Author's Note: Okay. I've put in a few shipular terms in this chapter. They are "flying jib" and "bowsprit". In case you don't know, the flying jib is a sail on the bowsprit and the bowsprit is the piece of wood that juts out of the bow (front) of the ship on some ships. Also, I've gotten far too lazy to keep track of who reviews, so I'm just sending out a general "THANK YOU SO MUCH!" to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Especially moonchick something or other. She reviewed my new one-shot too!! Yay! So go read that when you're done with this. It's called Nightswimming. Onward!
Chapter Five: Reunion
Sora breathed in the cool, early morning air. It tasted heavy and made him uncomfortable. He'd been unable to sleep again last night, and had come out to the deck, where he found the crew hustling about. It was the hustle and bustle that occurred whenever Leon decided to hop onto the Mistress and visit Riku.
They looked as if they had finished now, although he'd never paid attention to the process enough to know what 'finished' looked like. He soon learned that his assumptions were correct, as a man stepped onto the deck. But this man was not Leon. He was a little too short for that, and his hair was set in almost the exact manner as Sora's. He strode easily across the deck in brown, leather boots, black pants and a black shirt. His hair was blonde and framed a face whose appearance was quite pleasant and put its owner's age in early twenties. His clear blue eyes locked on to Sora in a sideways glance. They shone with thousands of secrets that whispered of knowledge, and despair, too great for someone so young. Sora was frozen in awe as the man walked by, his deep red, tattered mantle floating gently behind him.
He stopped in front of the door to Riku's bedchamber and knocked politely, not like Leon, whose knocks were quite, but urgent. After a moment of waiting for a response, to no avail, he spoke softly.
"It's Cloud."
The door cracked open so slightly, and Cloud had slipped into the room so swiftly that if Sora hadn't been watching as closely as he had, he would have thought Cloud had simply disappeared.
Both he and Riku came out of the room in a short amount of time. The latter looked paler than usual, almost ghostly so, but other than that he appeared to be fine. Sora walked slowly towards the pair, barely catching the beginning of their conversation. He stopped several feet away from them.
"And to what do I owe your appearance?" Riku asked. His voice was calm when talking to Cloud.
"He's in a bit of a mood currently. I'm assuming you denied him again?" came the blonde's reply.
"Yes."
Sora couldn't help but notice that Cloud's eyes glimmered briefly with relief.
"Whatever it is you dragged me out here to see," Riku continued before looking Sora's way and pausing to motion to him to join, "please do so quickly."
Cloud looked knowingly at Riku and proceeded to answer him. "The air is thick, and there are clouds on the horizon. The wind is blowing them into our path. If my calculations are correct, the storm will hit in several hours. You should brace the ship, it's going to be brutal. You can't afford to," he paused, eyes sliding to Sora. "Who is he?"
Riku's reply was incredibly calm. "A stowaway."
Cloud locked eyes with Riku, searching for an explanation as to why this stowaway had not been disposed of. Riku's eyes were desperate and clouded with impending anguish. Cloud smiled understandingly.
"About time, no?" he murmured, chuckling lightly.
Sora pouted, annoyed and bored by the conversation, and left.
"It's only been three days, how can you be so sure he's the one? Don't rush this Riku, that's what Leon did."
"I can tell. There's this feeling I get whenever he's around. You know the feeling. It's the same one you get when you're with her."
"Oriel?"
Riku nodded as he continued. "He says he's met her, but he doesn't seem to realize the importance of this claim."
Cloud glanced at Sora, who'd been wandering back and forth across the deck and was now making his way back to Cloud and Riku.
"Perhaps she appeared in her human form?" the blonde suggested.
"It is possible." Riku said. His words were weak, breath shallow, and he was beginning to sweat.
"I've kept you too long." Cloud said worriedly. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Sora running towards them, silhouetted against the rising sun.
Riku's breathing continued to grow more and more shallow. The world spun around him.
Cloud saw him falter and sway. He lunged forward as anguish overtook Riku and he fell forward, landing in Cloud's arms.
"Riku!" Sora cried.
Cloud lifted Riku and carried him back to his room, calling to Sora over his shoulder, "He'll be fine as soon as the storm hits." From the worry crowding the boy's eyes, Cloud could see that Riku wasn't the only one who felt the ties of destiny. He placed Riku on his bed gently, and hurried back outside. The Mistress had to prepare for the storm. And quickly.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Riku woke abruptly as the storm tossed the ship, causing him to tumble out of bed. He wasted no time in making his way to the deck. The crew was scrambling about, avoiding the swinging ropes, which had been pulled loose by the storm, and the pull of the waves crashing over the sides of the ship. He found Cloud and shouted to him over the storm. "Where's Sora?"
"Sora?" Cloud called back. "I sent him to your parlor. He has no place out here at -"
Sora's voice cut through the din, and Cloud's statement. "Riku! I heard you leave the room, are you alright?"
"Sora, you shouldn't be out here!"
"I can help!" Sora cried, pouting stubbornly. Before Riku could protest, the pirate Sora knew as Twiggy appeared.
"Cap'n! The flying jib needs to be cut loose!"
"Well then take care of it!" Riku cried.
Twiggy hesitated.
"If you're too scared then get someone else to do it!"
Twiggy sighed and reached for the knife at his hip. But before he could grab it, Sora flew past him, snatching it for himself. He turned, heading towards the bow of the ship. Riku tried to stop him, but failed as the boat lurched, throwing him off balance. He saw Sora lift himself from the deck and run to the bowsprit. The boy didn't seem to realize how dangerous it was to cut a flying jib loose under normal circumstances, let alone during a storm.
Sora climbed onto the bowsprit, and straddled it, Twiggy's dagger clutched between his teeth. He clung to the thin, cylindrical piece of wood as he slid carefully down its length.
Ahead of him a canvas sail and its ropes were swinging wildly in the wind. He made his way to it slowly, spotting the rope he must cut.
Finally reaching his destination, Sora now understood how dangerous this undertaking was. The bowsprit was bobbing madly and the jib's ropes were whipping through the air. On came perilously close to knocking him in the head, but he grabbed it just before it did. Squeezing his legs tightly about the bowsprit he sawed at the rope with the stolen dagger until it snaked away into the sea.
He hadn't realized that he'd made a hazardous mistake. No longer bogged down by the weight of the rope, the sail flopped even more wildly than before, longing to fly free. It smacked into Sora, who spun underneath the sprit. He was now hanging from it upside down, each dip of the Mistress bringing him closer to death. He wrapped one arm around the bowsprit as tight as he could, reaching up to slice the sail's final constraint with the other.
But the ship dipped sharply and he was plunged into the stingingly cold water. The currents ripped his legs away from the jutting wood and as it surfaced he was clinging to it, to life, with one hand. He threw his free arm up in one final slice, which severed the rope, freeing the sail. The canvas did not, however, fly. It was so soaked and heavy that it simply fell, knocking Dora off of his precarious perch and thrusting him into the water and unconsciousness.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Sora!" the hawk called as it flew to perch on Sora's shoulder. "There is someone you must meet."
"Who?" Sora asked.
"Follow me!" The hawk cried as it flew away. Sora ran after it, grateful that it did not disappear this time. But Sora didn't feel as if they were going anywhere. They just kept running through the darkness, looking for a non-existent light.
And then the figure of a tall, slim woman sprung out of the darkness. He back was turned to Sora, so all he could see of her was her thin, pale arms, and the hem of her long blue dress, which peeked out from under her golden-brown hair. She seemed so...familiar.
"Hello Sora!" she chirped. Her voice was bold and musical, yet oddly child-like.
"Hello." He said. It was more a question than a statement. "He said you wanted to meet me?" he gestured towards the hawk, who was now sitting contentedly on the woman's shoulder.
"Yes." She whispered, raising a delicate hand to stroke the bird's sleek feathers. She was silent after that.
"Who are you?" Sora asked after he realized the ethereal being did not intend on continuing.
The woman laughed. It was a beautiful sound, one that warmed Sora's heart. "I was waiting for you to ask that." She said. "I am the Angel of Destiny, Keeper of the Forgotten Fates. I defend those Destinies that have been lost."
"Lost Destinies?" Sora inquired.
"Yes. It is my job to return Lost Destinies to the cycle of the universe. You lost yours the day you were born."
The regal hawk from Sora's previous dreams flew from his perch on the woman's shoulder. Sharp talons ripped into his skin as the bird lighted onto his own.
"I was able to return yours to you," the musical voice continued.
"How did I lose it in the first place?"
"Your destiny is directly linked with that of someone else. The two of you hold the honor of receiving final destinies."
"Final?"
"Final. One has many destinies, one for each incarnation of one's soul. You have reached the final stage, but I'm afraid you reached it a little too late."
"How does that work?"
"As I said before, your destiny does not wander alone. Your soul must find another to share its final lifetime with, just as it has shared all the others with that same soul. Unfortunately, yours did not find a proper embodiment in time. Therefore not one, but two destinies were lost. It was a most difficult task, returning your destiny."
"And the other?"
There was a sad sigh, like the wind seeping over a desert landscape.
"In your eyes I see the echo of something despairing; my own destiny. I am the embodiment of what is known as the Lonely Fate, for mine is simply to guard those of others for all time. But your soul mate's destiny is out of my hands. It has slipped too far from my grasp. Only you can find the lone wolf and cure him of his solitude. Only you can reunite him with his pack. Help him, Sora, for I no longer can. Riku loves you very much, and so it is no longer my duty save him."
Sora bolted upright, gasping as nothing in particular pulled him swiftly from sleep. He looked around, almost frantically, and found he was in a part of the Mistress he had not seen before. Riku's bedroom. But there was no time to discover the fine décor of this forbidden place, for the next thing he saw was that perfectly sculpted face. Soft lips slightly parted, eyes wandering worriedly over Sora's face, Riku was the most welcome sight in the world.
Turquoise met deep blue in a silent exchange of knowledge that lasted longer than either of them wished it to. Sora's haggard breathing calmed as the silver-tressed being wrapped an arm about the boy's waist, pulling him closer, pressing him against a warm, hard chest. He placed his hands against it, longing to feel the smooth skin, which was currently separated from his own by a mere millimeter of cloth.
Riku's free hand tangled itself in the hair at the nape of Sora's neck and pulled the boy's face closer to his own. Their lips met for a brief moment before Sora pulled away slightly. He was nervous. But as his eyes once again met those of Riku, it all faded.
Their lips met again, lingering against each other for a long moment. Riku gently coaxed the brunette's lips apart and slid his tongue into the velvety depths. He ran it slowly across the roof of Sora's mouth, causing the boy to shiver in delight.
The younger responded by cautiously caressing Riku's tongue with his own. Riku smiled inwardly, allowing the boy to play for a bit, before once again taking control. He pulled Sora closer as he deepened the kiss, and ran his hands up the boy's back. He gripped at the fabric of the worn shirt Sora was wearing and, without hesitating, tore it apart. He flung the thing across the room and pushed Sora gently back onto the bed.
Riku pulled away from the kiss, and Sora suddenly felt unsafe in the absence of physical contact. He interlaced his fingers with Riku's as the elder's mouth began to explore Sora's abdomen. The turquoise-eyed boy nibbled gently at the flesh just above Sora's hipbone. The brunette's skin was soft, and tempting. Riku mustn't bite too hard. He couldn't draw blood. Not yet. It wasn't time. Not yet...but it was so tempting...
A knock sounded at the door, shattering the Paradise that had been fabricated inside the lavish room.
Riku growled disappointedly as he pulled away from Sora. "What is it?" he called neutrally as he walked to an armoire and pulled out a new shirt for Sora.
"The Commodore's onboard. He wants to speak with you."
"Tell him I'll be there in a minute."
"Yessir."
Riku took Sora's face in his hands, stroking the boy's cheek with his thumbs. Their lips met again, very briefly. "Try to get some rest." He turned to walk away but Sora grabbed his arm.
"Don't leave me. I...I don't want to be alone," the brunette whispered.
Riku smiled. He knew the boy should rest, but something told him that leaving Sora alone would be worse. "Would you like to come with me?" he offered. That would keep his conversation with Leon from taking its usual turn, as well as comfort Sora.
Sora nodded happily and they both walked out onto the deck. He was surprised to see it was nighttime. He wondered how long he'd been asleep. He wondered how he'd been removed from the water!
The Commodore stood ahead of them, eyes fixed on Sora. They were puzzled, suspicious.
"You wished to speak to me?" Riku asked. His tone was firm. Sora was suddenly frightened and he slid closer to Riku and his comforting presence.
"Yes." Leon said hesitantly. He noticed how close the two men stood to each other, and he didn't like it. "We have to stop at the next port for repairs. Cloud's figured that the closest port is about two days away, due west."
"I'll alert the helmsman." Riku said. He knew that this was not the only thing Leon had intended to speak of, and was very glad to have Sora beside him. He glanced at the boy as a hand clutched at the fabric of his shirt's back. Sora was standing uncomfortably under Leon's cold gaze. "Is that all?" Riku asked, swiftly stepping to the side to hide Sora.
"Yes." Leon answered, his voice hard. He walked away briskly, and Sora sighed in relief. He and Riku stood in silence for a while.
"Riku," Sora asked cautiously, "how long was I unconscious?"
"Several days." Riku answered.
"You uh...you saved me, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"I'm not sure of that myself." Riku noticed that Sora had managed to take hold of his hand. He pressed his thumb into the boy's palm.
"I...when I was unconscious, I dreamt of a woman. She had long, dark blonde hair, and she seemed so familiar. She said she was...the Angel of Destiny."
"You've met her before." Riku said.
"How do you...what do you mean?"
"Oriel."
"No, Oriel was a little girl. She..." he paused, realization hitting him suddenly, "she helped me find my destiny."
YAY!! Go read Nightswimming! NOW!! GARRR!!! Thank you! .