Chapter Seven
Meant to be
Sora woke up the following morning. Aside from feeling a little stiff, he was as good as new. No one could offer any explanation to Sora's recovery. The only person they thought might know was Riku; who had not been seen since the night before...
Unable to leave with their ship in disrepair and Riku missing in action, the group was forced to stay in Traverse Town for the time being. Cid went straight to work fixing the gummy ship (after spending about ten minutes chastising Cloud for breaking it in the first place), and the others chose either to stay and help Cid or to go search for Riku.
"I'd like you to stay in the ship if that's alright with you Sora", The King said.
"Wha--but why?" asked Sora.
"After everything that's been going on, we need to be careful. It seems you and Riku both are targets now, so you need to stay here where it's safe."
"But if I'm in any danger then so is Riku!" Sora protested. "I'm as much a priority as he is, I should be out there looking for him with everyone else."
The King sighed; he knew Sora would not let up no matter how much he objected to the idea of him leaving the ship. "If you go, will you promise to take Donald and Goofy with you this time? I will not allow you to wander around alone right now, not after you were just attacked."
"Really? That's all?" Sora asked, pleased he would get to search for his friend.
"That and I want you to be careful. We don't know what we're up against, and we can't afford to let our guard down even for a second", King Mickey said.
"If we're going to go then lets go now!" Sora turned to see Donald glaring at him, Goofy beside him with a big dumbfounded grin on his face.
"Yea Sora, time's a wastin'!" Goofy said.
"All right, let's go look for Riku then!" Sora said enthusiastically.
So the trio set out in search of Riku, much like they had several years before after Sora was separated from his friends. Their first destination was the Second District. There, they ran into Leon and Yuffie. They were told that they would search this district, but that the Third District was unchecked.
"Go ahead and look there, we will take care of things here", Leon said.
"Yea, and you better not overlook any place either or else!" Yuffie said threateningly.
As they walked towards the Third District, Goofy looked at Sora questioningly and said, "Hey Sora... What's been on your mind lately? You haven't been the same..."
Sora looked at Goofy and said, "What? I haven't changed! I just--I... I have a lot on my mind right now."
"... Well don't be such a sour puss all the time!" blared Donald. "It's depressing, and you know no matter what happens you have us here for you."
"Heh, thanks Donald, and I know you're here for me", Sora said with a smile. "You guys really are great friends ya know."
Goofy laughed and said, "Uhyuck, it's like we keep tellin you Sora: all for one--"
"--and one for all", Sora finished; now smiling broadly.
"Stop being so mushy and lets get going already!" squawked Donald.
"Heh, Right..." Sora said as he pushed open the door to the Third District.
As the trio set foot on the upper area of the Third District, Sora knew they weren't alone. He looked up to see a swarm of Air Soldiers spiraling down at them at break neck speeds. "Look out!" Sora shouted as he rolled out of harm's way. Donald and Goofy, being only a second too late to notice their attackers, were sent flying.
Sora spun around quickly facing the closest of the Heartless. With the flick of his wrist he sent his Keyblade flying towards the doomed Air Soldier and in a flash the Heartless was gone. He was already running towards the next Heartless as he summoned his Keyblade back to him in a flash of light. His slashed through it quickly and it too disappeared.
Sora turned barely in time to see another of the flying Heartless charging towards him, but a rogue flash of lightning from the sky incinerated it before it got close to its target. Donald's wand still flickered with magic as he and Goofy ran to Sora's side. The second the two reached Sora a swarm of Air Soldiers appeared in the sky.
Sora looked up at the sky uneasily as the Heartless advanced, but he wasn't really worried. He gripped his Keyblade tightly in his hand, and summoned the magic that would bind him and Donald together for a short period of time. In a great flash of light his companion disappeared, and Sora's black clothes turned a deep shade of blue. He flipped his elongated Keyblade behind him as he began to pour his magic into it.
Pointing his charged Keyblade towards the sky, he let loose all his pent up magic. Searing hot bullets of white magic flared from his Keyblade and tore through the Heartless' bodies, but their numbers were too great for it to hardly dent their barrage. Knowing this, Sora decided he was going to have to go all out in his attack.
Sora concentrated an enormous amount of magic into his Keyblade now. All number of elements met around it in a vortex of power. As the Heartless were almost upon him, Sora held up his Keyblade once again, and a cataclysm of magic erupted from its tip.
Thunder crashed down from the sky like rain. Fire rose up from out of nowhere engulfing everything in its path. Ice shot from his Keyblade as though it was being exhaled by a giant, and the helpless Air Soldiers were instantly trapped in a tomb of ice before falling to their doom and shattering into a million pieces. Even the gravity seemed to tear itself apart at Sora's ushering of magic.
Sora lowered his weapon as he looked at his handiwork; all the Heartless were exterminated. He had won, but his strength was sapped. Unable to hold his form any longer, Sora sank to his knees as his clothes turned to their normal black and Donald reappeared in a blue flash.
"You okay Sora?" Goofy asked peeking out from behind his shield making sure it was safe.
"I-I'm fine..." Sora said, catching his breath while he wearily got to his feet. He was fatigued, but that wouldn't stop him from finding Riku.
In an underground alleyway not too far away... Splotches of red stained the cold, stone floor in a path leading to a cloaked figure hunched over near the water's edge. Riku had donned his Unknown jacket again in hopes of covering his crimson stains with the black robes. He clutched his chest as he gazed at the water's surface.
"Why does this have to hurt so much..." he contemplated out loud.
"Because", a voice from behind him said. "This is the path you've chosen."
Riku, still very much strong enough to do so, quickly looked behind him. King Mickey stood there, looking up at him without the slightest trace of anger or resentment. Riku knew him going off on his own must have set everyone in an uproar looking for him, but The King didn't seem upset with him.
The silver haired boy stood there a moment, silent. "I'm sorry, your majesty..." he said meekly.
"Don't apologize Riku", The King said. "I understand."
"Thanks, I'll go back to the others in a little bit; could you tell them not to worry for me?" Riku asked.
"Riku... Did you think you could hide this from us for very long?" King Mickey asked the boy.
"W-what do you mean?" Riku asked, not at all liking where this conversation was going.
The King simply replied, "Your secret."
Riku's eyes widened in terror. Even his battle hardened heart and time worn soul wasn't prepared for this. "M-Mickey I...' he stammered.
"You couldn't keep it from us forever, someone was bound to notice", said The King. "... Especially Sora."
Riku flinched at the mention of the younger boy's name. "Please don't tell them... Please, please don't, I just... It's not meant to be like this..." Riku trailed off.
"If you don't want me to I won't, but you can't walk around with a wound like that forever", King Mickey said.
"I know... But I'm not ready for them to know... I'm not ready for him to know..." Riku said, breathing heavily now.
"Well, if you want to keep it a secret, you'll have to find a better way to bandage yourself. If you keep bleeding like that it won't stay secret for long."
Riku looked at The King strangely a second, why was he referring to his injury now? Was that what he meant all along? Maybe... He didn't know after all. "I... I'll take care of it", he said.
Riku rested his hand over his heart lightly. Darkness began to form, first around his hand, and then around his whole body. He concentrated all of it on his wound, and bundled it up there, blocking the flow.
He pulled his hand away from his chest, and his black glove was stained red. He let his hand drop to his side. Most of his strength gone, and he allowed his blood to drip to the ground slowly.
The King looked at him uneasily. "That won't hold forever you know", he said. "It's just a temporary solution. Once it comes undone, there isn't any telling if you could stop it again."
"Then we better find a way to stop that from happening", Riku replied simply.
The two stood there a moment not saying anything. "I expect to see you back at the Gummy ship before tomorrow morning", The King said as he turned to leave.
"Ok", Riku said as he turned back to the water.
"And Riku…" The King said; still walking away. "They will want to know how you helped Sora…"
Above ground in the Third District, Sora was doing his best to fend off the onslaught of Heartless that had appeared in his venture to find Riku. Neoshadows surrounded the trio, and their strength was greatly diminished. However, for the lack of strength from Donald and Goofy, Sora pushed himself that much harder to pick up the slack. For every two Heartless they defeated, Sora took ten.
Despite his efforts, the Heartless showed no signs of stopping. Wave after wave, they continued to attack the boy. He noticed out of the corner of his eye Donald and Goofy had both reached their limit as they collapsed from exhaustion. Neoshadows began to close in on them to finish the job.
"NO!" Sora shouted as he ran toward his friends. No Heartless in his path was spared as he entered a state of rage. He had no strength left in him for any special techniques, but his mind was far from a place where he could concentrate enough to use them anyway. All he cold think about was pushing all the darkness away with the light of his heart, the light he knew would never diminish the slightest bit no matter how tired he grew.
His body was merely an extension of this light, and as long as his light didn't fade neither would he. His mind was hardly on battle, he moved as if possessed. His thoughts raced, would Donald and Goofy be okay? Was everyone else holding up alright? He had to protect them. He had to protect them all. And Riku... He had to find Riku, he HAD to...
Sora stopped suddenly as he noticed he had become very cold; the sensation snapped him back to reality. He looked around him, there were no Heartless. It was then he noticed why he was cold; it was raining now, and dark. How long had he been standing there?
He looked around quickly and saw Donald and Goofy sprawled on the ground. They were still unconscious, but no worse for the wear than normal. He reached in his pocket and administered a Hi-Potion to each of them. Without waiting for them to wake up, Sora continued onward.
"I won't stop until I find you again Riku", Sora said, only half aware of uttering the words.
Riku knelt by the water's edge again. He cupped his hands together and dipped them in the freezing water. He splashed the frigid water against his face so no one would know he had been crying again.
He stared into the water's reflecting surface as The King's words flashed through his mind again. Though he was certain King Mickey meant his wounds when he was talking to him a while ago, he couldn't help but find a double meaning with them. He had even told Riku to think of something to tell people about Sora's recovery. If The King did really mean it that way, then what did that mean about himself?
"Only a temporary solution", he said emptily. If that was true, then they were all going to find out sooner or later. Sora would find out... "I... Just can't let that happen. Not yet."
Riku closed his eyes as The King's words continued to barrage his mind with thoughts that terrorized him. Though he was hardly comfortable, he relaxed himself so much he was almost asleep. Escape from reality into dreams... Dreams about Sora... But you have to wake up; to the reality that isn't what you wanted.
He couldn't even hear as the battle torn Sora entered the room from the secret entrance. And he didn't turn to his friend as the boy walked closer to Riku either. He only finally snapped to attention when Sora managed to say, "Riku..."
Riku looked across the room at the younger boy, surprised. He quickly noticed Sora was beaten horribly, he had wounds all over his body that he had, for some reason, not taken the time to heal. His tattered clothes clung to his wet body; it must have been raining...
Sora made a move to step forward, but began to sway to the side. He could hardly keep his balance anymore. Riku stepped forward and took hold of the younger boy.
"What were you thinking?" he asked Sora. "I thought The King might at least tell everyone I was alright..."
"Riku, why did you do that?" Sora asked his friend. "I was so worried."
"You're a mess", Riku replied as he dug through his pockets for a Potion. "You should have--"
"I was worried Riku!" Sora said as he rested his head on the older boy's shoulder. "It took me so long to find you, just... Don't run off again ok? Please. Just... Don't leave me..."
Riku didn't know how to respond at first. He knew how he so desperately wanted to take Sora's words the wrong way, but Sora didn't mean it like that... That's why it was so hard for him to just say, "Ok... I promise..."
As the two boys left the cave, a cloaked figure emerged from the shadows that had concealed him so well. "It's just as you predicted", he said aloud. "Things are falling into place perfectly. It won't be much longer before it all spills over."
"Good", a voice from nowhere said. "Once that happens we will have our chance. If we seize that opportunity, nothing can stand in our way."
The Unknown walked over to where the boys had been standing. In Sora's current state of distress he hadn't noticed all the spots of blood on the ground, but this detail was not overlooked by The Unknown. "I apologize master, I may have been too eager to spill the boy's blood", The Unknown said.
"Pay no attention to that, his body will hold together long enough. Once he has completed his role he is no longer needed", the voice said. "Continue monitoring them for now. Let me know the instant there is any kind of development."
"It will be so", The Unknown said as he faded into darkness.
The two boys in question were quiet now as they walked through Traverse Town to the gummy ship. Sora looked to Riku, who had an intense look on his face. It was as though his friend was concentrating deeply on something. Sora wondered if he was angry at him for going on a rampage looking for him. All thoughts about how his injury had been healed had gone flying out of his head some time ago; now he was just concerned about Riku.
Riku noticed Sora staring at him with his questioning blue eyes. "Don't worry Sora", he said, sensing Sora's concern. "I just have some things I'm trying to sort out."
"Mnnn... Like what?" Sora asked.
Of course Riku couldn't answer truthfully. "Well that Unknown for one", he answered.
"Well, we won't be able to find out until we meet him again. It's just a matter of time though... ... Hey, why are you wearing an Unknown jacket again?" he asked Riku, just now noticing Riku's clothes.
"Do I need a reason?" Riku said slightly apprehensively. Sora was asking too many questions. Even though Riku wasn't really angry with him, he couldn't afford to keep this up and accidentally say something. He regretted taking the harsh tone when he saw Sora recoil a little at his reaction.
Sora said, "Sorry... I didn't mean to--"
"No no, it's alright", Riku said. "I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm just... I dunno..."
"Are you ok Riku?" Sora said. He could see right through Riku's defenses; he knew something was wrong.
Riku could also tell this. He knew Sora would figure things out sooner or later, about everything. He was strangely relaxed though. Instead of lying or getting exasperated again, he looked at Sora with his soft teal eyes that pierced through Sora to his heart and said, "I don't want to talk about it right now, but I'll tell you later. Ok?"
"Alright..." Sora said, still a little worried.
Riku looked at the younger boy a minute, and then he stopped walking for seemingly no reason. Sora noticed and turned around, about to ask why. Riku moved over to him and grabbed one of his ears and tugged it playfully.
"Ow! Cut that out!" Sora exclaimed, though he was smiling now.
Heheh. That's more like it", Riku said, also smiling. "I want to see more of your smile Sora. No more being sad okay?"
"Alright, I'll try", Sora said, beaming one of his biggest smiles possible for Riku.
"Don't worry about anything Sora. People like you more when you're your normal loud, obnoxious, happy self", Riku said as he let go of Sora's ear.
"Heeey, what was that for?" Sora said in his usual loud, obnoxious, happy voice.
Riku just smiled, really smiled. Sora could tell he wasn't pretending to be ok now. "We should get back before they start to worry", he said.
"Alright", Sora replied cheerily.
The two began walking again, and Riku moved closer to Sora. Without glancing at the younger boy, Riku took Sora's hand in his and kept walking. Sora looked at his hand for a second, and then up at Riku.
Riku turned his attention to Sora for just a second. "Does this feel too weird or something?" he asked, wondering if this was a bad idea. It certainly wasn't what two normal boys would do, but it was a far cry from what he really wanted to do...
"N-no, it's fine. Just uh..." Sora stammered, not knowing quite how to respond.
"Do you want me to stop?" Riku asked.
Sora was blushing lightly now. "... It's ok..." he said.
"Alright, it's no big deal really", Riku replied. "No one else will see anyway, promise." Riku moved his fingers so they intertwined with Sora's and gave his hand a slight squeeze.
"Uh huh..." Sora said, staring intently at his feet now as they walked together.
Riku's words sadly, were not true. Someone was watching them, even now. The Unknown's cloak fluttered slightly in the cool breeze that swept over the roof tops. Someone was always watching them.
There you have it, another chapter finally! Also...
IMPORTANT NOTICE! (If you already read my warning of spoilers at the beginning of Chapter 1 skip this)
As of the writing of this chapter, the release date of Kingdom Hearts 2 is close at hand. For my own purposes, I have read much about the story and specifically some of the characters (Riku mainly). Yes yes I know, shame shame. I needed the information for my own reasons though.
Now... What this means is that I know for a fact a lot of information in my fanfic has now been rendered inaccurate. In fact, so much so that it would be impossible to make it completely accurate without drastically editing plot lines, which I have no intention of doing.
This fanfic is meant to happen AFTER Kingdom Hearts 2 (don't ask why... I don't need a reason...). But it is my story, and as such no it will not synch up with the real one. If I could I would make it fit in with the real story better, which was my intention from the start. There was just so little info on Kingdom Hearts 2 when I started writing this, and specifically Riku (which is where most of the inaccuracies are).
So, I have decided to edit my fanfic. These changes will be minor, and they will NOT change any drastic plot points (or any at all most likely). And also, only SOME chapters have been edited. Several of them did not require any changes.
This does mean that there WILL BE SPOILERS! Most of them have to do with Riku. If you don't like that then stop reading until you play Kingdom Hearts 2! I will not spoil ANYTHING significant from Kingdom Hearts 2 (another reason I will not drastically edit my fanfic, it would include gigantic spoilers). The spoilers I mention will be MINOR! They are still spoilers though and you deserve enough warning. The things I put in will be very minor changes and will not ruin your Kingdom Hearts 2 gaming experience. You may not want to know some of these things so either don't re-read old chapters or don't be upset if you do that and then find out something you don't want to know. Most of the spoilers will have to do with Riku, since his role is so mysterious. Keep in mind also that all upcoming chapters are subject to contain minor spoilers (though it's unlikely I will produce any before Kingdom Hearts 2 comes out anyway).
You have all, however, been warned.