By: K-c
A/N: OH YEA! I'm very glad that everybody liked my chappie! Well, in this one, some odd stuff happens. I'm extremely stressed out, though, lately! My friends Ari and Fa-Talony suddenly and spontaneously discovered how wonderful my fic is(:mutters: yea right . . .), and are now throwing endless ideas at me! I come home from school every day with at least four notes in my pockets :sigh: So . . .we planned out this fic to chappie 13! AND I'M ONLY ON CH. 7! GAH:calms down: Well, I just felt like telling everyone that . . .Sorry for the wait, projects came flying out of nowhere cuz it's the beginning of the second semester . . .:sigh: I hate school. But now I'm here and ready to type! Yay! Here ya go!
Disclaimer: I do not own KH or their characters . . .Je suis desole . . .je ne sais pa . . . (french) TUE LE!
Ch. 7: Uncovered TruthYuna's POV:
"And how in the heck are you planning on getting inside, mister 'I-know-everything-about-the-world'?"
Tidus looked around at Rikku who was sitting cross-legged on a nearby boulder, pouting and looking very impatient. I couldn't read the expression on his face, but I sensed some slight annoyance as he walked over to the side of Kairi's white house and peered up at it thoughtfully. I stayed where I stood, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts that seemed obviously deep. A quick gust of wind swooped on by, lifting my skirt up again, and I held it down irritably. Rikku gave a loud sigh of impatience from behind me and I ignored her. My eyes drifted over to Tidus again; whom was now tugging on the gray gutter that hung down from the roof. He wasn't planning to climb on that, was he?
"Okay, you first,"
I looked up and saw that he was directing the order to me. Confusion swept over my mind as his blue eyes locked with mine. 'Oh yea, sure . . .make me go first . . . ' I thought in a somewhat bitter way. I had a feeling that he wasn't just going to let me climb up that flimsy gutter without some kind of aid, but he sure didn't mention that. It didn't seem quite right for me to climb this thing in the dumb skirt I was wearing, nor did it seem right for him to be right behind me as I climbed. Ah, but what the hell.
I walked slowly over to where the gutter hung down near the ground and waited hopefully for a 'don't worry, it's safe' look, but I didn't receive any. I grabbed the cool metal with my left hand and then looked up. It seemed further than what it really was when you were looking up at it like this. The small little window that swung out was placed slightly to the right of the gutter, and it would be quite a trial trying to get through it. I hoisted myself up with my other hand and my legs and felt the slightly unstable metal give an uneasy wobble. I continued to pull myself upwards, though, until I heard Tidus starting to climb up behind me. The far away window was getting closer and closer and I now felt and heard Rikku join in the climbing procession.
When the window was eye length with me, I stretched out over to peer inside. Through the thick class, I saw Kairi's casual room on the other side. I didn't find sight of her anywhere, which only forced my blood to rush some more. I did notice one thing, though, and that was that her closet door was opened. A dim light spilled out from within and shone in patches on her purple carpet.
"Is something wrong?" Tidus called from below. I looked around and saw both of them eagerly hanging on below. Tidus' face was flushed (I think he was blushing because he could see my panties), which made me hasten to get inside. I reached out far and pushed open the lock on the outside, causing the panes to pull out. I ducked underneath them and grabbed the ledge tightly. Making sure that my grip was firm, I swung around onto the windowsill. I clambered over the ledge and landed softly in Kairi's room. The room was dim, with not much light coming through the window. The only light that I saw clearly was the one coming from inside of her walk-in closet.
I heard a quiet movement coming from behind the door to the closet, and I started to walk towards it when a hand behind me grabbed my shoulder. I spun around to see Tidus standing behind me, staring at the closet and Rikku coming into the room from the window. I could tell that he saw the confused and worried look on his face because his hand slowly slid off of my shoulder so gently and he walked quietly over to the closet door. I followed closely behind and I heard Rikku nearby, too. As we neared the door, my heart started to pound and I started to dread what I was going to see.
"Oh my God . . ." Tidus muttered under his breath when he could peer inside. His tone made my blood rush and I hurried beside him to see what was shocking him so. Inside I saw a sight that both confused and infuriated me. Sora was lying on the floor covered in a blanket. There was dried blood surrounding his head and in his brown hair and bruises covered his pale face. His mouth was partly open in what seemed a deep sleep, but something tingled inside of my veins telling me that this was no sleep of the innocent.
" . . .Sora . . .?"
KAIRI'S POV:
With every step I took the water in the cup sloshed around and almost spilled out and over the rim. I tried my hardest to not spill a drop to leave evidence for my way-too-suspicious mother, but it was hard because I was climbing the stairs. I didn't get hardly any sleep last night so my legs kept wobbling underneath me and I just wanted to fall down and sleep. I couldn't, though; I had a job to do. But why the hell was I even committing myself to this degrading post? What the hell is driving me to do this?
I sighed irritably to myself as I continued to march up the endless stairs to my room. Some water spilled out of the glass and splashed all over my hand. I cursed under my breath and turned the corner to the hallway. I rounded the corner into my room and didn't bother to turn on the lights. It wouldn't make a difference anyway. Something caught my eye, though, as I glanced up ahead of me. I saw a long braided ponytail sticking out from inside of my closet door. Brown hair stuck out from the bottom of it.
Panic immediately seized my mind and body as I dropped the glass onto the carpet. 'Oh God! It's Yuna!' I thought through all of my franticness. I ran over to the closet and jerked open the door to see not one person, but three sitting on my floor and now looking up at me. Two faces were full of anger and one was of pity. Yuna leapt to her feet and shook my shoulders in fury.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT HE NEEDS HOSPITAL CARE?" she shouted into my face, her normally pale complexion blooming red. I was still recovering from the shock of the situation, that nothing seemed to register. I didn't say a word; I just looked past her face and at Tidus and Rikku who were staring up at us. My eyes focused back on Yuna and the words came back into my mouth.
"He doesn't need anymore help! I'm taking perfectly fine care of him!" I somewhat calmly told her, even though I could hear my own voice raising in sudden anger. Yuna squeezed my shoulders so tight, I almost cried out. Her face was so full of wild fury-I didn't understand why . . .
"So this is what you've been doing all day, huh? 'Taking care' of him when he so obviously needs help besides yours! Kairi, you stupid bitch! HE COULD DIE!" She screamed shrilly into my face. I could notice something else visible in her expression. I saw worry. My eyes drifted over to Sora who was now stirring and about to wake. I didn't mean to hurt him . . .I just felt like this was like paying off my debt of putting him in serious danger . . .I didn't know that his life was on the line . . .Sora . . .I'm so sorry!
"Yuna! That's enough! Please, just leave her alone. She probably has had the worst day ever and she doesn't need you to make it any more horrible," Tidus told Yuna calmly and pulled her away from me. Sore marks burnt into my flesh from where her tight grip was once. He guided her back inside of the closet and made her sit down. I saw her exchange another furious glare at me, though I saw some tears shining in her two-coloured eyes. I slowly walked into the closet, trying not to step on anybody because it was starting to get crowded.
Rikku looked at me with sad eyes and then back at Sora. "Poor Sora . . ." she whispered softly under her breath and stroked his hair in a caring way. They all treated him like a child. He was definitely not a little boy by the way he gave Riku a black eye and other wounds. He could care for himself, but right now he needed me. I gazed into his pale face and saw that his eyes were about to open. I sat down beside him and pulled the blanket up to his chest. His body felt warm and alive . . .not the cold dead one I brought back here last night. His eyelids gently opened to reveal those stunning blue eyes that I saw everytime I fell asleep. He blinked a few times, then, getting the feeling that he wasn't alone; he sat up abruptly and met all of our eyes.
"Um . . .what the hell are you guys doing here?" Sora asked quietly to nobody in particular. Rikku immediately wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Sora looked taken aback and thoroughly confused by this attention he was receiving. A sharp pang hit my side and I rubbed it curiously. It didn't seem external . . .almost internal . . .was it . . .jealousy?
Rikku pulled away, leaving a still confused Sora staring around at us, his eyes pleading for answers. Then, all eyes turned to me. Oh no . . .did they want answers from me? What should I say? I don't want to tell them that Riku was the one who caused this pain . . .I don't want them to go after him . . .After all, I still love him dearly no matter what he did even though it was horrible. I just can't leave him alone . . .I'll lie.
"Tell us what happened, Kairi," Tidus ordered me sternly. There was no use of beating around the bush . . . I had to come up with a lie . . .and fast. I shifted nervously in my position, feeling the heat from all of their stares boring into my eyes. Oh, come on! Think!
"Well, Sora told me that he was out walking late at night because he was looking for a book he had dropped on his way home . . ." I lied somewhat casually, combining all of our stories into one, big, messy lie. " . . .And then . . .he tripped over a rock . . .and . . .hit his head! Yea! That's it . . .and . . .then . . .I found him . . .and took him back to my house where I gave him care until he got better," I stumbled around uncertainly with Sora nodding his head in false agreement and adding in an occasional "Yea!" After I had finished, the confused looked convinced, but Tidus still appeared skeptical.
"Why were you out last night, though?" He asked me curiously. My mind was out of excuses. I started to mumble something when Sora cut my off.
"She was just out taking a walk because she couldn't go to sleep . . ."
"Yea! That's it!" I hurriedly exclaimed, trying to put on my most convincing expression. Sora and I exchanged glances and I felt a rush of gratitude towards him just then and there. He actually helped me out with my lying . . .maybe he's not so bad afterall . . .
Tidus and Rikku nodded their heads, but Yuna stayed still. I could see some more disbelief on her face, but she didn't say a word. I let out the deep breath that I had been holding in for the past 2 minutes. Well, that nightmare that I had been dreading was finally over, but . . .it looks like Yuna still needs more evidence.
Tidus and Rikku bid their farewells to Sora and me and when they started to leave, Yuna stayed where she was. I can't believe that my pathetic lie convinced Tidus and Rikku. Maybe they were just leaving to do their homework or go to some party. I knew that they would bring up the subject at some other time, and then I would have to tell the truth. I don't like lying . . .plus, I'm not very good at it.
The soft click of my windowpanes signaled their departure and silence greeted the three of us in the dim closet. Yuna didn't say a word, neither did Sora and I, but the suspense was growing so incredibly, I wanted to shout or something, just to make a sound. I threw a few uneasy glances towards Yuna, but she had her head down and was pulling on the one strand of carpet that stuck up absentmindedly. I got the sudden of image of me sitting where she was last night, doing the same thing and regretting everything that had happened. It was there that I had fallen into a restless slumber and where the horrible and unthinkable thought crossed my mind concerning Sora and a strong feeling.
A deep sigh escaped her lips and I could sense anger hiding within it. I still had the hunch that her sudden burst of anger towards me wasn't fully recovered just yet. The awkward and suspended silence was driving me insane and I wanted to shake the words out of her. Sora looked over to his left and searched the floor for whatever could amuse his mind when his eyes locked on something in the corner near him. A pair of my pink poka-dotted panties. Sora's eyes grew wide and I quickly snatched them up and threw them in the laundry basket, my face flushing with embarrassment. I saw a faint glow on his cheeks as well, also some disappointment. Boys will be boys . . .
"So . . .what really happened last night?" Yuna finally asked in a soft and restrained tone. My eyes drifted back over to her and she still wouldn't look at me. It kind of hurt me that she was acting so cold towards me. I couldn't exactly blame her, though; I did do something kind of crazy. I wasn't going to lie this time . . .Yuna is one of my best friends and she listens to me everytime I have a troubled situation, so I can at least tell her this.
"I was out walking because I had to clear my head . . ." Sora spoke up suddenly. I figured that he was going to tell his side of the story, which made me breathe a sigh of relief. " . . .When Riku came by. We started to talk and he mentioned something about me liking—"
I looked at him curiously, wondering why he stopped and saw a red glow on his cheeks. He quickly ducked away and there was another awkward moment of silence. Yuna cleared her throat impatiently, wanting him to continue, but I remained wondering. 'Liking—' . . .what does that mean? Could it possibly mean that he likes me? Phh . . .yea right . . .I'd kick his ass if I ever found that out . . .I don't want Sora liking me . . .that's creepy . . .
"Go on . . ."
"We started talking just as we usually do when he mentioned the thing that happened earlier that day, and by then, I was so sick of people commenting that my anger was let free and pushed him backwards. We started to argue, and then it turned violent. Before I knew it, we were throwing punches in the dark. That's when he kicked me down and knocked me unconscious, but not before kicking me seven times in the gut. Then . . .we just left me there . . .that's all I can remember . . .I woke up here . . ." Sora spoke in a gentle and quiet tone, sadness with the occasional anger mingling in his voice. His eyes were to the floor and I saw some tears welling up inside of those blue pools. I wanted to embrace him, but my body would not move. It was my turn to throw in my side of the story.
"Well, I was out walking because I was looking for my book that I had dropped when . . .er . . .something happened . . ." I broke off, not wanting to tell them about the whole Riku situation. It was too embarrassing and plus, I didn't want to relive it.
"I heard someone coughing up ahead on the road, and I looked around a boulder to see Sora . . ." I continued to tell her about how I dragged his lifeless body up the path and into my room. Yuna would not meet my eyes, but I could tell that she was listening intently. When I had finished, her eyes met mine.
"Why did you lie to us?"
I knew that that question was going to pop up at sometime. I hadn't prepared an excuse, so I just decided to use an honest answer. Even if the answer I were about to say would ruin Riku forever; it was a chance I had to take. I could trust Yuna . . .I have trusted her for the past 13 years . . .through all of my horrible times . . .she was there . . .she has a right to know what's going on.
"I didn't want Riku getting hurt . . ."
LATER
With Yuna gone, Sora and I were once again alone. There was a brief moment of silence before Sora gave a dry cough. I immediately regretted dropping the glass I was going to give him. I left the room to retrieve another and when I came back with an unspilled glass, he drank it gratefully. After he placed the emptied glass on the carpet, he turned to look at me. I was expecting to see a smile or some other form of happiness, but the only thing I saw was fury.
"Riku has crossed the line with this one . . .I can't take being pushed around by him anymore!" he shouted in an irate tone. I didn't know what to say. I agreed with him all the way that this was a horrible thing that Riku had done, but . . .I felt like I still wanted to protect him from any harm . . .but here I was sitting beside a boy that was trashed by Riku. I had nothing to say that wouldn't come out wrong.
"Kairi . . .I want revenge . . ."
Revenge . . .revenge . . .revenge . . .the word seemed to echo through my head. My mind knew that it was a horrible thing to do to somebody who hurt you . . .but there seemed no way of talking Sora out of it. He had that determined look on his face and I knew that no words would wipe it off of him. What if Sora did indeed get revenge for Riku's actions . . .then what? It would only end up in more pain . . .and that doesn't solve anything. I didn't want Sora to get hurt again . . .because I had that funny feeling that Riku would just pound the shit out of him and leave him to die again.
"I don't think that you—"
"You can't change my mind, Kairi! Listen to me, I have to make Riku pay for what he did to me . . .the only way I can, though, is to beat it into him!"
Yup, I knew that reasoning wouldn't change him mind. He talked so tough for a 16 year-old lying on the floor with a bruised and swollen stomach. I almost smiled at his ego . . .
"Just . . .please promise me . . ." I dropped my voice to barely a whisper even though we were the only people here. My eyes drifted to the floor and I stared intently into it, as if it was going to help me through this dilemma. Tears started to rise into my eyes and I blinked them away, causing them to roll down my cheeks like miniature waterfalls. Sora didn't say anything, which made me very glad. I didn't need comfort right now . . .I just had to say the words that were hanging on my heart.
"Just promise me that you won't get hurt . . .okay?" I asked him, looking back up at his face, the tears still continuing to roll out of my eyes. Just cry . . .I've been holding it in for way too long now . . .Sora's expression soften quite a deal when he saw my sadness and worry. He moved close towards me and reached a hand up to my face. His cold fingers grazed my cheek and only caused more tears. I didn't need comfort . . .I only needed him to be safe . . .
"Don't worry . . ."
His warm breath fell over my face as his eyes slowly closed and he neared me closer, still. I didn't move and my eyes closed halfway. My senses didn't seem intact at this situation occurring. The next thing I knew, his warm lips gently brushed up against mine, but did not lock. It was just a sweet . . .innocent . . .kiss. He kissed me. Sora kissed me. After that sweet encounter, he moved in closer to kiss me again only more secure when I heard the front door downstairs slam shut and footsteps echo through the hallway below.
Sora and I immediately moved away from each other and remained perfectly still, trying so hard not to stir because every little sound you make upstairs is heard downstairs. He gave me a worried and concerned glance, but I was still stuck in a little daydream. The boy who I can somewhat hardly stand lightly kissed me. It hadn't been full of passion, which I was glad about, but . . .it was still there . . .
We remained unmoving for a half-hour when it turned 4:30. At that time, I slowly and as quietly as I could, left the closet and closed the door so I could change. I grabbed my uniform from off of the floor and changed as quickly as possible, did my hair neatly and grabbed my backpack. I had done something like this earlier this morning. I had left my house as usual and then waited behind a rock in a grove until I saw my mom's car pull out of the driveway. When she was out of sight, I crept back into my room to stay with Sora. So now I was doing this again.
I unlatched my window and crept carefully out onto the roof and lowered myself down by the gutter near my window. I landed on the ground gracefully and scurried over to the path from which I come from school. I started to walk up the path towards my house and act tired from a long day of school. I neared my front door and pushed it open to see my mom standing in the kitchen reading a cookbook. She looked up at me when I came inside, kicked off my shoes and shut the door.
"Hello, honey. How was your day at school?" she asked me sweetly while giving me a hug. I smelled that flowered perfume that was easy to recognize.
"Boring as usual . . ." I lied casually, wriggling out of her embrace. I walked over to the sink and poured myself a glass of water. God, was I thirsty. My mom continued to ask me her usual after-school questions and I bore it, but then, I was dismissed up into my room. I hurried up the stairs and rounded the corner to my room and back into my closet where Sora still lay.
"Are you feeling better?" I asked him quietly, still not wanting my mom to hear us. Sora nodded his head and I felt satisfied.
I went down around 6:00 to eat dinner and brought Sora a roll and a bit of chicken. I knew that tonight he would have to leave and go back to his house. I have wondered why his parents haven't thought about him, but when I asked, he said that he lives alone. I thought that that was pretty tragic . . .but . . .I didn't say that aloud. Sora would have to leave late at night when my mom was sleeping. Him and I talked for a while, quietly though, and when night fell and we grew tired, he bid goodnight for the meantime and fell asleep. I set my alarm clock to go off at 2:00 AM so that he could sneak out easily.
I shivered unintentionally and rolled onto my side. Another cold breeze wafted over me and this time I opened my eyes. I had to blink a few times and also to adjust to the darkness of my room. I swung my legs around to the side of the bed and stepped over to the closet. I opened the door and didn't turn on the light. Where Sora had been laying . . .was empty. There was no form lying on the ground; just a pile of messed up blankets. Before I could fully panic, another cold breeze blew through me and I spun around to see the window wide open. I ran over to it and leaned out over the edge, scanning the ground for any signs of movement. I didn't see any . . .he was probably long gone. My digital clock shone 12: 27 AM.
I pulled on a black jacket I had lying around on the floor over my uniform that I hadn't changed out of from earlier. Slipping my feet into some knee-high boots by my door, I hurried over to my window and hoisted myself out of it cautiously. I didn't bother to shut my window as I hastily landed on the cold and hard ground, feeling a stinging sensation rise through my legs because I had jumped the last 6 feet. After I had regained feeling in my feet, I started to run as fast as my high-heels would allow. I had no idea where I was going; I was just using all of my senses to detect any sort of disturbance.
Sora, you promised!
A/N: YAY! I'm sorry that that chappie might have been boring. I tried to add in so much stuff. Well, this chappie was quite short compared to some of my others . . .I hope that that didn't disappoint y'all:grins maniacally: HOWD'YA LIKE THE CUTE SCENE WITH SORA AND KAIRI! I thought I would give y'all a little teaser on stuff. Now, don't be thinking that the final pairing is going to be S/K . . .remember: Kairi says that she still likes Riku . . .what a hard core girl to still be in love with somebody who beat the shit outta someone else".
So . . .next chappie will have SOOO much more action! (As you can probably guess!) you'll just have to wait until next update (which I hope will be soon . . .all of my projects are now done . . .:sigh of relief:)
Luv y'all so please review! Make me feel happy that you liked this chappie!
K-c