AN: Wow, I got reviews on an old story, which made me think about KHs, which made me update. I know this entire non video game world has drug on waaaay too long, but soon our heros will be moving on! In the meantime, there is yet another annoying original character, sorry. I was forced to change the way I format, because MONSTEROUS EATS my old section breaks. So, anyway, I hope all the NEW ones I had to put in using the edit feature are actually, like, in the right places.

Disclaimer: All of the characters you recognize belong to Disney.

Through These Eyes

Chapter Nine

"I don't want to wake you,
But I'd like to tell you that I love you."

-Pinky, Elton John

"Would you stop feeding that thing?" Mary rolled her eyes as Taylor passed another piece of syrup sodden pancake to the small fox monster beneath the table.

They were enjoying an early breakfast at the inn, complete with coffee and milkshakes. Mary viewed it as a sort of last meal before her mother found her and grounded her to death, while Taylor just enjoyed the chance to be up and chatting at 3 in the morning.

"The food is excellent, don't you think?"

"Are you talking to me or the dog?"

"Either, or." He smiled at her, leaning his elbows on the table and taking a sip from her milkshake. "Mm, blueberry."

"Hey!" She shielded the tall glass with her hands, "Stop desecrating my food!"

Taylor smirked lazily, amused, before cocking his head to the side, listening. His eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Oh, great, what-" She cut off at the wave of her companions hand, and favored him with a glare rather than a lecture.

A moment more and an actual smile spread across his face, "Oh, this is going to be rich." He raised a hand, flagging down their waitress. "I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but we're going to need a larger table please, miss." He looked up at her, widening his eyes, still smiling gently.

"Oh, oh, sure, of course," the girl fluttered in place a moment before reaching to take their half full plates, "right this way."

"Go on," He pulled Mary from her seat, "I have to register some rooms."

"What? Why? We're not staying, Taylor."

"You'll see."

Ten minutes later Mary would see, but she heard even sooner.


Even at three thirty in the morning there were enough people awake to make a bit of a scene when the behemoth dragged in. Mary sat up at the first heavy stamping sounds, then raced to the window when she heard the a shout. A shop keep's scream came next, but by then Mary had rushed outside, squinting into the early morning darkness. "Oh my God..." She fell back a step before recovering her courage. She had never seen anything so huge; it was as big as a house, with tusks like a wild pig, and one giant horn sticking out of its head. A few more shaking steps and she could make out her older brother riding on the thing's massive back, looking tired but calm.

She stared, mouth opening slighting in complete shock, she would never make fun of him again.

Riku winced as the first sharp shriek rang out. He had a headache and the wailing of the townsfolk was certainly not helping. Even worse, the shouts scared the behemoth, making it hesitate and shift its feet. Riku dropped back and placed a hand on its leg, the last thing he needed was it dancing around, knocking everyone off its back, and trampling them to death. Though right now he wouldn't object to a few flattened villagers.

The behemoth calmed under his touch and walked slowly beside him. It must have caught wind of his thoughts, since it moved with exaggerated care, carefully placing each foot and smoothing its gait.

Riku pat its shoulder, "Good boy, just a little further," He glanced around them, reading signs, looking for somewhere they could stop. A medic's or an inn or even an empty hay barn.

"Well," A sharp voice cut through his thoughts and made his head throb. "Did you really have to bring the giant pig into town?"

Riku turned to glare at the speaker, a young girl with dark hair and a disapproving expression. "Yes." His voice was ice cold.

Lance didn't even bother to look up, let alone wonder what his little sister was doing all the way out there at that hour, "Mary, stop it."

"B-" She cut herself off, remembering her resolve of five seconds ago to leave her brother alone, and ground her teeth instead. "Can you at least let it go now? Breakfast is waiting, and not very patiently."

Riku ignored her, choosing instead to walk the behemoth a little father forward before waving to its passengers to dismount, he had seen the sign above the building, and an inn was just what they needed, annoying brat in the way or not.

Remington slid down first, before reaching back up to help Lance lower Sora. The woodcutter came after, tugging Avery behind him. Mary's eyes widened, and an expression like horror crossed her face, "Oh my God, what happened to him?" She reached out, pulling Sora from the Riku clone's grasp, holding him up with the strength of a girl who still had to move hay bales and muck out stalls. She turned to glare at Riku's back, eyes dark with accusation, "You're the guy he was looking for aren't you? What happened to him?"

Riku's features tightened, anger and hate and jealousy building up inside him. For some reason he despised this little girl, resented her for worrying about Sora maybe, or for holding him like he meant something to her. For so obviously being another of the brunette's many many friends, yet another competitor, another replacement. For underlining how very much he was not needed. His jaw clenched, and the heartless turned toward him, Anti Sora's eyes flaring with excitement, Remington's reflecting wary worry.

"Well, well!" A cheerful voice cut in, "don't we all look determinedly despondent?" Taylor smiled from the doorway before moving forward to place his hands on Mary's shoulders both steadying and holding her back, he knew better than to try and restrain Riku. "Lance? Take Sora please, we'll need to carry him upstairs. Room 3."

Lance nodded mutely, lifting the keybearer and walked into the building, careful not to bang the boy's head against the door frame. Orders were about all he could understand at this stage.

"Stay!" Riku commanded the behemoth harshly before following after the woodcutter, shoving past Mary and slipping through the door. "Hey!" Mary turned back, expression indignant.

"Don't," Taylor squeezed her shoulders gently, "just let him be." He looked over the girl's head at the heartless, "how about something to eat?"


Riku didn't join the others in the dining room, though Taylor came to invite him after Sora had been settled in. Instead he sat hunched in a chair next to the boy's bed staring pensively at his friend's pale face. The shadow sat in the floor next to him, also worried, but its golden eyes were focused on him. It thought he should eat, rest, make sure Anti Sora was behaving. After all, there was nothing he more he could do for Sora. All the boy's wounds had been healed, they had made sure, striping him out of his filthy clothes and sending them down to be washed. Now he wore one of Riku's extra shirts and a loose pair of shorts borrowed from the innkeep's son. It was just exhaustion or stress or some bizarre brain damage that was keeping him down now.

Nonetheless, Riku couldn't bring himself to leave.

"Please, please, wake up."


Sora was dreaming.

He was at home, lying in his bed, waiting for his mother to call him down for breakfast. There were figurines on his bedside table, a dog with a sheild and a helmet was facing off against a My Little Pony Sora didn't like anyone to know he owned. Overhead were airplanes and ships and posters pinned to his ceiling. The guitar he had gotten for his eleventh birthday lay on the foot of his bed, marbles rolling around inside of it, making soft thudding noises when he shifted his feet.

He could hear his mother's footsteps in the hallway, light and steady, coming to wake him. He hoped she had cooked french toast and omlets, he had a yen for bacon, cheese and sugar.

"Wake up." Sora rolled on his side, brows drawing together sleepily, that wasn't his mother's voice.

"Time to get up, Honey." It was much too squeaky.

Sora sat up as his door swung open, smiling bemusedly, wondering if she was sick. "Mom?"

"Yes, dear?" She stepped into his room, beady eyes bright black, long narrow beak fixed into a gaping, open-mouthed grin.

Sora screamed and scrambled backwards against the wall, staring at the hideous bird head affixed to the thing's face like a mask. Half congealed blood dripped from its neck as it turned the head, really smiling now, yellow flesh curling and cracking around the edges of the mouth, revealing a thick black tongue that pressed upwards, tracing nonexistant lips.

In the back of his mind he realized why he had recognized the footsteps, the creature had his mother's body, her green apron, her ugly pink sweat pants, even her dainty feet in their leather sandals.

Sora pressed back, gasping, frozen in fear. His keyblade was nowhere to be seen, like it didn't really exist.

"Whats wrong, sweetheart?" The thing walked closer, dripping gore as it went, one of his mother's beautifully manicured hands reaching behind it to gently swing the door shut. "Don't worry, mommy will make it better."

Sora pressed against the closed window and screamed.


"Sora? Sora!" Riku reached out to the restless form on the bed, heisitating a moment before shaking him gently. His skin was hot and sticky, the cold paleness of his face replaced with a pink flush. Riku realized with some disgust that he actually found it rather attractive. "God, Sora, wake up!" He a hand and slapping him sharply across the face.

The boy's eyes snapped open, and he stared up, mouth moving soundlessly, obviously not quite awake. When he saw Riku leaning over him he jerked back, pressing himself down into the pillows, eyes terrified.

Riku pulled away, giving him space, doing his best to push down the hurt at the not so friendly reception. "Its just me." He swallowed back the sad disappointment that was struggling into his voice, "Dreaming about waves again?" Funny how he still remembered that, even after so long.

Sora shook his head, eyes still wary, but warming by degrees. "Riku?" His voice was plaintive, not quiet believing.

The white haired boy nodded, dropping a hand to drag his knuckles across Sora's cheek, an odd affectionate gesture, and absolutely nothing like him. "I see your still alive, I'm impressed."

Sora nodded, still not quite himself, unable to summon his usual daredevil grin.

"Feel up to going downstairs, grabbing something to eat? Eggs maybe?"

Sora stared for a moment, before leaning forward and throwing up all over the bed and his best friend's lap.


As it was, it was probably for the best that Sora decided to skip eating that morning. After a night of dealing with Mary, Taylor, and the Antis the inn staff wanted nothing more than for them to leave, or perhaps die, and might very well have engaged in typical passive-aggressive techniques, such as spitting in the food, to express their displeasure.

Lance had headed off to bed almost immediately, tugging Avery along with him and tying him to the small stove in his room. For his part, Avery didn't bother to struggle, he was as tired as the rest of them and figured there would be ample time for escape in the morning. Besides, he wanted to know if Sora was all right and an inn floor was more comfort than he usually got.

Thus the others were left in the dubious care of Taylor the tailor, and not surprisingly, chaos ensued.

First off, he let Anti Sora order beer. Which was by far the biggest mistake of the day. Apparently the heartless were quite capable of eating and drinking, as well as becoming intoxicated, and in twenty minutes the Anti Sora was miming rude jokes and trying to hit on the waitress. Mary was fascinatedly disgusted by both the Sora clone and the beer. Occasionally stealing sips of the noxious drink from Taylor glass, as if it would taste better the fifth time she tried it. Eventually he began to guard his mug, apparently deciding that while she was old enough to try, she was not ready to experience true drunkenness firsthand.

Remington didn't drink.

Which, when he eventually noticed it, Anti Sora took as personal insult against him and his debaucherous ways. Then he apparently decided that the other clone was spending much too much time being polite to the waitress, grabbed him by his shadowy collar, and drug him outside.

Taylor and Mary didn't follow, instead choosing to right the table and play a game of cards. Mary spent the last hour before dawn learning how to bet and bluff. There was beer and toast ground into the carpet.

The fact that the behemoth had eaten more than half of the hay at the stables just added insult to injury.


In her own world, Kairi yawned and stretched, rolling onto her side. She felt sleepy and warm, but a vague feeling of unease crept through her, making her glance suspiciously out the window. Nope, no sign of heartless or serial killers or bums, everything was as it should be. Kairi snuggled back down into the couch, it was Sunday, she could get a little more sleep in before meeting Selphie and the boys.
"Avery!"

The white haired boy looked up, his one eye brightening as it fell on Sora's form standing in the doorway. "Sora! You're alive." He smiled sweetly.

"Yeah," Sora shifted, nervous and a touch embarrassed. "Um, why are you tied up?"

Avery nodded toward Lance, sitting silently on the bed, and affected a hurt look. "They don't like me." He gazed up at Sora, wide eyed and plaintive.

The woodcutter shook his head, still groggy, not ready to start yet another long day. "He's a werewolf, Sora. I'm guessing he didn't bother to tell you." his voice was laced with tired scorn for deceitful canines.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know species identification was a prerequisite to friendship." Avery snapped, expression morphing into narrow eyed annoyance.

"A werewolf?" Sora looked back and forth between them, not quite believing. "But, how... I mean, does it matter? he's been real nice to me..."

Lance sighed, staring at his feet, "Werewolves are dangerous."

"Specieist." came the mutter from the floor.

Sora's eyes darkened, "I'm dangerous."

"They kill livestock too," Taylor offered. He was in the hall, watching. "And occasionally people. That one's rumored to be a chicken thief, if I'm not mistaking. They've been trying to catch him for months."

"A rumor? You tied him up because of a rumor? Its not fair. Its not right."

"Yeah, werewolves are humanoid too."

Lance threw his hands up, "All right, all right." He took a small knife from his belt and cut the shadow ropes binding Avery's hands. It wasn't really a difficult decision. He didn't like thieves or murderers or wolves very much, but he hadn't been so sure about hauling the boy back to town to be burned to death or locked away, no matter what the laws might say.

Avery beamed, rubbing his wrists. "Wonderful. Now how about we order the ex-prisoner tea and doughnuts?"


Riku remained quiet throughout the werewolf liberation efforts, preferring to sulk in a dark corner and wait for everyone to go away. He was tired, and although he had materialized clean clothes, he still felt filthy.

"So what do you plan to do now, Sora?" Taylor had moved to sit on the bed. He had ordered the tea, which only him and Avery felt like drinking, but neglected pastries.

Riku lifted his head slighting, focusing briefly on the tailor before shifting his attention to Sora, waiting for the boy's response.

The keybearer half-shrugged, "I need to find the keyhole to this word, and lock it."

"You've got to be kidding." Mary slumped against the bed, too stubborn to sleep, too tired to keep her eyes open.

Sora shrugged again, "That's how it goes. I go to a world, find the keyhole, and lock the heartless out of the world's core. If I don't, eventually, it disappears. The world disappears, I mean, it gets destroyed from the inside."

"Sounds serious." Taylor didn't look particularly serious, "the core, huh?" "Yea, do you know it?" The brunette perked up.

"No, I actually don't. Diamond might though, we'll have to pay him a visit."

"Diamond!"

"We?"

Avery laughed over the complaints, unreasonably amused.

"You're not really taking him to Diamond?" Mary sat up straight, glancing over Sora, "I don't think he's quite ready for that."

"What?" Sora cocked his head, confused... again.

"What do you mean we'll have to go visit him? Thank you for your help, really. But Sora and I can handle this." Riku had also straightened. He didn't think he could stand spending any more time smothered by Sora's new friends. "We know what we're doing."

"Right, you know what you're doing. Like wandering around aimlessly in the woods and chatting with werewolves and almost getting eaten! Yeah, you really know what you're doing." Mary glared, fully wakened by anger.

Riku stared back. Fire and ice met in their gazes, both furious in their own way.

Taylor talked over them. "He lives just on the other side of town, I can show you while we wait for Mrs. Lawrence to make her infuriated way here."

Mary paled at the mention of her mother, breaking away from the staring match and standing hurriedly, "Let's go!"

A hand on her arm held her still. "I don't think so." Lance looked down at his little sister, eyes tired but set, "you will stay here and wait for Mother."

Mary turned pleading eyes on Taylor, "Do I really have to stay?"

He shrugged, "Sorry, dear, your brother makes the rules. Say 'hello' to your mother for me." He patted her on the head. "Let's go friends." He gestured to the door, waiting for the group to file out.


Anti Sora scowled at the dirt floor of the barn. He felt awful, his head was pounding and the evening hadn't gone as planned. He had meant to stay cool and aloof. To catch the interest of his polite Riku-shaped counterpart by suddenly acting distant. A few drinks and all that had fallen through. Remington had been perfectly ignoring him and chatting up the waitress instead. It made the Sora clone see red.

The next part hadn't been so much of a plan as a jealous retaliation. He drug Remi outside, stomped around him once, glaring furiously, and kissed him. The other heartless, after a moment of shocked stillness, had shoved him away with a sneer and stared back at him with flat emotionless eyes that made him look exactly like Riku.

Anti Sora had been forced to hit him.

Naturally, Remington The Perfect had not retaliated, choosing instead to look down on Anti Sora, which he somehow managed to do even while lying in the dust, before pulling himself to his feet and walking away.

It was awful. Worse than the embarrassment and the jealousy and the anger was the horrible guilt. God, he hated feeling guilty.


He sat by himself upstairs, sucking thoughtfully on a stick of rock candy and making decisions. It would be an easy enough thing to prevent, and he certainly had enough reasons. But then there was that sense of being watched, a threat that seemed to hang in the air, displayed in the way the shadows grew darker every day.

He gazed at the floor, at the gold tracings in the crimson rug. Stared until he could see they way the threads shifted and leaned, until he could find the pattern like eyes that always seemed to be there now, following him. He made his decision.

"Tom, Robert. Tidy up the living room, we're going to have guests." His voice carried, not unpleasantly, throughout the house.

Diamond stood up, wide legged pants sweeping out like a skirt around him, and left the room.

He needed to start the tea, it wouldn't do to be unprepared.