This Soap Opera We Call Our Lives – Chapter 1: We All Want To Be Your Canary
Set to Simple and Clean, from Kingdom Hearts
By Raiknii
( a.A. Year 2 Rain 66 )
Riku's POV
Everything's still black. Dark. So was the light just a dream?
Where am I? What's going on?
A faint, but familiar voice calls, "Riku… Riku…"
I reach towards the voice. Maybe it's just Kingdom Hearts messing with me, but maybe… maybe I'm home. The voice sounds like home, somehow. I don't know how a voice can sound like Destiny Islands, but it does. I struggle to open my eyes – they feel like dead weights in my face.
"Riku?" I can hear a scramble, then someone calling, "Hey, Wakka! He's waking up!"
Wakka? Am I really… home? Home! Home, with its dazzling beaches, my friends, and… Sora. Oh, why did I ever want to leave? Home… The thought is dizzying, euphoric.
"Riku? It's me, Tidus. Are you awake?"
Tidus? So that's who the voice was… I fight with my eyes again. There! I wrench my eyes open – the light dashes across my vision – it hurts…!
"Riku, you all right?" Through the haze, I can vaguely recognize the speaker as Tidus.
Soon, the pain starts fading. Some of the haze fades away with the pain. I can see blurry shapes now, so I wait for the images to clear more.
What's going on? Nothing's happening! The image's still blurry!
"What's wrong with my eyes? I can't see! What's wrong?" I scream -I can barely recognize my own voice, it's so hoarse and panicked.
Tidus coaxes, "Calm down, Riku. There's nothing wrong. The doctor said the transition from light to dark would probably harm your eyes. You'll need glasses, that's all."
Glasses? That's not too bad. I can deal with glasses, especially if they look cool…
Wait. Tidus is here, Wakka was here, so where's Sora? Does he not even care enough to come here? Sora…?
And so I ask, "Where's Sora?"
I can see the blob that must be Tidus move. I think he's smiling at me. If he isn't, he's picking his nose. Ew. I think I'll go with the smile explanation.
"Wakka's looking for Sora right now."
I nod to show I understand, and then come up with another question. I wonder, "How long has it been?"
"We found you yesterday afternoon. Yesterday, it was the anniversary of the hearts' restoration."
I don't know what to say. A year? That's so long… A year of my life was wasted in that place of darkness.
I wonder what's happened since then? Have Sora and Kairi… gotten together?
Tidus seems to read my thoughts, continuing, "A lot's changed. I mean, we're all a year older, so I guess that's a big change… In fact, Wakka was checking out a girl the other day. That's a huge change, isn't it? After all, this is the fellow who thought girls had cooties until he was eleven!"
As I remember those times, I smile a little. Wakka used to run away from girls every time he saw one. It was really funny the first time Selphie met him.
Selphie had shrieked, "I wanna hug you!"
"Cooties! She has cooties, ya? Go away!"
Tidus cuts into my memory, saying, "Those were the good old days, weren't they? So much has changed since then… Wakka's become interested in girls, Selphie's a teensy-weensy bit less hyper, Sora and Kairi are together…"
Together? Sora and Kairi, a couple! So it's true… They really are together. Kingdom Hearts wasn't lying. I feel like sobbing my heart out right now, but I struggle to hold the tears back.
I must've looked like hell, because Tidus asks, "You all right?"
What can I say? 'I'm really upset because I love Sora. Oh, by the way, I'm a faggot who loves his best friend.' That would go over so well, wouldn't it? I'm sure Tidus would be so happy.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just never thought Sora would get enough courage to ask her out." This is true, by the way. I never did expect Sora to ask Kairi out. Maybe they would get together somehow, but Sora would never ask Kairi out. He's too chicken.
Tidus laughs, "I don't think he did. From what I hear, she pretty much asked him out."
We have a quiet laugh together, shaking our heads. That sounds better. It's more like how I expected Sora and Kairi would end up getting together…
But I guess I should give up on Sora loving me now. He's with Kairi now… There's not anything I can do about it, and I can at least try to be happy for them… Right? But I don't want to be happy for them. I want to be selfish! I want Sora all to myself!
I start quietly sobbing again, letting the tears wash away a little of the agony, the searing pain in my heart.
"Riku…" Tidus draws me into an embrace, humming some tuneless melody in my ear.
It's as close as I'll ever get to someone truly loving and caring about me, Tidus hugging me like this. I'll take it.
"Sora, do you think the Paopu fruit will really bond us together for eternity?"
Sora turns to smile at Kairi. "I don't know, Kairi. What do you think?"
"Well… I hope it will. But I don't think we need a fruit to keep us together."
"Yeah, you're right. You always are, Kairi."
Kairi giggles, blushing and ducking her head. "Of course I'm not always right. But it's so sweet of you to say so."
"It's the truth!" Sora shakes his head and laughs a little.
They sink into silence for a while. From the beach they are sitting on, they can see how the early morning light reflects off the sea. The sea is radiant in the warm rays of the sun.
"It's lovely…"
"What's lovely, Sora?" Kairi asks, tilting her head.
Sora seems to think for a while. "You."
"No, really. You were looking at something."
"I was looking at the sea. It's really pretty."
Kairi stares at Sora oddly, but agrees, "Yeah, it's really pretty."
"And I was serious. You are beautiful."
Kairi seems to like this praise, saying, "Thanks, Sora. That's why I love you, you know. 'Cause you're so nice."
"Aw, it's nothing…"
They pause again, Sora turning to look out at the sea, Kairi turning to look at Sora.
"What do you want to do when we grow up?" Kairi asks.
Sora turns back to Kairi. "When we grow up? Gee, I don't know. We'll be together, that's for sure. We'll still be with all our friends and everything… Except Riku…"
"Yeah… Except Riku. But at least we've got everyone else, and each other."
"…Kairi, will we get married when we're older?"
"Oh, Sora…"
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you or anything… Forgive me?"
Kairi smiles softly, telling Sora, "Silly. I thought it was obvious! Of course we're getting married when we're older, goose."
"Yeah…"
The two figures kiss under the sun's rays. Still-boyish hands curl into red hair that has gotten longer, and tongues twine together in an intricate dance.
When they pull apart, Sora whispers, "I haven't got a ring, but I promise to marry you in three years, when we're eighteen, alright?"
"I don't need a ring. I trust you to keep that promise." Kairi is beaming.
"Right. Consider us engaged, 'kay? It'll be our little secret! I'll get you a ring when we tell everyone."
"Okay."
The two are quiet again, just watching the sea.
The silence is broken by the sound of a running person, and the person's voice, which says, "Where were you, ya? We have wonderful news, ya know?"
Sora spins around to face Wakka, and queries, "What news?"
"Well, yesterday aft'anoon, Tidus and I found something on the beach, ya know?"
Kairi is curious now, asking, "What did you find?"
"We found Riku! He just woke up, ya? I dunno how he got here, but he's here, ya?"
They just stare for a minute, in shock. Sora recovers quickly, getting up immediately.
"Where is Riku, Wakka?"
"With Tidus, in the Seaside Shack., ya?"
After a little hesitation, Sora declared, "Right. Kairi, stay here. I want to talk to Riku by myself and ask him about how he got back."
Sora runs off, leaving Wakka and Kairi behind. They stare after him, then shrug, as if to say 'someone's eager'.
Sora can run like the wind. He hasn't forgotten his days fighting (and running away from) the Heartless yet. Breathless, panting, he reaches the little shack by the shore.
"Tidus? Riku? Are you here?" he calls.
Tidus slips out of the shack, light circles under his eyes. He says, "Oh, it's you. Riku's inside. You want to see him, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. How is he? Is he all right?"
"The doc says he'll live, but he'll need glasses because of some transition problem or something like that. He said something about the light levels changing, and that damaging Riku's eyes. I don't really get it, but… Apparently, there's nothing else wrong with him."
Actually, Tidus was lying through his teeth. He had seen the look on Riku's face, held the sobbing boy while stroking those soft silver locks. Besides, he had always had suspicions about Riku and Sora. And the suspicions had been confirmed – the look Riku had had on his face when he was told of Sora and Kairi's relationship made it possible to read Riku like an open book. But why tell Sora of Riku's love? If Riku never got a chance with Sora, Tidus still had a chance with Riku… Selfish, but love is blind to the greater good.
So Tidus tells Sora, "Why don't you see Riku now? I'm sure he'll be glad to see you. I'll go and get some rest."
"Sure! You look really tired. I guess you could use some rest. Or a lot. Don't worry – I'll take good care of Riku!" Sora, of course, knows nothing of the secret Tidus is keeping from him. So typical of Sora.
"Thanks a lot, Sora!" A big fake smile is plastered all over Tidus's face. Sora doesn't notice the total fakeness of Tidus's smile. After all, we're talking about the boy who never noticed Riku and Kairi both had crushes on him. Even now, he only notices one crush…
As Sora goes in the shack, Tidus walks away. Like water crashing down a waterfall, the smile drops off. As he takes a glance back, Tidus wonders what's going to happen to all of their love lives… How much havoc will Riku's arrival cause? Will Sora and Kairi break up so Sora can be with Riku? And then what? If that happens, what happens to the rest of us? Who will get together with whom?
As Sora walks into the shack, Riku turns blurry eyes towards the door. A vague lump… A horrible shade of red all over… Definitely Sora. Only Sora can wear that horrible outfit and still look good.
So he calls, "Sora?"
"Riku… You're back!"
The excitement, the happiness is too much for words. After a pause, Sora launches himself onto Riku, hugging him like a lifeline.
As Riku stares off with blurry eyes while Sora is hugging him, he wonders, 'What does he mean to say with this hug? Whatever does he mean? It can't mean what I want it to mean – he's with Kairi, now – but I don't want it to mean only friendship. I don't. Heavens above, please don't let it be only friendship…'
Withdrawing, Sora chirps, "It's so nice to have you back, Riku! Oh, so much has happened!"
It suffices to say the hours were filled with chatter of Kairi and how wonderful she was. (No discussion of how Riku got back or anything similarly practical.) And of course, quiet tears were shed, unnoticed. Quiet tears, some internal and some external, the latter hidden by a convenient blanket or pillow. As for the former – well, they went unnoticed. What do you expect?
And in this manner, Riku's first conscious day back on Destiny Islands ended in misery and tears. Really, what did you expect? Falling in love with someone who loves someone else is a bed of roses with thorns. Lots of thorns.
Disclaimer: See prologue.
A/N (Raiknii): Well, here's a longer chapter. I think they'll be this long from now on. I think. It all depends, really.
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If anyone can tell me the not-so-subtle references (a.k.a. more-or-less copying) to another game in the Prologue and the meaning of the title of this chapter (Yeah, I know, the second part's easy.), I'll let you help with the plot and/or make a minor character.
Btw, the more criticism, the better! I love it!