had done enough fighting for the day. Aros and Kiru went back to their usual activities, Iraki watching them--to Kiru's dismay--from the roof of the shed.
Kiru left the island before sunset that day. He claimed that he was tired, and Aros could tell that was true--but not in the sense that Kiru had implied. He was feeling really restless again, probably because of his dream. Aros couldn't help but think bitterly that Kiru was obviously having a hard time standing the relaxed island life that had been satisfying enough to keep him happy for years before this. Aros tried to push thoughts like that from his mind, though. He couldn't blame Kiru for his desire to see other worlds. Although it seemed to Aros that, considering the fact that they had no way to travel anywhere, Kiru should try to be content with what he had. And was life here really that bad?
Aros and Iraki were left alone to sit on the paopu tree and watch the sunset. Iraki had said that she was ready to go back, too, when Kiru had told them he was leaving, but Kiru had insisted that she and Aros stay and enjoy themselves like usual. Aros couldn't help but feel a little sullen about the fact that Iraki had sounded like she didn't mind leaving Aros alone here and had perhaps even wanted to do so, but he tried to ignore such thoughts as best he could. He decided instead to seize this opportunity to talk to Iraki while Kiru actually wasn't with them.
"You believe Ansem was telling the truth now, right?" Aros began carefully, trying to keep his voice level.
Iraki turned to him a little nervously and then shifted her gaze down to her lap. "Well...he had to be. Kiru's dreams don't lie."
Aros nodded slightly. Iraki turned back to him, still looking apprehensive.
"So you trust Ansem now?" he asked.
Iraki frowned, then just barely shook her head, as if she were trying to answer without committing to anything.
"Why not?" Aros pressed.
"I don't know," Iraki admitted, "Something about him just...bothers me. I feel like...like I know somehow that I can't trust him. Like I've met him before or something."
It was Aros's turn to frown now. "Met him before?"
"Yeah..." Iraki turned to gaze out at the sunset. The wind picked up slightly, and her next words were almost lost in the sound of the breeze. "I don't remember anything from before that day we met."
Aros's eyes widened. That was right. Iraki...she had shown up on the islands out of nowhere. Did this mean...? Could Iraki be...? Was she from another world? "So you could actually know him. Your hunch about him could be because of something that happened to you."
"Yeah." Iraki nodded just slightly again, frowning out at the disappearing sun.
"What about Kiru?"
Iraki bit her lip and shifted slightly, bringing her arms up around herself as if she were cold. She turned back to Aros to respond. "Kiru trusts him wholeheartedly."
"And?" Aros persisted. As he was asking the question, he didn't realize just how important it was, but in the second afterwards, while he was waiting for her answer, he could feel his heart pounding.
Iraki shrugged and brought her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around them. "I can't go against him."
Aros couldn't help his sharp intake of breath. In truth, he felt like falling backwards over the branch. It was like he had just had the wind knocked out of him--as if he had just been slugged in the stomach.
Or in the heart.
"But...but what if Ansem is dangerous? What if he does something!?" Aros struggled to keep his feelings--especially the sudden flare of anger--in check. He wouldn't explode at Iraki. He couldn't.
*But...but she just said...and Kiru and I disagree about Ansem...*
"Well, I have to believe that Kiru knows what he's doing," Iraki stated, resting her chin on her knees and keeping her gaze fixed resolutely on the sunset. There was determination in her features that Aros couldn't even pretend to understand.
"But don't you want to keep him safe?"
Iraki gave Aros a sidelong glance, apparently thinking hard about her response. "Of course I do. But Kiru trusts Ansem, and wouldn't it be so much worse if we turned against Kiru? He might...he could even run to Ansem because of being mad at us. This is better. Kiru can take care of himself, and we'll help him if he needs it." She nodded with the last of these words, as if to affirm them to herself.
For a moment, Aros was completely speechless. *But why am I so surprised? What she said...that's exactly what I'm doing, isn't it?* But he couldn't lie to himself. *No, it's not the same. I'm not going to side with him. He'll know where I stand, even if I'm mostly quiet about it. And...what Iraki said about turning against him... Maybe it bothers me so much because she and Kiru...*
Aros shook his head to force such thoughts away. Far away. "You're going to support him in helping Ansem then?"
Iraki hesitated before answering. She sighed, turning her gaze back to Aros again. "Yeah," she said finally. The look on her face was both determined and apologetic.
Aros shook his head again, but this time it wasn't to clear it; it was to help him suppress his anger. "But Iraki, if you don't trust Ansem-"
"I can't go against Kiru," Iraki repeated.
"...Fine then..." Aros stepped down from the branch and turned to face her. "You said you were ready to go before?"
Iraki bit her lip again, looking at Aros worriedly. He resisted the urge to scowl.
"Yeah, I guess I'm ready," she replied.
The urge to scowl grew stronger. She guessed she was ready after she had been so adamant about it before?
*But before was when Kiru was leaving.*
Aros couldn't help the frown that he could feel tugging at his lips. He nodded at Iraki. "All right then. Let's head home before it gets dark." He turned abruptly and strode to the bridge that would bring them into the shed, wondering exactly what his expression had looked like and dreading how Iraki would take it.
She, however, didn't say anything, and Aros didn't feel like he could handle turning to look at her again. Her expression might just set loose the anger and hurt that he was trying so hard to keep bundled up inside.
He had thought things were getting bad ever since Ansem's visit. Today they had taken a clear and definite turn for the worse. Worry tugged at Aros's mind that things could only continue this way for so long before something gave, but he tried to push those thoughts away from him, just as he tried to push away the growing turmoil of emotions within him.
Iraki couldn't turn against Kiru, huh? So what did that mean for him?
Aros and Iraki went home in almost complete silence, exchanging only a brief good-bye before heading to their separate houses. Not speaking was all Aros could do to hold back the unexpected flow of tears that was suddenly threatening to fall. Iraki was barely out of sight before he could hold back the tears no longer. Aros couldn't remember the last time he had wept like that. He didn't understand why he was suddenly crying so hard. He knew that he probably could understand if he would just listen to his thoughts and feelings, but he pushed that thought away from him as well. Inside. All of these doubts, all of this turmoil had to stay inside. Because if it stayed there, then there was still hope, right? As long as he didn't change on the surface, there was still hope of preserving his old life. Or at least the illusion of it.
Aros cried himself into a fitful sleep that night. In the morning, he wondered if any of Kiru's nightmares could possibly match the agonizing sights that he had seen in his restless dreams.
A/N: Sorry for the delay in finishing this chapter, not to mention the lack of action in the chapter itself. But trust me, important events are coming and coming soon! I am relatively certain that this will be a four chapter fic, and spoilers shouldn't exceed Chapter 39 of RSoD. I'll definitely try to be faster with the next chapter, but be warned: things are about to get turned upside down. A person can only be strained to a certain point, after all...
