Author's Note-Yay! School's out! And now I get to have plenty of time to write more! Oh, and I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
Sora ran into the entrance hall and stopped in his tracks as a bit of silver caught his eye. "R-Riku...?" He walked slowly over to the balcony and saw a boy on his hands and knees, one hand clutching at his heart. He had long silver hair, a black coat that matched the little girl's, and...a blindfold? "Riku!"
"But...you said you would send the dual wielder out to kill Sora..." Riku said.
Once again, Sora was stopped in his tracks. "What...?" he said, confused. He frowned, then jumped down and started over to the older boy, who suddenly disappeared; just dissolved into a black mist that surrounded Sora, then parted slowly like stage curtains.
"Riku!" Sora cried. Laughter was heard around him. Child's laughter, a little girl's laughter. Sora glared and turned to face the girl behind him, who was standing on the fountain and looking playfully at him.
"You found me..." the girl teased as if this were some schoolyard game.
"Tell me. What have you done with Riku?!" Sora demanded.
"You really what him back? Even after you saw that he wants you dead?" the child asked, tilting her head and blinking.
"Yeah. Riku and I will always be friends, no matter what. I don't believe that he wants me dead. I won't believe it! So where is he? You're hurting him!"
The girl giggled again. "You ask too many questions, little Sora." She said, calling him 'little' despite the vast difference in size and age. This only made Sora madder as he got into fighting stance with his keyblade. The blond was only more amused. "So you want to fight me, huh? Well then. Let's see you try it."
Sora swiped at her with his keyblade. She leaped and landed upon his head, then to the floor behind him. Sora spun around and tried using the Sonic technique on her twice, both which were dodged. The girl's tiny body allowed her to be very quick and slip out of the way of his attacks, even Ars Arcanumn. At one point, she back flipped and landed on one of the two platforms by the balcony as Sora slid to a stop across the tile. "Patetic. If you can't beat me, then there's no way you will beat the others!"
"Don't you mean pathetic?" Sora said, jumping up and slashing. The blond merely jumped out of reach on the banister.
"Yep. No wonder the dual wielder needs to protect you."
"Dual wielder? Who is that?"
"You don't know, you don't know!" the girl teased.
Sora unleashed a Ragnarock combo on the girl. The girl tried to dodge but couldn't and screamed. She was hit and landed on the floor, sliding back. "Ow...!" she exclaimed.
Sora walked over to her. "...Now will you tell me?"
The girl stared up at him tearfully, sniffling for a few moments, then jumped and slashed at his waist with her dagger. She then turned and ran.
Sora pressed a hand to his wound and raised his keyblade. "He-ahh!" he cried as his knees buckled. They hit the marble, bruising. "The blade...it was poison..." he said. He lifted his keyblade again, weakly, wavering a bit. It felt heavier than it should have. "Heal..."
The wound and then most of his body glowed green for a couple of moments, then healed. He stood up and looked down at his blood-stained cloths. "Gotta get some new clothes..." he muttered, standing up. He started out of the room.
-----
Riku sat on his bed in his room, which was formally the guest room in Taro's house, and listened to the raindrops pattering down on the window nearby. Listened to the occasional screams outside as the Heartless attacked their next unsuspecting victims.
Taro...he was gone. He had to be gone, because there was no way a person of light could have survived falling into a street full of Heartless without warning, even the double wielder. Besides, he didn't see Taro's light anywhere after he landed.
He had let down his friends. Again. If only he could've stopped all this...
He lowered his head. He had let everybody down. He had tried his very hardest to save them and once again, he had failed.
"What a lousy friend I am..." Riku muttered. There was a long silence, excluding the sound of raindrops. The Heartless must have finished with their victims. Now it was only a matter of time until they found the few that were hidden.
Until they found him.
Then, suddenly, "Riku...Riku..."
Riku's head jerked up. "Who the hell..." he muttered. He saw no light...a shadow? No, he saw no being of darkness either. What was going on? Was he hearing things?
"Come to me, Riku..."
"I can't see you. Who are you? Where are you?" Riku demanded, standing.
"Ceridwen." A small light appeared before his eyes. "Follow the light..."
"A heart...?" Riku questioned. He knew that all he could see were people's hearts now, and the better the person, the brighter the heart and the brighter they were themselves. The eviler the person...well, they were just a shadow. There was the sound of chimes.
"Not exactly."
Riku frowned and took the staff from the corner and followed the light. Eventually his staff pushed aside a curtain after walking out of the house and down the street. The light flickered out and disappeared. Riku could see a being of light standing before him. The room smelled of incense. It kind of reminded him of one of the parts of Kiyoshi's and Sakura's house, the room that Mrs. Insei practiced a good deal of her new age stuff in.
The being-whom he guessed was Ceridwen, turned to him. "Welcome, Riku."
"Who are you? What do you want? And how do you know my name?" Riku demanded.
"I am Ceridwen. I know...many things...especially when it involves masters of the keyblades." The woman said.
"Tch. Then you're looking for the wrong guy. I'm not a keyblade master-Sora and Taro are. They're the only ones that can use the keyblades the right way. If you truly know about keyblade masters...then the fact that I'm not one of them should be obvious to you." Riku said, starting to turn and walk out.
"Wait!" Ceridwen exclaimed. "You are one of the masters of the keyblades. You were just led down the wrong path..." Riku stopped. "We all make mistakes in life...however, it is best to see how you can rectify those mistakes as well as you can. I am in need of your assistance. This is your chance for atonement! Now...will you help me?"
Riku turned. "Maybe...with what?"
"Bringing one of my sons into this realm."
"Wha..."
"The door to light. It was tainted with evil, and now...it is the door to darkness. My son has guarded them for centuries. However, the prophecy has been set, destiny is taking its path, the boy is awakening, and he will be helped... The ancient enemy."
Riku frowned. "Ancient enemy?"
"Yes, the third enemy. You know them well, Riku."
"And you say that this guardian kid that you want to bring back can take care of them?"
"With your help, yes...his name is Yukiro. His body lies before you, yet he is without a heart." Ceridwen explained quietly.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Donate."
Riku's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You want me to donate my heart to him?"
"Not quite. It needn't be your whole heart, but merely a sliver."
"Would I be able to move? To fight?"
"Yes, with Yukiro by your side to help you."
"Alright...but what did you mean 'Door to Darkness?' Sora sealed the door to Kingdom Hearts. He sealed the door with me inside and believe me, there were no guards. And it did get shut."
"The second of three... The gateway...to castle Oblivion..."
"There's three doorways?"
"Aye, child. A second kingdom."
Riku straightened slightly. "Inside it darkness?"
"Aye. Inside is darkness that will flow into this world, should the ancient enemy open it. Your friends need help. Now is your chance."
Pause. Then, "Okay. Alright. What must I do?"
"Just relax. This will not hurt."
With that, Riku felt a warmth on his chest-the first warmth he had felt in a long time, in fact. The, he felt the warmth pass through his chest painlessly and encase his heart. As it withdrew, he felt a small piece of him pulled away. Then the words of an incantation filled the room.
"Guardian of Light, I call your name.
For now you are lifeless and tame.
Come to this realm; Awaken your mind
You now have a heart inside.
The time has come for you to protect
The power of darkness you must deflect
Keep the Wishing Star away
Keep the ancient enemy at bay.
Awaken!"
Riku watched as a line of light passed him, the line curving into the vertical shape of a human lying down. Suddenly, a being of light appeared before him. The person-Yukiro, he assumed-sat up, then stood up slowly. He turned to the other being, Ceridwen. "Mother." He said curtly with a slight bow. "And who is this?"
"This is Riku, one of the holders. He helped bring you life in this realm by giving you a part of his heart." Ceridwen explained.
"...Many thanks..." Yukiro said with another slight bow towards Riku. His gratitude didn't sound very sincere though.
"He fights the ancient enemy as well. Therefore, you both will seek out the two other keyblade wielders."
"He's a keyblade wielder?" Yukiro said doubtfully. "Don't look like much..."
Riku glared and clenched his fists slightly. "I could say the same for you."
"I'm sure ye could. You're blind." Yukiro shot back.
"You little-"
"Both of you! Please! You must get along to find the wielders!"
"Keh. I don't need his help. Already I can see that this was a mistake." Riku said, turning on his heel and starting out.
"You mustn't be so hasty, Riku! The ancient enemy is closing in on you! Soon you will be no longer sided with them." Ceridwen warned.
"I'm not on their side now." Riku said.
There was a sigh and footsteps next to him. "...C'mon, kid." Yukiro said.
Riku's hand twitched slightly but he complied and followed Yukiro outside. Once they were down the street a bit, Riku finally demanded, "I said I was fine on my own. Why are you helping me?"
Shadows suddenly surrounded them. Riku tensed slightly. A long, bladed staff appeared in Yukiro's hand. The Heartless leapt at them, about ready to strike...
And Yukiro sliced through them with ease.
"...That's why." Yukiro replied dryly.
Author's Note- -looks at the paper rough draft and sweatdrops- Man...my final draft is catching up to my rough draft...I'm gonna have to start writing...a lot... -shrugs- Anyways, I'll try to post my chapters faster since I have more time to do so. Please review! It shall speed up the posting! Ja ne!