(Enter a room…)
Riku: (Reading peacefully)
Sora: (tapping window sill quietly)
Suddenly… door bursts open!
Me: Hey y'all!
All: (Jump)
Me: What?
Riku: (groan) Not you again! I thought we'd gotten rid of you!
Sora: (tired) I always knew she would come back…
Me: gee, thanks guys. So anyways if you're wondering why I haven't been around -
Sora and Riku: We weren't
Me: (glare) anyway I've been at my summerhome since like, July 10th and there's not online service up here until now so I haven't been able to post anything. So sorry. Anyway how's Kairi?
Sora and Riku:…
Riku: (lowers book slowly…)
Sora: (Stops tapping…) … you know I haven't seen her since -
Suddenly door opens!
Arlyn: (enters room) AND DON'T FORGET IT NEXT TIME! (Throws flamethrower into the corner and slams door shut) Humph!… Oh… Hi Nani
Me: Hey… Arlyn where's Kairi?
Arlyn: (flinch) Who?
Me: Kairi? You know, short girl, maroon hair, kind of on the ditzy side?
Sora and Riku: Hey!
Alryn: Oh her… um… she's ummm tied up with something at the moment…
All: (stare)
Arlyn: (nervous figeting)
Riku: Tied up with what, exactly?
Arlyn: Chains
All: (anime fall)
Me: Anyway, time for chapter reading, here you are:
Chapter 5: You and I
The sky beyond the empty doorframe was a steel blue color. His headache was gone, and he figured from the color of the sky that the sun would be coming up soon. He was lying in a small bed that was constructed of what he could only imagine was wicker and some other cement-like mixture that also made up the walls. The mattress was a bed of leaves that had somehow been woven together, it wasn't unlike the mattress he had had back in Destiny Islands. There was no other furniture in the room other than the bed and there was no door in the doorframe, only an open-air square in the wall that led to the outside world.
After he found his shirt in the corner of the room, Riku walked out into the thin gray-blue light, and found that the stars were still shinning brilliantly above him. He could practically reach out and touch them, they seemed so close. That wasn't right… at this time of morning the stars should have already faded… He vaguely remembered thinking something about the stars right before he had passed out. The more he stood there, thinking, his memories seemed to seep up to the surface of his mind and burst into clarity like bubbles popping in the mud.
There was a girl… Arlyn, who had taken him inside that hut and played songs to him. He remembered feeling that heavy sleep that he couldn't seem to shake off, but when he tried to think about her, all he could remember were her gray eyes. He supposed that he had been in too much pain to have really remembered anything else from before. The migraine had blocked out everything else. He couldn't even remember her face…
Pushing aside the distractions, he looked at his surroundings. He was definitely in another world. The grass on the ground was too soft and colored to transparently to be real, and the stars, like he had noticed before, where too close and too bright, the trees were all thin and amazingly tall, when he brushed his hand over the trunk of one, it felt smooth… like softened rubber.
He became suddenly aware of the fact that his throat was dry and sore; he probably hadn't had something to drink since before the battle… He swallowed, wincing at the rough stickiness that coated his throat and decided to try and find some water before he did anything else. At some point he came across a shallow pool and drank the water greedily. It seemed to be softer than that water at home, it slipped down his throat like easily, almost without him having to swallow. It was so clear that he almost couldn't see it, and it tasted sweeter than normal water should.
When he was finished, Riku stood up and stretched, enjoying the pleasant aching of his sore muscles. He cringed when he rolled his shoulders backwards; there was a sharper pain somewhere by his left blade. Taking his shirt off to examine it, he found a huge multi-colored bruise blossoming on his back. There were red, blue and grayed purple layers of skin forming on the upper left shoulder blade, and they were steadily becoming darker... it must have formed recently from the fall. Maybe he hit the ground harder than he thought… Something beside him stirred, making his whole body tense as he turned to face whatever it was, instincts making him ready for a fight.
But it was only a girl.
Arlyn was lying with her back against a tree, her legs bent around to the side of her, and her head resting uncomfortably on her shoulder. It might have been the same girl who had been with him last time… but he couldn't remember what she had looked like, so there was a chance that this was someone else. He noticed something in her hand, which was resting in the grass. Looking closer, he saw that it was a slender black flute. Riku backed away so fast that he practically tripped over his own feet. He remembered that flute. It must have been her.
Leaning forwards again in order to study her face with cold aqua eyes, Riku realized that there was something odd about her. Her skin was colored in a way he had never seen before. It was darker than Kairi's and yet it was lighter than his own. He couldn't quite place the hue. Was she darker or lighter than Sora? He couldn't even tell. It was like she was a pale tan… if that was even possible. Her face was delicate, and fairly pretty, but there was still something strange about it… he couldn't tell what it was. She might have been from Destiny Islands, she had that sort of look about her, that sort of Hawaiian, exotic look. Her nose was delicate and simple, and her lips were perfectly shaped…
'Perfectly…' The word had a sort of resonance in his mind. Finally he realized what was so strange about her. There weren't any faults in her face. Everything seemed to have been deliberately created, or drawn by an artist rather than naturally born. It was pretty, but still the fact that there were not faults made it alien and a little unfamiliar. Even the most beautiful people had little mistakes in their features, like a nose that was a little crooked, or a smile that didn't quite fit their mouth… but that was what made them endearing… and pretty. This was just strange… she was like a statue… flawless… it unnerved him.
Her hair was perfectly straight, and shot like a waterfall to her shoulder blades. Two locks of hair cupped around the sides of her face and ended a little past her chin. But while the rest of her hair was a dark, coal black, these two bangs were a bright, deep blue color. He stared at it for a bit, it was most likely dyed.
He took a step back, examining her still. She looked like she was made of sticks, and if had wanted too, he probably could have broken her in half. She wore a cottony white camisole that was smudged with traces of dirt and pants that somewhat resembled blue jeans, which were dusty and badly torn at the right knee, along with other places. They looked old. Her feet were bare and pitch stained, like her fingertips.
And then, she opened her eyes. They were soft and gray and still half-asleep, but when she saw him looking at her, her whole body jolted in surprise. A shock of life seemed to illuminate her eyes. The two remained staring at each other for a long very long time. He didn't know why she didn't say anything. Maybe she was embarrassed.
Finally she stuttered a soft, "Morning."
Riku only nodded coldly in return. "Morning."
"When'd you wake up?" She asked, clinging to the traces of awkward conversation.
"A while ago."
"Oh."
The silence returned, and the girl cast her eyes towards the ground. Finally Riku became annoyed. "Where are we." It wasn't a question, it was more of an order.
She shook her head slightly, looked back up at him. "I-I don't know."
Riku scowled. "You don't know?"
The girl frowned slightly, her face starting to become stony. "No. I don't. This place doesn't have a name."
"It doesn't have a name…" Riku repeated slowly, the scowl still planted on his face.
"Right. And there's no one else around to tell me." She said, standing up, trying to look him in the eye, but as she only came up to about the bottom of his ear, it was a little hard to capture the effect. She was only a bit taller than Kairi, who was up to about his shoulder, and about the same size as Sora, maybe even a bit taller. The thought made him remember Sora and the last time he had seen him. Riku clamped his eye shut and shook his head a little; they were bad memories.
"Ok, fine." He said, getting impatient. "Then how did you get here?" He wondered if she had also jumped through the door to Kingdom Hearts.
She blinked and looked up at him. "How did I get here?"
Riku only waited.
"I…" She frowned, thinking "I was killed… I think."
Riku blinked. "You think?" he answered, his annoyance becoming almost too much to handle. "How do you think you got killed?"
She shook her head, ignoring his tone of disbelief and annoyance. "I…I don't remember… I had to keep the Princess company." She said slowly, still frowning, now with one of her hands to her head. "I had to … to guard her and keep her safe from the dark… and then they came in… those things came in." It was as if she didn't trust herself to remember things correctly, or she was pulling up a dream. "But when I played… they died."
Riku frowned in confusion… when she played they died? It was all starting to make not so much sense… "What are you talking about?"
She looked up at him, a faint frown on her eerily unflawed face. "Those monsters… I had to keep her safe from those monsters. But I was so little then… and I was so scared."
"What? How old were you?"
"Eleven."
"Eleven?" He asked incredulous. "Why would they make an eleven year old guard a princess?"
"The Princess was ten." Arlyn said, as if that would somehow explain everything. "We were… we were best friends since… since I don't even remember when, and she wanted me to be with her in case the shadows took her away."
Riku's heart wrenched. "Shadows?"
She looked at him and nodded. "They're like shadows… only they don't have any souls, or minds… or hearts. They're murderers, and they're virtually unstoppable." She said. "You've never heard of them?" She asked, slightly shocked.
Riku stared at her for a long time, thinking of what to say. "No." He said at last, in his voice a tone of finality. "I've never heard of them."
"You're lying." She said suddenly.
"What?" Riku blinked.
"I can tell." She explained.
"Tell what?"
"When you're lying or not." She said. "You're eyes are too clear to hide it."
Riku scowled. "Now what are you babbling about?"
"Just tell me the truth." Arlyn said, leaning against the trunk of the tree. "We're the only people in the whole world who have to know."
"Funny." Riku said sarcastically, catching the joke. "But since you've already made a point of telling me that we are the only two people in this world I think I'd rather not." As if he'd share his life with a perfect stranger.
"We'll play honor."
"We'll do what?"
"Play honor," She said, "You and I. I ask you a question, you ask me a question. We both have to answer on our honor."
Riku scoffed. "Um, yeah, sure ok." He said sarcastically. "My first question is: Are you crazy?" He ignored the way she rolled her eyes at him. "I just met you, and you expect me to answer any question you ask me?"
"Well we have all the time in the world to get to know each other." She pointed out. "I mean there is no way out. I've been trapped here for four years."
Riku blinked in surprise. That got his attention. "Four years?"
Me: Well that's it for chapter five. I know that not much happened but that's ok. I'm tired.
Riku: Four years! Does this mean I have to be stuck in there with her for that long!
Arlyn: Hey!
Me: Maaaaybe
Riku: No!
Sora: (pats Riku on the back) Well, good luck in there, buddy. (grin)
Riku: If I wasn't so depressed right now I'd punch you in the nose.
Sora: (grin) I know (cheerily)
Riku: (punches Sora in the nose)
Sora: OW!
Me: Hey guys! I found Kairi!
Sora and Riku: Where!
Arlyn: Uh-oh…
Me: She's in here (leads them all around the building until they finally reach a door) (opens door) she's in here!
Behind door: (Walls and carpet are charred) (glass is shattered) (A light from the ceiling falls) (everything is covered in ash)
Kairi: (chained to a chair in the corner) (twitch) (twitch) (whimper) (whimper)
All: …
Arlyn: heh heh…
All: (glare at Arlyn)
Arlyn: Whaaaat? Its not like I did any real damage or anything!
All: Undo it!
Arlyn: What?
Riku: Undo it now!
Alryn: (grumble) (grumble) (starts into the room)
Kairi: EEEEK! NOOOO! KEEP HER AWAAAAY!
Arlyn: (turns and looks innocently at us)
Me: Oh yeah, no damage Arlyn, none at all.
Arlyn: Heh heh heh… oops…
Me: Do you know how many Pyro's I've got as fans because of you.
Sora and Riku: Gah!
Arlyn: Me?
Me: Yes you! Anyway, to all you pyros out there, Arlyn will be more than happy to oblige your flame-loving-needs.
Arlyn: (giggles insanely while clutching boxes of matches and gasoline)
Riku: I'm out!
Sora: Me too!
Me: AHHH! Oh and by the way, yes Aeshma-Daeva this story does have a plot, I've just um… lost it. Kidding, kidding. The plot is their journey to try and leave the world. If you were confused about it its probably either because the story hasn't picked up yet, or you're feeling the aftermath of the concept that I do write really long stories.
And also to Auntie Nuriko, I know, I like my fun. But I'll stop if my reviewers really, really want me to. And thank you all for reading up to this point. Sorrry this chapter was sort of pointless. Now that I have internet access I should be updating more regularly. Thanks and have a nice day! (ducks fountain of flame directed her way) EEEP!
