Riku's heart seemed to freeze mid-beat in his chest. Here she was. After years of wondering, worrying, and even daydreaming, here she was right in front of him, at a loss for words. He hoped that it would be a very joyful reunion, the kind where the two lovers run in slow motion into each others arms or something. But here they were, in an awkward silence, each wondering what the other was thinking.
Finally, Riku spoke. "Oh my God…. You really ARE alive…"
With that, Kairi starting to heave herself up. This was when Riku noticed that she seemed hurt, and he ran over to her in the blink of an eye. He was going to just help her up, but she trapped him in an embrace as soon as he got near here. She had already been crying, but these new tears were tears of joy.
"Jesus, Riku, I thought we'd never see each other again…" Her voice sounded tired and hoarse, even for a whisper. She dug her head into the crook of his shoulder, embracing him almost so tight she couldn't breathe.
Even Riku's eyes shone more brilliantly.
--
"Sora…?" Donald slowly walked over to the hyperventilating keyblade master. He still seemed like he needed the medicine, if you asked Donald.
Sora slowly looked up. Donald and Goofy expected to see the ice-blue eyes again, to see him in an insane state, ready to attack at any second. Donald held his wand up, just in case.
They saw, however, the face of a tear stained boy. He was the 14-year old Sora again; the one they had first started working with, the one who still needed them. The innocent, loveable Sora, who would never think to do anything wrong, and would do anything for those he loved.
His next words made the statement that showed he finally realized this was his fault. Not Axel's, not Ansem's, his. His voice came as a soft whisper….
"…What have I done…?"
--
The two seemed to share an embrace for centuries, neither wanting to let go. Eventually, though, Riku, pulled away from her, wanting to get a good look at her to see how much she changed.
When he looked at her face, he saw a beautiful woman, no longer a fourteen-year old, immature girl who was constantly giggling over nothing. He saw someone who had been through pain, he could tell by the cut marks on her wrist and by the hole in heart, one that was just recently torn. And he could tell by her eyes, her beautiful sapphire eyes that had misery written over their depths. He saw a totally new person, with just a trace of the Kairi he knew.
She however, saw a more grown up version of the Riku she knew years ago, he still had that mysterious aura, he still was very mature and muscular (but more so now), and he still seemed to hold all the pain and secrets of the world in his cloudy aqua eyes.
Riku soon shot back to reality. She had injuries all over her body, one of her cheeks seemed bruised, and… the cut marks on her wrist… what had happened to his little Kairi?
"Kairi… what happened…. You're hurt…" Normally Riku is great at situations like this; he's wonderful at dealing with people in pain. But the fabulous Kairi seemed to have the unbeatable Riku stumped and practically stuttering.
"No, no, I'm fine, really. Oh my God, Riku, I have so many things to ask, to say…"
She tried to get up, only to find her left knee didn't want to go anywhere. She stumbled to the ground again, being caught by Riku.
"We need to treat your wounds… how the hell did you get them? Er, nevermind, we'll find that out later. Right now, I mean, we have to go…"
Riku picked her up and started to walk up the staircase, carrying her like a bride. He was amazed by how light she was.
"Riku…" She whispered after they started walking. He turned to look at her, only to see she had both eyes closed, and was nestling her head against his chest. "I'm so sorry…. I'm just… such a wreck right now…" She didn't make any noise to indicate she was crying, but he could see tears slowly rolling down her bruised cheek.
"Shhh… it's okay now…" He felt like he was consoling the same Kairi he always had, after she had just fallen down the steps and hurt her shin, or had just gotten a splinter and needed help. After all, he was always the one she came to for things like that; she never wanted to show Sora a weak-side of her.
Kairi fell asleep moments afterward. For the first time in awhile, she felt safe.
--
Axel stood among the others in the association, feathers still ruffled from earlier.
"I'm assuming all went to plan, Axel?"
He shifted his eyes to the floor. "Of course. Did you ever doubt me?" His voice rang slightly with mockery.
"Part of me always does." The obviously higher-ranked man stood in a black trench coat (surprise surprise) with two others on either side of him, dressed accordingly. They still had their hoods up, faces unrevealed. (they're the cool kids) "Your recklessness has ruined plans before, Axel."
Axel clenched his teeth. "I'm SO sorry. But this plan went very smoothly, not a single unexpected event."
The other figure smirked. "Are you so sure, you didn't seem too prepared for the Princess…"
"What?" Axel twitched. He hated being known as weak or mocked for it, and the fact that Kairi had hit him and gotten away with it was something that the great Axel had never shown before. "I'll have you know that-"
"Not now." The higher ranked figure waved his hand as if casting away the conversation. "We have more important things to do. Go tend to Namine."
Axel regained composure quickly. "Sure." He left through the small doorway, and while looking fine on the outside, still burned with revenge.
The eyes deep, blue eyes of the hooded figure followed him as he left through the small doorway.
--
Riku had taken Kairi to his old bedroom inside the Hallow Bastion, and set her gently down on his bed. She was still fast asleep, breathing deeply. He wished that he could sleep that peacefully.
She was just as beautiful as she ever was; no, more so. He still couldn't quite believe that she was finally here, RIGHT here, sleeping on his old bed. He had so many things to ask her, like: " "You've talked to Sora, right? How is he?" and "Do you think things will ever be normal again between us?"
Because, deep down, that's all he really wanted. To be normal.
Yet he still felt the cold presence of Ansem within him. A deep, yet subtle presence that made all the difference in the world. He had horrible headaches, nightmares, and sometimes heard his voice, mocking him with remarks like "Any time now, dear boy… You'll make an excellent host…"
But this was nothing next to the guilt trips he had.
He was desperate, so desperate to get off that island that he gave into darkness. He didn't know that it would cause anyone any pain, he didn't know… he was just convinced that Sora had abandoned him for other friends. And to be betrayed like that is one of the worst pains you can experience.
…but Ansem is still worse.
He looked at the calm, sleeping Kairi again, wondering what she had been through. Had the heartless gotten to her? She was, after all, on the ground by the time he showed up… yes, it must have been that. But the marks on her writs were obviously her own doing…. How long had she been doing that? God, he wished that he could just ask away at her, but even if she were awake he couldn't do that. It would take time, which would be aggravating, but worthwhile.
Suddenly, he grew tired himself. Should he leave and sleep somewhere else? No, he couldn't leave Kairi alone, what if she woke up soon? Instead, he decided to lie down on the other side of Kairi, not touching her or anything- that would be too much too fast. His heart was racing as he lay down next to the lovely Kairi, but he soon fell asleep.
--
okay, so that was a kinda short chapter. The next one will be longer and better, I promise! (btw, there was a big hint about the 'mysterious figure'… did YOU catch it?)
Emeraldink
