Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts I most likely wouldn't be writing fan fiction as a hobby.
Sorry it's taken so long to update this month, something else came up so I was a little busy. This is the third time I've rewritten this chapter. I had it almost done twice, then I decided that I hated where the story was leading, so here's the better version. I really hope you guys like this chapter, it was a pain to write! Should update a little faster after this, hopefully, if I don't get too much homework.
And actually, Dottie, you read my mind. My dirty little mind that seems to become more corrupted with each visit to school. Considering the rating is already R, and the fact that there just aren't enough Ansem-anyone fics, I decided to include a little something here pretty soon. It probably won't be very good, and it will take me a little while to write (what doesn't?), but I will try my best!
So, I'm not about to beg you to review, but it would be nice to know what to improve. You can flame if you want to, I don't mind. It's not my place to judge your opinions or how you choose to express them.
Artwork coming soon, just waiting for the story to catch up to the art I've got.
~~~~~
An uncomfortable silence settled over the room as everyone waited for someone to do something. Holding back a yawn, Aerith finally moved back toward the couch.
"It's getting really late, maybe it's time for everyone to get some sleep." She said softly, curling up on the couch and gazing almost worriedly down the hall.
Yuffie groaned. "But Aerith, it's not late, just early! We'd just be waking up in a few hours anyway.." She muttered, burying her face in Squall's shoulder to hide her yawn.
Sora moved closer to Kairi and glanced around the room. Confident that no one was paying attention to them, he leaned closer to Kairi and lowered his voice. "Can we talk? Outside?" He asked quietly.
He had whispered it, but Riku was still close enough to overhear. He knew what Sora wanted to talk to her about, and he had to bite his lip to keep from spinning around and dragging the younger boy out the door himself. This was something she needed to tell him herself.
~*~
Arashi hastily wiped away her tears, ashamed that Cloud was seeing her like this. Turning back to face him, she took a deep breath. "So, they're all gone.. You guys are the only ones who got away?"
Cloud nodded sadly, wishing she had picked Cid to talk to instead. He knew the question she was going to ask next, so he saved her the pain of forming the words. "I'm sorry, Ame never came back after she went looking for you. The attack happened so fast, we really had no way to try to help anyone, we didn't even have a way to defend ourselves. All we could do was get away." He watched as her shoulders shook, stepping forward and hugging her as fresh tears ran down her cheeks.
She hugged him back instinctively, noting how different it felt now. He had obviously been doing a lot of fighting, he seemed a bit more muscular and traumatized than she had remembered him. Sighing sadly, she rested her forehead against his chest. So she really had been a.. What was it? Heartless? Yes, she had been a Heartless for all those years.
"I-..I'm just glad you're alright, anichan.. I don't know what I would have done if they had gotten you.." She whimpered.
~*~
Sora and Kairi walked side by side down the street. Though it was well past midnight, a vague warmth could be felt around the island. It would linger until just before the sun came up, another indicator that it was mid summer. Moving slowly down the sidewalk, they turned and entered the city park. The warmth vanished almost immediately under the cool shelter of the trees. The sidewalk ended and gave way to the familiar pale sand of the beach.
Sora's pace slowed and he finally stopped, staring absently at the sand. Kairi stopped a few steps ahead of him, turning and looking questioningly at the brunette.
He sighed, finally looking back up into her eyes. "..Who?" He asked, keeping their gazes locked.
She nearly jumped. "What do you mean?" She asked quietly, praying it wasn't what she was thinking of.
He looked away, a hint of anger and hurt on his face. "When I kissed you, you said that you couldn't because you were in love with someone else. Who?" he lowered his voice.
Kairi was mortified, of course it was the one thing she had been hoping he hadn't meant, mainly because she had no idea what to tell him. She hated lying to her friends, but she couldn't possibly tell him about Ansem. All she could do was stare at him sadly, mouth slightly open as she struggled to find the right words.
When she couldn't figure out quite what to say, Sora looked back up at her. "Is it Riku?" he asked softly.
She slowly closed her mouth, watching him helplessly. Perhaps it was best if he thought it was Riku, for now. She turned away, trying to hide the blush on her face.
Sora watched her for a moment, finally turning his back on her and leaning against a nearby tree. "Fine, it's fine. You don't have to explain anything to me." he said, the anger in his voice stinging her as she watched him.
He shoved himself away from the tree, moving quickly back toward the street. "I'm sorry if I wasted your time." He muttered, not bothering to look at her as he made his way under the shadows of the trees.
"Sora-!" Kairi stepped forward, not wanting to see him like this but unsure of what she could say. "I'm sorry.." She whimpered, tears streaming down her cheeks by the time he had turned to look at her.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the two. Time seemed to stop as Kairi held her breath, staring intently into the brunette's gaze. A brief breeze passed through the branches of the tropical trees, slowly dying down and leaving the night air motionless. After a moment, Sora's gaze softened, eyes reflecting a deep sense of sadness as he turned away again.
"Kairi, I just want you to be happy. I know it sounds stupid, but it's true." He continued forward, moving quickly back toward the street.
Before Kairi could react, Sora had disappeared back into the shadows of the trees. Kairi bit her lip in an attempt to hold back her tears. She hadn't meant to hurt him, and she wasn't sure who was in more pain. Crouching down, she hugged herself sadly. Sora had been through so much lately. She shuddered slightly as a soft breeze blew through the sand under the trees. For a brief moment, she wished she had never met Ansem. Maybe then everything would have been alright. She would never have known that she wasn't really in love with Sora and they both could have been perfectly happy in their ignorance.
Standing shakily to her feet, she glanced around at the trees. She wiped a hand across her face before rushing forward. Sora couldn't be that far ahead, she could still tell him about Ansem, he deserved that much at least.
Kairi skidded to a halt, gazing nervously up at the branches of the trees as the wind howled through them. She shivered and spun around, gasping as a sudden burst of wind nearly knocked her off her feet. Regaining her balance, she stared up into the sky.
Eyes widening in fear, she stumbled forward, keeping her gaze locked on the swirling clouds above the island.
"Sora! Sora!!" She shouted as she rushed after him. She yelped in surprise as she slammed into his chest, shaking her head before staring up at him.
"Sora! The Heartless! Just like before, we have to-" Before she could finish he had clamped his hand firmly against her mouth.
"I know.. Go back to Squall's house and stay with them. Tell Riku to meet me at the secret place!" He shoved her roughly toward the sidewalk, vanishing into the shadows as he made his way toward the docks.
"Sora, wait! You don't understand!" She huffed, hesitating as she tried to think of what to do. Finally turning around, she dashed down the beach after him.
~*~
Riku groaned, struggling to stay awake as he listened to Yuffie and Wakka battling with their video game. He leaned forward, resting his cheek against the arm of the couch as he stared tiredly at Aerith. She hadn't moved since Sora and Kairi left. Groaning again, he rolled over and curled up with a pillow. He had nearly fallen asleep when Yuffie leaned over him and poked him rather roughly in the side.
"Get your icky shoes off the couch, Riku!" She shook a finger at him as he stared tiredly up at her. He couldn't tell if she was serious or not, so he simply stuck out his tongue and hugged the pillow tighter.
"At least their off the carpet.." He said honestly, flinging the pillow at her head as she poked him in the ribs.
They were interrupted several moments later when Squall's bedroom door slowly opened. Cloud walked out into the hallway, pulling Arashi behind him. Her face was tear-stained and she looked a bit depressed. Leading her gently into the living room, he gazed around at his friends.
"Riku, can you take her somewhere, please? She just needs some rest and maybe some time to think.." He said softly, watching as the silver-haired boy struggled to pull himself up from the couch.
"Alright, I understand. I'll take her to Kairi's place. Night." he rested a hand on her shoulder as she walked past him. He cast a worried glance at Cloud before waving and following her out the door.
~*~
Walking along in silence, Riku couldn't help but stare at the girl. She seemed so sad, he wondered what she was thinking about. The others had seemed pretty surprised that she was alive, apparently she had grown up in Hollow Bastion with them. Before he could stop himself, he had reached out and rested a hand heavily on her shoulder.
"What's the matter?" He asked gently, watching a few stray tears slip down her cheeks.
"I don't want to talk about it.." She whispered, staring straight ahead as they continued down the street.
Riku fought back a grin, "I'm willing to bet that's not true. So what's the matter?" he said almost sarcastically, watching calmly as she spun to glare at him.
Unable to contain her anger, she reached out, bringing her hand up to slap him. Before she managed to hit him, he caught her wrist neatly. She ignored it as she continued to glare at him. "What's the matter? You wanna know what's wrong? I was betrayed by one of the only people I thought I could trust! I lost everything! All my friends, all my family, even my home!! All because of the Heartless! They used me, and I lost everything because of them!! Are you happy now?! Is that what you wanted to hear?! You sit on this happy little island all day, I'll bet you don't know anything about real pain!!" She forced herself to stare at him, tears blurring her vision as they streamed down her face.
They stood there for a moment, Arashi's choked sobs the only sound echoing down the empty street. Finally, Arashi collapsed on all fours, shoulders shaking. Slowly, Riku knelt down, lifting her face with his hand as he watched her.
"Real pain? You should never assume anything about a person, until you really know them." he released her chin, shifting to rest on his knees as he gracefully pulled his shirt off.
Arashi gasped, unable to look away from the Heartless emblem branded onto Riku's pale chest.
"You aren't the only person that the Heartless used. Ansem took control of my body, and used me to wage war on the only people I've ever cared for. I almost lost everything, but with Sora's help, we got it back. You shouldn't give up so easily, if you're here now, then there's a way to restore the others, too…" He trailed off, voice wavering at the memories of his time in Hollow Bastion.
Arashi watched him for a moment, not entirely sure if he was serious. He looked away as his vision blurred. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he turned to look back at her.
"At least you can't remember what the Heartless made you do…" He whispered, pulling his shirt back on and standing up. Turning quickly, he stared down the street as he wiped a hand across his face.
Arashi carefully pulled herself to her feet, watching him rather shamefully. After several minutes of awkward silence, it finally occurred to her that something was wrong. Moving quietly toward him, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder and followed his gaze down the street.
"What is it..?" She asked softly, noticing as he shifted to stare to the sky above them. It was then that she realized that dark clouds were swirling over the island, shrieking as a sudden roll of thunder cut through the night.
"The Heartless-" Riku darted forward, pulling Arashi by the arm as he dashed down the street. Rain began pounding the ground around them as a violent wind picked up.
"Where are we going?" She shouted over the roar of thunder, wiping the rain out of her eyes as she tried to keep up.
"The door, we have to get to the door! If we can lock it again, the Heartless won't be able to take the islands!" He shouted back to her.
Arashi shouted in surprise as a large tree branch slammed into the ground directly in front of them. She tripped, landing heavily on the pavement as her arm slipped from Riku's grasp. She cried out in pain, shifting to glance down at the blood trickling down her ankle.
Riku slid to a stop, leaning down and easily lifting her from the ground. Cradling her gently in his arms, he turned and began down the street again, heading for the beach.
~*~
"Hey, Squall, looks like a nasty storm outside. Think Riku and Arashi made it to Kairi's alright?" Yuffie leaned back on the couch, watching the brunette curiously as he glared at her.
"Yuffie, can you at least try to get some sleep?" He asked tiredly, throwing a pillow at her. She dodged it easily, leaping on Cloud for protection.
"Cloud! He's trying to hit me!" She whined innocently, hugging him. He only sighed wearily, glancing hopefully at Aerith. Unfortunately for him, she was fast asleep.
Yuffie was about to say more when the power flickered out. Cursing could be heard from the garage, and moments later the door was thrown open as Cid stomped back into the house. "Squall, you got a generator? I'm right in the middle of something!" he yelled, waving a flashlight at him. Squall just shook his head and walked down the hall to his room.
"What's his problem?" Cid asked, scowling down at Yuffie. "What did you do to him?" he pointed the flashlight at her before walking over to the TV.
Yuffie huffed. "I didn't do anything to him, he's just tired!" She tried to look offended, but couldn't help but laugh as he began shaking Wakka with his foot and yelling at him to wake up.
"Hey, kid, do you ever go home?" He asked impatiently, tossing the flashlight at him as he turned back to Yuffie.
"Huh? Ow…" Wakka sat up tiredly, rubbing his head where the flashlight had hit him. He groaned, leaning down and picking it up before glancing up at the older man. "What happened?" he asked, noticing that all the lights were out.
"Power's out, get up and help me with the Gummi ship." He said, walking into the kitchen for another flashlight. "You too, Yuffie, try not to break anything." Walking back into the living room, he glanced at the window as the room was lit up by a flash of lightning.
"What the fuck.." he crossed the room quickly and stared out the window at the raging storm.
"It's storming outside!" Yuffie chirped helpfully, bouncing over to stand next to him. "Couldn't you hear the thunder out in the garage?" She looked at him quizzically.
Cid had to resist the urge to throw his new flashlight at her, unable to tear his gaze from the dark clouds swirling over the island. "I was working on the Gummi ship, can't hear anything in there." He turned suddenly to face the hallway.
"Shit, where'd Squall go?" he made his way back across the dark living room, nearly tripping on Wakka.
"It's just a storm, what the matter?" Yuffie watched as he stomped down the hall. He stopped and turned around, pulling Wakka up from the floor and yelling at him to wake up again.
"It's not just a storm, Yuffie! The sky was clear less than fifteen minutes ago! Something's happening.." He released the boy once he was sure he could stand up, continuing down the hallway to Squall's room.
Yuffie winced as she watched him slam the door open, he leaned inside and started saying something. Moving back to the couch, she sat down next to Cloud. She stared at him for several moments as footsteps could be heard in the kitchen. He had nearly fallen asleep when Squall darted back into the living room. He stared out the window for several moments before cursing under his breath and moving back toward Yuffie.
He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet, ignoring her complaints. He lead her to the front door and yanked it open.
"I'm not going out there! It's storming!!" She fought to get out of his grasp, twisting awkwardly in the doorway.
He sighed, slamming the door and pulling her back down the hallway. Reaching into the closet, he pulled out a heavy black coat. She gave him a look of disbelief before putting the coat on and sighing in defeat. She stuck her tongue out at Wakka as she was lead back to the front door. Squall hurriedly pulled the door open again, holding Yuffie by the shoulders as they stood in the doorway.
"I want you to go to Kairi's house and stay there. Riku and Arashi should be there, too. Make sure you all stay together, we'll be by later to pick you up." He stared at her awkwardly for a moment, apparently torn at letting her go alone. Hugging her quickly, he kissed her forehead and pulled the hood up. She looked even skinnier since the coat was so big on her, and the hood nearly covered her eyes. She blushed lightly as she stared back up at him.
Smiling faintly, he shoved her out the door. "Go, and be careful, alright? Be really careful." He watched as she pulled the coat tighter around herself and began down the walkway to the street. She stopped at the sidewalk and cast a rather confused glance back at Squall before breaking into a jog.
Turning back to the others, he shut the door. "Alright, let's go." He motioned for them to follow, moving quickly back toward the garage. Cloud stood up, casting a glance back at Aerith's sleeping form.
"What about-" he began, cut off as Squall looked over his shoulder at him. "Bring her." he shoved the garage door open and followed Wakka inside.
~*~
"Sora, we really should have told the others what's going on!" Kairi shouted over the pounding of the rain. She winced as another roar of thunder rolled across the beach.
"There's no time, we have to lock the door!" He replied, nearly losing his balance as his feet touched the wet sand. He never had been particularly good at landings.
Releasing Kairi, he pulled out his keyblade. "Alright, we'll have to do this somewhat quickly." he glanced around at the beach, looking for the Heartless he knew should appear.
Kairi shook her head, tugging wearily at her soaked hair. "I never did like flying…" She glanced up, yelping in surprise as a Heartless was sliced in half right in front of her.
"You could have said something!" She stomped huffily, pulling out her own keyblade and glancing around the island.
"We need to get to the secret place, fighting these Heartless won't help." He lunged forward, slicing through several that inched too close. "Come on!" He grabbed her arm, pulling her forward as they dashed across the beach.
~*~*~*~~~~
A/N: I know it was really short, but I promise I'll have another chapter up this week!! It's either really later or really early now, so I have to cut it short. I just wanted to post a new chapter before you guys decided I had died…
Sorry it's taken so long to update this month, something else came up so I was a little busy. This is the third time I've rewritten this chapter. I had it almost done twice, then I decided that I hated where the story was leading, so here's the better version. I really hope you guys like this chapter, it was a pain to write! Should update a little faster after this, hopefully, if I don't get too much homework.
And actually, Dottie, you read my mind. My dirty little mind that seems to become more corrupted with each visit to school. Considering the rating is already R, and the fact that there just aren't enough Ansem-anyone fics, I decided to include a little something here pretty soon. It probably won't be very good, and it will take me a little while to write (what doesn't?), but I will try my best!
So, I'm not about to beg you to review, but it would be nice to know what to improve. You can flame if you want to, I don't mind. It's not my place to judge your opinions or how you choose to express them.
Artwork coming soon, just waiting for the story to catch up to the art I've got.
~~~~~
An uncomfortable silence settled over the room as everyone waited for someone to do something. Holding back a yawn, Aerith finally moved back toward the couch.
"It's getting really late, maybe it's time for everyone to get some sleep." She said softly, curling up on the couch and gazing almost worriedly down the hall.
Yuffie groaned. "But Aerith, it's not late, just early! We'd just be waking up in a few hours anyway.." She muttered, burying her face in Squall's shoulder to hide her yawn.
Sora moved closer to Kairi and glanced around the room. Confident that no one was paying attention to them, he leaned closer to Kairi and lowered his voice. "Can we talk? Outside?" He asked quietly.
He had whispered it, but Riku was still close enough to overhear. He knew what Sora wanted to talk to her about, and he had to bite his lip to keep from spinning around and dragging the younger boy out the door himself. This was something she needed to tell him herself.
~*~
Arashi hastily wiped away her tears, ashamed that Cloud was seeing her like this. Turning back to face him, she took a deep breath. "So, they're all gone.. You guys are the only ones who got away?"
Cloud nodded sadly, wishing she had picked Cid to talk to instead. He knew the question she was going to ask next, so he saved her the pain of forming the words. "I'm sorry, Ame never came back after she went looking for you. The attack happened so fast, we really had no way to try to help anyone, we didn't even have a way to defend ourselves. All we could do was get away." He watched as her shoulders shook, stepping forward and hugging her as fresh tears ran down her cheeks.
She hugged him back instinctively, noting how different it felt now. He had obviously been doing a lot of fighting, he seemed a bit more muscular and traumatized than she had remembered him. Sighing sadly, she rested her forehead against his chest. So she really had been a.. What was it? Heartless? Yes, she had been a Heartless for all those years.
"I-..I'm just glad you're alright, anichan.. I don't know what I would have done if they had gotten you.." She whimpered.
~*~
Sora and Kairi walked side by side down the street. Though it was well past midnight, a vague warmth could be felt around the island. It would linger until just before the sun came up, another indicator that it was mid summer. Moving slowly down the sidewalk, they turned and entered the city park. The warmth vanished almost immediately under the cool shelter of the trees. The sidewalk ended and gave way to the familiar pale sand of the beach.
Sora's pace slowed and he finally stopped, staring absently at the sand. Kairi stopped a few steps ahead of him, turning and looking questioningly at the brunette.
He sighed, finally looking back up into her eyes. "..Who?" He asked, keeping their gazes locked.
She nearly jumped. "What do you mean?" She asked quietly, praying it wasn't what she was thinking of.
He looked away, a hint of anger and hurt on his face. "When I kissed you, you said that you couldn't because you were in love with someone else. Who?" he lowered his voice.
Kairi was mortified, of course it was the one thing she had been hoping he hadn't meant, mainly because she had no idea what to tell him. She hated lying to her friends, but she couldn't possibly tell him about Ansem. All she could do was stare at him sadly, mouth slightly open as she struggled to find the right words.
When she couldn't figure out quite what to say, Sora looked back up at her. "Is it Riku?" he asked softly.
She slowly closed her mouth, watching him helplessly. Perhaps it was best if he thought it was Riku, for now. She turned away, trying to hide the blush on her face.
Sora watched her for a moment, finally turning his back on her and leaning against a nearby tree. "Fine, it's fine. You don't have to explain anything to me." he said, the anger in his voice stinging her as she watched him.
He shoved himself away from the tree, moving quickly back toward the street. "I'm sorry if I wasted your time." He muttered, not bothering to look at her as he made his way under the shadows of the trees.
"Sora-!" Kairi stepped forward, not wanting to see him like this but unsure of what she could say. "I'm sorry.." She whimpered, tears streaming down her cheeks by the time he had turned to look at her.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the two. Time seemed to stop as Kairi held her breath, staring intently into the brunette's gaze. A brief breeze passed through the branches of the tropical trees, slowly dying down and leaving the night air motionless. After a moment, Sora's gaze softened, eyes reflecting a deep sense of sadness as he turned away again.
"Kairi, I just want you to be happy. I know it sounds stupid, but it's true." He continued forward, moving quickly back toward the street.
Before Kairi could react, Sora had disappeared back into the shadows of the trees. Kairi bit her lip in an attempt to hold back her tears. She hadn't meant to hurt him, and she wasn't sure who was in more pain. Crouching down, she hugged herself sadly. Sora had been through so much lately. She shuddered slightly as a soft breeze blew through the sand under the trees. For a brief moment, she wished she had never met Ansem. Maybe then everything would have been alright. She would never have known that she wasn't really in love with Sora and they both could have been perfectly happy in their ignorance.
Standing shakily to her feet, she glanced around at the trees. She wiped a hand across her face before rushing forward. Sora couldn't be that far ahead, she could still tell him about Ansem, he deserved that much at least.
Kairi skidded to a halt, gazing nervously up at the branches of the trees as the wind howled through them. She shivered and spun around, gasping as a sudden burst of wind nearly knocked her off her feet. Regaining her balance, she stared up into the sky.
Eyes widening in fear, she stumbled forward, keeping her gaze locked on the swirling clouds above the island.
"Sora! Sora!!" She shouted as she rushed after him. She yelped in surprise as she slammed into his chest, shaking her head before staring up at him.
"Sora! The Heartless! Just like before, we have to-" Before she could finish he had clamped his hand firmly against her mouth.
"I know.. Go back to Squall's house and stay with them. Tell Riku to meet me at the secret place!" He shoved her roughly toward the sidewalk, vanishing into the shadows as he made his way toward the docks.
"Sora, wait! You don't understand!" She huffed, hesitating as she tried to think of what to do. Finally turning around, she dashed down the beach after him.
~*~
Riku groaned, struggling to stay awake as he listened to Yuffie and Wakka battling with their video game. He leaned forward, resting his cheek against the arm of the couch as he stared tiredly at Aerith. She hadn't moved since Sora and Kairi left. Groaning again, he rolled over and curled up with a pillow. He had nearly fallen asleep when Yuffie leaned over him and poked him rather roughly in the side.
"Get your icky shoes off the couch, Riku!" She shook a finger at him as he stared tiredly up at her. He couldn't tell if she was serious or not, so he simply stuck out his tongue and hugged the pillow tighter.
"At least their off the carpet.." He said honestly, flinging the pillow at her head as she poked him in the ribs.
They were interrupted several moments later when Squall's bedroom door slowly opened. Cloud walked out into the hallway, pulling Arashi behind him. Her face was tear-stained and she looked a bit depressed. Leading her gently into the living room, he gazed around at his friends.
"Riku, can you take her somewhere, please? She just needs some rest and maybe some time to think.." He said softly, watching as the silver-haired boy struggled to pull himself up from the couch.
"Alright, I understand. I'll take her to Kairi's place. Night." he rested a hand on her shoulder as she walked past him. He cast a worried glance at Cloud before waving and following her out the door.
~*~
Walking along in silence, Riku couldn't help but stare at the girl. She seemed so sad, he wondered what she was thinking about. The others had seemed pretty surprised that she was alive, apparently she had grown up in Hollow Bastion with them. Before he could stop himself, he had reached out and rested a hand heavily on her shoulder.
"What's the matter?" He asked gently, watching a few stray tears slip down her cheeks.
"I don't want to talk about it.." She whispered, staring straight ahead as they continued down the street.
Riku fought back a grin, "I'm willing to bet that's not true. So what's the matter?" he said almost sarcastically, watching calmly as she spun to glare at him.
Unable to contain her anger, she reached out, bringing her hand up to slap him. Before she managed to hit him, he caught her wrist neatly. She ignored it as she continued to glare at him. "What's the matter? You wanna know what's wrong? I was betrayed by one of the only people I thought I could trust! I lost everything! All my friends, all my family, even my home!! All because of the Heartless! They used me, and I lost everything because of them!! Are you happy now?! Is that what you wanted to hear?! You sit on this happy little island all day, I'll bet you don't know anything about real pain!!" She forced herself to stare at him, tears blurring her vision as they streamed down her face.
They stood there for a moment, Arashi's choked sobs the only sound echoing down the empty street. Finally, Arashi collapsed on all fours, shoulders shaking. Slowly, Riku knelt down, lifting her face with his hand as he watched her.
"Real pain? You should never assume anything about a person, until you really know them." he released her chin, shifting to rest on his knees as he gracefully pulled his shirt off.
Arashi gasped, unable to look away from the Heartless emblem branded onto Riku's pale chest.
"You aren't the only person that the Heartless used. Ansem took control of my body, and used me to wage war on the only people I've ever cared for. I almost lost everything, but with Sora's help, we got it back. You shouldn't give up so easily, if you're here now, then there's a way to restore the others, too…" He trailed off, voice wavering at the memories of his time in Hollow Bastion.
Arashi watched him for a moment, not entirely sure if he was serious. He looked away as his vision blurred. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he turned to look back at her.
"At least you can't remember what the Heartless made you do…" He whispered, pulling his shirt back on and standing up. Turning quickly, he stared down the street as he wiped a hand across his face.
Arashi carefully pulled herself to her feet, watching him rather shamefully. After several minutes of awkward silence, it finally occurred to her that something was wrong. Moving quietly toward him, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder and followed his gaze down the street.
"What is it..?" She asked softly, noticing as he shifted to stare to the sky above them. It was then that she realized that dark clouds were swirling over the island, shrieking as a sudden roll of thunder cut through the night.
"The Heartless-" Riku darted forward, pulling Arashi by the arm as he dashed down the street. Rain began pounding the ground around them as a violent wind picked up.
"Where are we going?" She shouted over the roar of thunder, wiping the rain out of her eyes as she tried to keep up.
"The door, we have to get to the door! If we can lock it again, the Heartless won't be able to take the islands!" He shouted back to her.
Arashi shouted in surprise as a large tree branch slammed into the ground directly in front of them. She tripped, landing heavily on the pavement as her arm slipped from Riku's grasp. She cried out in pain, shifting to glance down at the blood trickling down her ankle.
Riku slid to a stop, leaning down and easily lifting her from the ground. Cradling her gently in his arms, he turned and began down the street again, heading for the beach.
~*~
"Hey, Squall, looks like a nasty storm outside. Think Riku and Arashi made it to Kairi's alright?" Yuffie leaned back on the couch, watching the brunette curiously as he glared at her.
"Yuffie, can you at least try to get some sleep?" He asked tiredly, throwing a pillow at her. She dodged it easily, leaping on Cloud for protection.
"Cloud! He's trying to hit me!" She whined innocently, hugging him. He only sighed wearily, glancing hopefully at Aerith. Unfortunately for him, she was fast asleep.
Yuffie was about to say more when the power flickered out. Cursing could be heard from the garage, and moments later the door was thrown open as Cid stomped back into the house. "Squall, you got a generator? I'm right in the middle of something!" he yelled, waving a flashlight at him. Squall just shook his head and walked down the hall to his room.
"What's his problem?" Cid asked, scowling down at Yuffie. "What did you do to him?" he pointed the flashlight at her before walking over to the TV.
Yuffie huffed. "I didn't do anything to him, he's just tired!" She tried to look offended, but couldn't help but laugh as he began shaking Wakka with his foot and yelling at him to wake up.
"Hey, kid, do you ever go home?" He asked impatiently, tossing the flashlight at him as he turned back to Yuffie.
"Huh? Ow…" Wakka sat up tiredly, rubbing his head where the flashlight had hit him. He groaned, leaning down and picking it up before glancing up at the older man. "What happened?" he asked, noticing that all the lights were out.
"Power's out, get up and help me with the Gummi ship." He said, walking into the kitchen for another flashlight. "You too, Yuffie, try not to break anything." Walking back into the living room, he glanced at the window as the room was lit up by a flash of lightning.
"What the fuck.." he crossed the room quickly and stared out the window at the raging storm.
"It's storming outside!" Yuffie chirped helpfully, bouncing over to stand next to him. "Couldn't you hear the thunder out in the garage?" She looked at him quizzically.
Cid had to resist the urge to throw his new flashlight at her, unable to tear his gaze from the dark clouds swirling over the island. "I was working on the Gummi ship, can't hear anything in there." He turned suddenly to face the hallway.
"Shit, where'd Squall go?" he made his way back across the dark living room, nearly tripping on Wakka.
"It's just a storm, what the matter?" Yuffie watched as he stomped down the hall. He stopped and turned around, pulling Wakka up from the floor and yelling at him to wake up again.
"It's not just a storm, Yuffie! The sky was clear less than fifteen minutes ago! Something's happening.." He released the boy once he was sure he could stand up, continuing down the hallway to Squall's room.
Yuffie winced as she watched him slam the door open, he leaned inside and started saying something. Moving back to the couch, she sat down next to Cloud. She stared at him for several moments as footsteps could be heard in the kitchen. He had nearly fallen asleep when Squall darted back into the living room. He stared out the window for several moments before cursing under his breath and moving back toward Yuffie.
He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet, ignoring her complaints. He lead her to the front door and yanked it open.
"I'm not going out there! It's storming!!" She fought to get out of his grasp, twisting awkwardly in the doorway.
He sighed, slamming the door and pulling her back down the hallway. Reaching into the closet, he pulled out a heavy black coat. She gave him a look of disbelief before putting the coat on and sighing in defeat. She stuck her tongue out at Wakka as she was lead back to the front door. Squall hurriedly pulled the door open again, holding Yuffie by the shoulders as they stood in the doorway.
"I want you to go to Kairi's house and stay there. Riku and Arashi should be there, too. Make sure you all stay together, we'll be by later to pick you up." He stared at her awkwardly for a moment, apparently torn at letting her go alone. Hugging her quickly, he kissed her forehead and pulled the hood up. She looked even skinnier since the coat was so big on her, and the hood nearly covered her eyes. She blushed lightly as she stared back up at him.
Smiling faintly, he shoved her out the door. "Go, and be careful, alright? Be really careful." He watched as she pulled the coat tighter around herself and began down the walkway to the street. She stopped at the sidewalk and cast a rather confused glance back at Squall before breaking into a jog.
Turning back to the others, he shut the door. "Alright, let's go." He motioned for them to follow, moving quickly back toward the garage. Cloud stood up, casting a glance back at Aerith's sleeping form.
"What about-" he began, cut off as Squall looked over his shoulder at him. "Bring her." he shoved the garage door open and followed Wakka inside.
~*~
"Sora, we really should have told the others what's going on!" Kairi shouted over the pounding of the rain. She winced as another roar of thunder rolled across the beach.
"There's no time, we have to lock the door!" He replied, nearly losing his balance as his feet touched the wet sand. He never had been particularly good at landings.
Releasing Kairi, he pulled out his keyblade. "Alright, we'll have to do this somewhat quickly." he glanced around at the beach, looking for the Heartless he knew should appear.
Kairi shook her head, tugging wearily at her soaked hair. "I never did like flying…" She glanced up, yelping in surprise as a Heartless was sliced in half right in front of her.
"You could have said something!" She stomped huffily, pulling out her own keyblade and glancing around the island.
"We need to get to the secret place, fighting these Heartless won't help." He lunged forward, slicing through several that inched too close. "Come on!" He grabbed her arm, pulling her forward as they dashed across the beach.
~*~*~*~~~~
A/N: I know it was really short, but I promise I'll have another chapter up this week!! It's either really later or really early now, so I have to cut it short. I just wanted to post a new chapter before you guys decided I had died…