Part Six: A Little Information
The sounds of random chattering dragged Sora back into consciousness. The throbbing pain in his hands, feet, and head kept him there. Light flooded his eyes as he opened them, requiring him to squint and aggravating his headache. He dragged himself into a sitting position, wondering since when his arms and legs had started trembling with the slightest exertion. At least he had succeeded, he thought when he finally pulled himself up. The surface was slightly raised, giving way as he weakly bounced on it. Someone must have put him on a bed after the fall had knocked him out. Had it been Kairi? Had she taken care of him?
What had happened? His memories of his short journey were fuzzy at best. Riku and Kairi had been there to help him. Actually no, that new person he had met, Cid, had been there first, wrapping something around his hand and then leading him into the new place. He vaguely remembered the older man giving him instructions and encouragement as he stumbled his way towards this place, wherever 'this place' actually was. But just as Riku appeared for the first time, Cid had abandoned Sora, leaving him to fend for himself for most of the journey, or what felt like most of the journey, at least.
The chattering died down just as his eyes adjusted to the light inside the house. Cid was standing with a group of three other people, his back turned to Sora, but neither Kairi nor Riku was anywhere to be seen. Other people were scattered about in this sparsely furnished room. Along one wall, boxes were piled to the ceiling, giving it a disorganized, just-moved-in look while the wall opposite Sora had a long row of tables lined up near it. Most of the house's occupants sat at these tables, gossiping among themselves and shuffling papers. The bed he was sitting on was hardly new or comfortable, covered only by a single white sheet and a flat-looking pillow.
One of the people Cid was standing with, a brown-haired man with shielded brown eyes and a gash across the forehead, regarded Sora with a nod and spoke with his companions: a dark-haired women who constantly fidgeted as if possessed by an enormous bundle of energy, and a composed, brown-haired woman who radiated a peaceful presence across the house.
The dark-haired woman bounced over to Sora, her dark blue eyes regarding him sharply. "I don't know, Cid, he looks pretty scrawny to me... What do you think, Squall?" She turned back to the people gathered around Cid.
"It's Leon," the brown-haired man corrected automatically before he offered his opinion. "He certainly looks like a weakling, but who knows? Looks can be deceiving." He approached Sora, his eyes catching on the sword at Sora's side. "You wield a weapon. The question is: can you use it?"
Cid offered his input. "The boy says he can, and I believe him."
The woman standing near him nodded her agreement. "Let's not forget, he managed to get all the way through the Second District with the Silencer on. He's got a hidden strength." Before she went to join the others in observing him, she poured a glass of water and handed it to Sora. "I'm sure that with some cool water and some recovery time, he'll be all right."
Gratefully, Sora accepted the glass and gulped down its contents. The cool water really did calm the throbbing in his head, as did the woman's concern for him, though it did remind him of the fact that he hadn't eaten for a long time. Last time he had eaten had been a snack right before he left his house – cookies and milk. Actually, it had been one cookie, as his mother had been fixing dinner at the time and warning Sora about ruining his appetite. With an undignified churning sound, his stomach reminded him that it had been too long since he had eaten a decent meal.
The woman who had handed him the glass of water smiled at him. "I guess we should send someone to get him a meal while we explain things. Brant!" she called to one of the clerks in the corner.
A boy, slightly older than Sora, walked forward. Taking his narrow-brimmed hat off his head and placing it over his heart in a sweeping motion, he bowed to the woman. "Lady Aerith, I am yours to command." The tone of reverence in Brant's voice was so exaggerated that Sora couldn't help but smile. The black-haired woman crossed her bare arms and shook her head, presumably amused by the display. Cid's face remained blank though, while Squall -er, Leon- scowled slightly.
Aerith just smiled gently at the boy. "Would you mind going over to Seri's line and getting some food for this boy? He's a new refugee."
Those last four words seemed to be the only explanation that the boy needed. "I understand, milady. I shall traverse through this district, battle my way through the press of the crowd, and undertake the trial of the acid-tongued harpy. And milady, I shall return triumphantly with the prize in hand." Brant bowed again and exited the house with a theatrical closing of the door.
The black-haired woman grinned at Aerith. "I think you have a fan club. We're going to have to watch out for that one. Right, Squall?"
Leon stepped forward. "It's Leon, and we should concentrate on more important things. Like explaining what's going on and finding out whether he's fit to become a part of Trinity."
"Oh, right!" The black-haired lady turned to Sora and began speaking. "This right here is Trinity Headquarters, and we–" She gestured to herself, Cid, Aerith, and Leon, "–are most of the leaders of Trinity. I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie, leader of the Intelligence Division of Trinity. Squall, currently going by Leon, is the leader of the Combat Division. Aerith is the leader of the Supply and Healing Division. Cid works as leader for the Transportation division. And Cloud leads the Refugee Division. Our mission as Trinity members is to protect the defenseless from the Heartless and hopeful–"
"The Heartless?" Sora asked, puzzled.
"Yes. Those without hearts," Aerith explained, "Those that are the essence of darkness."
"They come out of nowhere. They feed off of people's hearts, and they're attracted to the darkness in people's hearts," Leon continued, "The overrun a world, and when they find the core, it disappears."
Sora choked up at this. "Is that what happened to my island? Is it...gone? There was this door... and this storm...and I don't remember much after that. I had to fight these Heartless, but afterwards I was sucked into this big black cloud thing, and ... I must have ended up here." When he cared to look at the evidence, it made a grim sort of sense that his world had vanished in the storm. Sora could see the vortex that had swallowed him sucking in a whole island.
Lean shrugged. "Who knows. No one has ever seen what happens to a world once it disappears. At least, no one who has lived to tell about it."
Aerith added in some more information. "Most of the refugees who arrive these days come through Trinity. Very few actually come from worlds that have disappeared. You're the first in a long while."
"Why bring them to this world?" Sora asked, feeling like he was missing something.
Yuffie pulled a chair from the table and sat backwards in it, leaning towards Sora. "Well, we don't know much about the Heartless, but we do know about the doors."
"Doors?" Sora asked, his mind travelling to the cavern where he had played when he was a child. He remembered the wooden door that had confounded Riku and him since they were old enough to explore the island on their own, the one that had never opened until the night of the storm. "Like the one that I saw on my island that never opened until right before the island disappeared?"
"Exactly," Yuffie confirmed, fidgeting with the scarf that dangled from her neck. "You see, there used to be barriers between all the worlds, which protected them from the Heartless, but eleven years ago, all the barriers crumbled, and the Heartless started to appear, but it's only been in the past two years that they've become strong enough to threaten all the worlds."
"Anyway," Aerith said, gently steering the conversation back to Sora's question. "Every world has a door, and some have locks that the Heartless have to release before they can cause darkness to consume the world. Traverse Town not only has a lock, but the Heartless seem to be unable to find the door or the lock, and so we can defend the refugees effectively, as long as they stay in the first District. That's where Cid's shop is," she clarified.
"Ahh..." Sora said, reeling from information overload. Hopefully Brant would be back soon and the question-and-answer session could end, though he one more question. "Umm... Cid, what was that thing you put on me?" Sora shook his still-sore wrist, and he could see where the teeth of the device had made indentations in his skin.
"Sorry about that, kid. But we couldn't risk getting ambushed by Heartless when I didn't know if you could handle yourself in a battle. The Silencer isn't pleasant, but it's a way to keep someone from attracting Heartless to them. Most people usually lose consciousness after we put it on, but you managed to make it all the way here." Cid looked like he was going to say more, but after a quick glance at the less-than-approving faces of his companions, he decided not to.
"Anyway," Aerith said, "We're going to need to get you registered, at least as a refugee. Have you thought about joining?"
Sora nodded. "Cid told me that you guys could help me find my friends, Riku and Kairi. Have you seen them?"
"Whoa, whoa." Yuffie laughed at Sora's impatience. "If Cid thinks we can help you, then they're probably not on this world. But don't worry, there are always other worlds to search, and we always need people to help search them."
Leon stepped in, "Perhaps we should see if he's fit for refugee duty first. It's a lot tougher than just patrolling First District and clearing the other two every once in a while. Most people either give up quickly or don't return."
When he heard Leon's words, Sora immediately thought of a challenge, and the kid inside him who had grinned at the thought of serious challenges and sought out monsters, the one who had mostly died two years ago, spoke up: "Well, I'm not afraid. I won't give up, not until I find my friends."
The corners of Leon's mouth turned up slightly, staying there barely a second before they returned to their usual flat line. "So, you think you have what it takes?"
Sora nodded. "I fought my way through the island. I fought the Heartless, and I fought this big monster, too."
Leon shook his head. "I just can't believe it. A kid like you..." He trailed off, leaving Sora to wonder what the Trinity leader was thinking.
Aerith offered a hand to Sora. "We need to get you registered. Do you think you can get up by yourself?"
When Aerith mentioned her concern about Sora's health, he realized he hadn't really thought about it since he had started talking to them all. There was still some soreness in his left wrist, and his head was reeling as much from information overload as from any physical cause. As he pulled himself to a standing position, he noticed that his limbs ached slightly, though they didn't tremble as they had right after he had woken up. He stretched, enjoying the feeling of life returning to his muscles. "I'm fine."
She smiled back at him. "That's good. The clerk's over by the table. She'll take care of getting you registered." Aerith motioned to a pale girl about Sora's age, who waved to him. As he walked over to where the clerk waited, his body protested the movement with creaks and shooting aches that made him feel like a sixty-year-old man rather than a sixteen-year-old boy. His progress was slow, he knew, and he gave an apologetic smile as he reached the table.
The clerk tapped the pointed end of her quill repeatedly on the table as if she had been waiting impatiently, but as Sora approached, she returned his smile with one of her own. She leaned forward and looked up at Sora. "Hiya! You new here?"
Sora nodded. "Aerith said that you'd help get me registered."
At those words, the clerk opened a large book that lay in front of her and dipped her quill into a bottle of ink. "Of course," she said in what Sora hoped only resembled a flirtatious tone. "I'm here to help. Oh, and I'm Lana, by the way."
"I'm Sora," he answered.
Lana scrawled something in the book and then twirled a strand of her hair with the hand not holding a quill. "Ahh... Sora..." she sighed, an absentminded smile crossing her face.
"Lana!" Leon shouted, cutting the clerk's fawning short, "We don't have time for this. Get to work."
"Ye-yes, sir," Lana said, quickly averting her eyes from Sora and paying close attention to the book. "World of origin and age," she mumbled, taking quick peeks up at Sora.
Sora had never really thought of what his world was called. Usually he just thought of it as his island, his home. What had the maps called it? He remembered it having a somewhat romantic name– something like Destiny. As he thought about it, Destiny Island sounded right. "Umm... Destiny Island, I think. Oh, and I'm sixteen."
Another set of scrawls across the page and more sighing brought Lana to the next question: "Are you going to be joining Trinity?"
He had assumed he would. Not only to find his friends, which was the most important thing, but also to go on adventures. From what he could tell, the refugees all lived in the packed First District and didn't actually spend their days doing anything. Cid, Aerith, and the rest of them were all accomplishing something, and he could travel to other worlds. "Yeah, if they let me." Feeling generous, he flashed a smile at her. "They said they can help me find my friends."
"Your ... friends?" Lana seemed to be distracted, but her wide-eyed gaze prompted Sora to go on.
"Yeah. Hey, if you take care of the registration, maybe you've seen them. Riku, he's a year older than I am."
The look in Lana's eyes grew distant, and her voice sounded like she was in a completely different world. "Older? Is he taller than you? A bit more muscular?"
"Um yeah....he's got this grayish hair and greenish eyes." Sora had an idea that he wouldn't like where this was leading, but if it would help him find Riku, he supposed he could put up with it.
The slow dreamy smile that Lana had worn when she had first started talking to Sora returned. "Grayish, like a silvery color and eyes like the color of the sea?"
It was time to get to the point. "I guess... I never really thought about it before. Have you seen him?"
"No," Lana sighed, "But I really want to. He sounds so hot. Tell me more."
Placing one hand behind his head in an embarrassed gesture, Sora faked a laugh. "I don't think so. Anyway, my other friend is Kairi, and she's my age."
Lana tapped the tip of her quill on the book, leaving little dots of ink in the margins, while she rested her chin on her other hand. "Oh, you know, you're the only one who's come recently. We don't get many new refugees these days." At that she grew silent as if watching Sora for a response.
Sora wondered what he could say to that statement and the many possible interpretations it held. "So, you're saying that they might be..." He trailed off before the last word, "gone," had a chance to escape.
With a careless shrug of her shoulders and the closing of the record book, Lana replied, "Who knows? There still are other worlds out there. I bet they're fine and they're waiting on another world."
The sound of a door slamming and Brant's voice calling from the entrance ended the conversation. "Lady Aerith, I have returned from my perilous quest with the bounty firmly in my grasp."
A spicy smell wafted throughout the house, drawing Sora's attention back to the gnawing feeling of hunger in his stomach. Sora imagined that the churning sound it made was loud enough to stop everyone's conversation and turn their attention to him.
"Here you go, lad." Brant set a brown sack on the table in front of Sora. "You face a road fraught with peril, and you must be well-nourished for the journey that lies before you."
Sora tried not to look too desperate as he tore into the paper bag and obtained the contents inside: a piece of chicken, a mixture of corn, peppers, and other vegetables that seemed to be the source of the spicy scent, and a sealed cup of some liquid, probably water. He grabbed the food and practically inhaled it as he worked. The chicken was bland, and the vegetables practically coated in spices. However, the two seemed to balance out when a bite of one was immediately followed by the other, with occasional sips of water to wash everything down.
When nothing remained of his meal but bones and grains of spices, Sora finally turned his attention from the food. Except for Yuffie, none of the others were even paying attention to Sora, and Yuffie had a knowing smile on her face.
"Hey, Leon, I think our refugee is done with his meal. You should take him back to the Second District for his test mission," Yuffie said with a smile.
Leon's intense eyes turned to Sora. "You best prepare yourself before we go."
Sora nodded and retrieved his sword, which still lay on the bed. After having had a decent meal, he felt mostly recovered, even if his sword did feel a bit heavier than before. With his weapon in hand, he walked towards the door where Leon was waiting.
"Are you ready?" the Trinity commander asked.
"I'm ready." Sora put all of his intense determination into those words. He would pass this test. He would see other worlds. And most importantly, he would find his friends.
"Let's go."
***
Author's notes: I apologize for the boringness, the confusingness and any other unpleasant 'nesses' that this chapter might have. Call it the the obligatory explain things and introduce original characters chapter. At least the next chapter will have something resembling action in it. Let me know what you think, even if it is just to bash me over the head for corrupting the canon like this.
Koorino Megumi: Thank you for your editing, though you better be putting RSoD first. I don't want this humble little story to get in the way of your beautiful epic. And I'm glad that the changes really improved the characterization. I wouldn't have my beta be anything else.
Naela: How come your speculation always sounds more exciting than what I actually write?
Ginger Ninja: I hope it's different. A lot has happened in two years.
The sounds of random chattering dragged Sora back into consciousness. The throbbing pain in his hands, feet, and head kept him there. Light flooded his eyes as he opened them, requiring him to squint and aggravating his headache. He dragged himself into a sitting position, wondering since when his arms and legs had started trembling with the slightest exertion. At least he had succeeded, he thought when he finally pulled himself up. The surface was slightly raised, giving way as he weakly bounced on it. Someone must have put him on a bed after the fall had knocked him out. Had it been Kairi? Had she taken care of him?
What had happened? His memories of his short journey were fuzzy at best. Riku and Kairi had been there to help him. Actually no, that new person he had met, Cid, had been there first, wrapping something around his hand and then leading him into the new place. He vaguely remembered the older man giving him instructions and encouragement as he stumbled his way towards this place, wherever 'this place' actually was. But just as Riku appeared for the first time, Cid had abandoned Sora, leaving him to fend for himself for most of the journey, or what felt like most of the journey, at least.
The chattering died down just as his eyes adjusted to the light inside the house. Cid was standing with a group of three other people, his back turned to Sora, but neither Kairi nor Riku was anywhere to be seen. Other people were scattered about in this sparsely furnished room. Along one wall, boxes were piled to the ceiling, giving it a disorganized, just-moved-in look while the wall opposite Sora had a long row of tables lined up near it. Most of the house's occupants sat at these tables, gossiping among themselves and shuffling papers. The bed he was sitting on was hardly new or comfortable, covered only by a single white sheet and a flat-looking pillow.
One of the people Cid was standing with, a brown-haired man with shielded brown eyes and a gash across the forehead, regarded Sora with a nod and spoke with his companions: a dark-haired women who constantly fidgeted as if possessed by an enormous bundle of energy, and a composed, brown-haired woman who radiated a peaceful presence across the house.
The dark-haired woman bounced over to Sora, her dark blue eyes regarding him sharply. "I don't know, Cid, he looks pretty scrawny to me... What do you think, Squall?" She turned back to the people gathered around Cid.
"It's Leon," the brown-haired man corrected automatically before he offered his opinion. "He certainly looks like a weakling, but who knows? Looks can be deceiving." He approached Sora, his eyes catching on the sword at Sora's side. "You wield a weapon. The question is: can you use it?"
Cid offered his input. "The boy says he can, and I believe him."
The woman standing near him nodded her agreement. "Let's not forget, he managed to get all the way through the Second District with the Silencer on. He's got a hidden strength." Before she went to join the others in observing him, she poured a glass of water and handed it to Sora. "I'm sure that with some cool water and some recovery time, he'll be all right."
Gratefully, Sora accepted the glass and gulped down its contents. The cool water really did calm the throbbing in his head, as did the woman's concern for him, though it did remind him of the fact that he hadn't eaten for a long time. Last time he had eaten had been a snack right before he left his house – cookies and milk. Actually, it had been one cookie, as his mother had been fixing dinner at the time and warning Sora about ruining his appetite. With an undignified churning sound, his stomach reminded him that it had been too long since he had eaten a decent meal.
The woman who had handed him the glass of water smiled at him. "I guess we should send someone to get him a meal while we explain things. Brant!" she called to one of the clerks in the corner.
A boy, slightly older than Sora, walked forward. Taking his narrow-brimmed hat off his head and placing it over his heart in a sweeping motion, he bowed to the woman. "Lady Aerith, I am yours to command." The tone of reverence in Brant's voice was so exaggerated that Sora couldn't help but smile. The black-haired woman crossed her bare arms and shook her head, presumably amused by the display. Cid's face remained blank though, while Squall -er, Leon- scowled slightly.
Aerith just smiled gently at the boy. "Would you mind going over to Seri's line and getting some food for this boy? He's a new refugee."
Those last four words seemed to be the only explanation that the boy needed. "I understand, milady. I shall traverse through this district, battle my way through the press of the crowd, and undertake the trial of the acid-tongued harpy. And milady, I shall return triumphantly with the prize in hand." Brant bowed again and exited the house with a theatrical closing of the door.
The black-haired woman grinned at Aerith. "I think you have a fan club. We're going to have to watch out for that one. Right, Squall?"
Leon stepped forward. "It's Leon, and we should concentrate on more important things. Like explaining what's going on and finding out whether he's fit to become a part of Trinity."
"Oh, right!" The black-haired lady turned to Sora and began speaking. "This right here is Trinity Headquarters, and we–" She gestured to herself, Cid, Aerith, and Leon, "–are most of the leaders of Trinity. I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie, leader of the Intelligence Division of Trinity. Squall, currently going by Leon, is the leader of the Combat Division. Aerith is the leader of the Supply and Healing Division. Cid works as leader for the Transportation division. And Cloud leads the Refugee Division. Our mission as Trinity members is to protect the defenseless from the Heartless and hopeful–"
"The Heartless?" Sora asked, puzzled.
"Yes. Those without hearts," Aerith explained, "Those that are the essence of darkness."
"They come out of nowhere. They feed off of people's hearts, and they're attracted to the darkness in people's hearts," Leon continued, "The overrun a world, and when they find the core, it disappears."
Sora choked up at this. "Is that what happened to my island? Is it...gone? There was this door... and this storm...and I don't remember much after that. I had to fight these Heartless, but afterwards I was sucked into this big black cloud thing, and ... I must have ended up here." When he cared to look at the evidence, it made a grim sort of sense that his world had vanished in the storm. Sora could see the vortex that had swallowed him sucking in a whole island.
Lean shrugged. "Who knows. No one has ever seen what happens to a world once it disappears. At least, no one who has lived to tell about it."
Aerith added in some more information. "Most of the refugees who arrive these days come through Trinity. Very few actually come from worlds that have disappeared. You're the first in a long while."
"Why bring them to this world?" Sora asked, feeling like he was missing something.
Yuffie pulled a chair from the table and sat backwards in it, leaning towards Sora. "Well, we don't know much about the Heartless, but we do know about the doors."
"Doors?" Sora asked, his mind travelling to the cavern where he had played when he was a child. He remembered the wooden door that had confounded Riku and him since they were old enough to explore the island on their own, the one that had never opened until the night of the storm. "Like the one that I saw on my island that never opened until right before the island disappeared?"
"Exactly," Yuffie confirmed, fidgeting with the scarf that dangled from her neck. "You see, there used to be barriers between all the worlds, which protected them from the Heartless, but eleven years ago, all the barriers crumbled, and the Heartless started to appear, but it's only been in the past two years that they've become strong enough to threaten all the worlds."
"Anyway," Aerith said, gently steering the conversation back to Sora's question. "Every world has a door, and some have locks that the Heartless have to release before they can cause darkness to consume the world. Traverse Town not only has a lock, but the Heartless seem to be unable to find the door or the lock, and so we can defend the refugees effectively, as long as they stay in the first District. That's where Cid's shop is," she clarified.
"Ahh..." Sora said, reeling from information overload. Hopefully Brant would be back soon and the question-and-answer session could end, though he one more question. "Umm... Cid, what was that thing you put on me?" Sora shook his still-sore wrist, and he could see where the teeth of the device had made indentations in his skin.
"Sorry about that, kid. But we couldn't risk getting ambushed by Heartless when I didn't know if you could handle yourself in a battle. The Silencer isn't pleasant, but it's a way to keep someone from attracting Heartless to them. Most people usually lose consciousness after we put it on, but you managed to make it all the way here." Cid looked like he was going to say more, but after a quick glance at the less-than-approving faces of his companions, he decided not to.
"Anyway," Aerith said, "We're going to need to get you registered, at least as a refugee. Have you thought about joining?"
Sora nodded. "Cid told me that you guys could help me find my friends, Riku and Kairi. Have you seen them?"
"Whoa, whoa." Yuffie laughed at Sora's impatience. "If Cid thinks we can help you, then they're probably not on this world. But don't worry, there are always other worlds to search, and we always need people to help search them."
Leon stepped in, "Perhaps we should see if he's fit for refugee duty first. It's a lot tougher than just patrolling First District and clearing the other two every once in a while. Most people either give up quickly or don't return."
When he heard Leon's words, Sora immediately thought of a challenge, and the kid inside him who had grinned at the thought of serious challenges and sought out monsters, the one who had mostly died two years ago, spoke up: "Well, I'm not afraid. I won't give up, not until I find my friends."
The corners of Leon's mouth turned up slightly, staying there barely a second before they returned to their usual flat line. "So, you think you have what it takes?"
Sora nodded. "I fought my way through the island. I fought the Heartless, and I fought this big monster, too."
Leon shook his head. "I just can't believe it. A kid like you..." He trailed off, leaving Sora to wonder what the Trinity leader was thinking.
Aerith offered a hand to Sora. "We need to get you registered. Do you think you can get up by yourself?"
When Aerith mentioned her concern about Sora's health, he realized he hadn't really thought about it since he had started talking to them all. There was still some soreness in his left wrist, and his head was reeling as much from information overload as from any physical cause. As he pulled himself to a standing position, he noticed that his limbs ached slightly, though they didn't tremble as they had right after he had woken up. He stretched, enjoying the feeling of life returning to his muscles. "I'm fine."
She smiled back at him. "That's good. The clerk's over by the table. She'll take care of getting you registered." Aerith motioned to a pale girl about Sora's age, who waved to him. As he walked over to where the clerk waited, his body protested the movement with creaks and shooting aches that made him feel like a sixty-year-old man rather than a sixteen-year-old boy. His progress was slow, he knew, and he gave an apologetic smile as he reached the table.
The clerk tapped the pointed end of her quill repeatedly on the table as if she had been waiting impatiently, but as Sora approached, she returned his smile with one of her own. She leaned forward and looked up at Sora. "Hiya! You new here?"
Sora nodded. "Aerith said that you'd help get me registered."
At those words, the clerk opened a large book that lay in front of her and dipped her quill into a bottle of ink. "Of course," she said in what Sora hoped only resembled a flirtatious tone. "I'm here to help. Oh, and I'm Lana, by the way."
"I'm Sora," he answered.
Lana scrawled something in the book and then twirled a strand of her hair with the hand not holding a quill. "Ahh... Sora..." she sighed, an absentminded smile crossing her face.
"Lana!" Leon shouted, cutting the clerk's fawning short, "We don't have time for this. Get to work."
"Ye-yes, sir," Lana said, quickly averting her eyes from Sora and paying close attention to the book. "World of origin and age," she mumbled, taking quick peeks up at Sora.
Sora had never really thought of what his world was called. Usually he just thought of it as his island, his home. What had the maps called it? He remembered it having a somewhat romantic name– something like Destiny. As he thought about it, Destiny Island sounded right. "Umm... Destiny Island, I think. Oh, and I'm sixteen."
Another set of scrawls across the page and more sighing brought Lana to the next question: "Are you going to be joining Trinity?"
He had assumed he would. Not only to find his friends, which was the most important thing, but also to go on adventures. From what he could tell, the refugees all lived in the packed First District and didn't actually spend their days doing anything. Cid, Aerith, and the rest of them were all accomplishing something, and he could travel to other worlds. "Yeah, if they let me." Feeling generous, he flashed a smile at her. "They said they can help me find my friends."
"Your ... friends?" Lana seemed to be distracted, but her wide-eyed gaze prompted Sora to go on.
"Yeah. Hey, if you take care of the registration, maybe you've seen them. Riku, he's a year older than I am."
The look in Lana's eyes grew distant, and her voice sounded like she was in a completely different world. "Older? Is he taller than you? A bit more muscular?"
"Um yeah....he's got this grayish hair and greenish eyes." Sora had an idea that he wouldn't like where this was leading, but if it would help him find Riku, he supposed he could put up with it.
The slow dreamy smile that Lana had worn when she had first started talking to Sora returned. "Grayish, like a silvery color and eyes like the color of the sea?"
It was time to get to the point. "I guess... I never really thought about it before. Have you seen him?"
"No," Lana sighed, "But I really want to. He sounds so hot. Tell me more."
Placing one hand behind his head in an embarrassed gesture, Sora faked a laugh. "I don't think so. Anyway, my other friend is Kairi, and she's my age."
Lana tapped the tip of her quill on the book, leaving little dots of ink in the margins, while she rested her chin on her other hand. "Oh, you know, you're the only one who's come recently. We don't get many new refugees these days." At that she grew silent as if watching Sora for a response.
Sora wondered what he could say to that statement and the many possible interpretations it held. "So, you're saying that they might be..." He trailed off before the last word, "gone," had a chance to escape.
With a careless shrug of her shoulders and the closing of the record book, Lana replied, "Who knows? There still are other worlds out there. I bet they're fine and they're waiting on another world."
The sound of a door slamming and Brant's voice calling from the entrance ended the conversation. "Lady Aerith, I have returned from my perilous quest with the bounty firmly in my grasp."
A spicy smell wafted throughout the house, drawing Sora's attention back to the gnawing feeling of hunger in his stomach. Sora imagined that the churning sound it made was loud enough to stop everyone's conversation and turn their attention to him.
"Here you go, lad." Brant set a brown sack on the table in front of Sora. "You face a road fraught with peril, and you must be well-nourished for the journey that lies before you."
Sora tried not to look too desperate as he tore into the paper bag and obtained the contents inside: a piece of chicken, a mixture of corn, peppers, and other vegetables that seemed to be the source of the spicy scent, and a sealed cup of some liquid, probably water. He grabbed the food and practically inhaled it as he worked. The chicken was bland, and the vegetables practically coated in spices. However, the two seemed to balance out when a bite of one was immediately followed by the other, with occasional sips of water to wash everything down.
When nothing remained of his meal but bones and grains of spices, Sora finally turned his attention from the food. Except for Yuffie, none of the others were even paying attention to Sora, and Yuffie had a knowing smile on her face.
"Hey, Leon, I think our refugee is done with his meal. You should take him back to the Second District for his test mission," Yuffie said with a smile.
Leon's intense eyes turned to Sora. "You best prepare yourself before we go."
Sora nodded and retrieved his sword, which still lay on the bed. After having had a decent meal, he felt mostly recovered, even if his sword did feel a bit heavier than before. With his weapon in hand, he walked towards the door where Leon was waiting.
"Are you ready?" the Trinity commander asked.
"I'm ready." Sora put all of his intense determination into those words. He would pass this test. He would see other worlds. And most importantly, he would find his friends.
"Let's go."
***
Author's notes: I apologize for the boringness, the confusingness and any other unpleasant 'nesses' that this chapter might have. Call it the the obligatory explain things and introduce original characters chapter. At least the next chapter will have something resembling action in it. Let me know what you think, even if it is just to bash me over the head for corrupting the canon like this.
Koorino Megumi: Thank you for your editing, though you better be putting RSoD first. I don't want this humble little story to get in the way of your beautiful epic. And I'm glad that the changes really improved the characterization. I wouldn't have my beta be anything else.
Naela: How come your speculation always sounds more exciting than what I actually write?
Ginger Ninja: I hope it's different. A lot has happened in two years.