Author's Notes: Amg, I'm on an updating rampage! Just TRY and stop me! XD (yawns) It's currently 2:00 in the morning, so I won't upload this until later this morning because I kinda want to sleep. Plus, I figure no one will be up to read it anyway. XD (Turns out FF dot net didn't want to cooperate, but I've finally succeeded!)
Chapter 6: Envy in the Form of a Friendly Glance
"Thinking of you, Wherever you are.
We pray for our sorrows to end,
and hope that our hearts will blend.
Now I will step forward to realize this wish.
And who knows:
Starting a new journey may not be so hardand maybe it has already begun.
There are so many worlds;
But they share the same sky...
The same destiny."
He didn't know how long the jump took. He never did.
Key landed with a thud, this time on his back. He ached. His muscles felt stretched.
He felt.
His breath returned in heavy gasps, and he gulped at the air greedily not bothering to even sit up.
It was sweet. Tasted like grass. Smelt like it too.
His sight returned to him the night sky.
His ears gave him the sound of wind, and it brushed eagerly against his skin in cool tentative licks.
He felt his arms spread awkwardly at his side, as if he had failed in an attempt to fly. His legs were the same.
He blinked, feeling his own eyes twitch in their sockets.
He ached.
Key's senses left him again, just as quickly as they had returned. He didn't let any thoughts enter his consciousness. He didn't want to think.
Then it was dark again.
Key woke up to the unfamiliar face of another boy looking down on him.
The boy smiled widely, baring his teeth almost in an act of ferocity.
He blinked heavily, and Key felt his breath on his face.
The boy looked tired.
His eyes were blue, black pupils burdening the center as hazel rays gleamed from behind. It was as if the sky itself lay dormant in this boy's bold eyes; the moon eclipsing the sun— the light surrounding the darkness in a blue-ish golden hue.
He had brown hair, much like his own only lighter. It was organized in such a way that it seemed to point straight to the heavens.
Then his hand waved in front of his face.
"You awake?"
Key blinked again. A simple enough answer to his question.
"Helloooo?" came his voice again "Say something at least!"
Key felt his chest rise with a sigh, and he didn't try to stifle it.
"Something."
The boy laughed, finding his bitterness amusing.
Was it funny?
He turned, and called to his friends.
"Donald! Goofy!"
Key couldn't help but find these names strange.
"He's awake!"
And then the boy's attention was brought back to him.
"You know, you're the first person I've seen on this road."
Key didn't even realize he was on a road. Everything was happening much too quickly for his tastes.
Why didn't this person just leave him be?
He sat up slowly, and the boy backed away as to give him room. Room for what? He didn't know. To breathe, maybe. Or perhaps he secretly anticipated Key would attack him once conscious.
He was almost blinded by the sun.
He looked around. This place…seemed so vast.
The boy had not lied; he was, in fact, sitting on a very long, very narrow, yellow road. There was no one else in sight, no buildings or any sign of civlization…but the boy and his…companions?
His eyes caught the other two: Donald and Goofy he could only presume.
A duck and a dog. Well…An upright duck and dog. At least they were clothed.
Key shrugged it off. He had seen stranger. The two were arguing.
Well…
The duck seemed to be arguing.
But it seemed to roll right off the other's back.
Key turned his attention back to his surrondings, and again felt the endlessness of the place stab at his gut.
Meadow as far as the eye could perceive, the sky even further.
He felt the boy's stare baring into him. He tried to ignore it, but the burn of his eyes only kneaded in deeper.
So he looked at him.
"Is that a black eye?" The boy immediately asked, pointing directly to his left eye. Shameless.
Key shook his head quickly.
"Oh, sorry." The boy laughed, smiling. The smile, in all actuality, had never left his face. "I was just makin' sure you weren't hurt. Or something."
Key nodded.
Minimal conversation.
He would not make the same mistake again.
But the boy…was making it very hard.
"What is it?" He inched closer, cocking his head curiously to the side.
Key quietly pondered his age. By appearance he would have guessed they were the same in years, and could only presume the same in mindset.
But no.
This boy seemed so…
He didn't know the word.
But he envied it.
He slicked his hair out of his face for the boy to see.
"A tattoo?" he said, voice in awe "Of a keyhole?"
"Obviously."
"Why a keyhole?"
Key shrugged.
How the hell should he know?
This boy asked too many questions for his liking.
"I'm Sora! By the way." He said it as if he had forgotten they had just met. As if they were already friends.
"What's your name?"
Key blinked.
Lie.
Lie.
Lie.
Lie.
"Key."
Dammit.
The boy grinned lightly.
"It fits." He said.
"I'm glad to know my name has earned your approval."
And they sat in silence.
Key was prone to silence.
He was used to it.
This other boy, however, Sora…He seemed to have difficulty dealing with it. He would fidget around, pop his knuckles, and twitch with such movement and energy Key wondered why he didn't just collapse with exhaustion.
Key almost gasped when he actually did.
Sora flopped very suddenly backward into the grass beside Key.
Then he sighed.
And he almost sounded sad.
Such a contrast in emotions surprised Key.
He put his arms under his own head like a pillow, and just stared, up.
Key could hear the other two fighting, but didn't hear a word they said.
He mirrored Sora's actions. He too, stared up.
"You don't talk much, huh?"
No.
Key shook his head, letting the boy do all the talking.
"Nothing to say?"
He shrugged.
"I guess that's not possible, huh? I don't blame you if you don't feel like talking though."
And Key shrugged again.
This boy talked enough for the both of them.
He stopped listening.
Stopped seeing.
Only looked at the top of his eyelids.
Let the darkness consume him.
Let the thoughts bleed away.
Sora's voice droned through his ears.
Like a lullaby.
A sickening lullaby that made him want to be deaf to the world.
How dare he be so happy?
He fell asleep, lulled by the voice of an optimistic boy.
He did not hear what he had to say.
He did not dream.
Jumping Worlds always made Key tired. Some instances more than others.
This was one of those instances.
He woke up wishing to leave this world of vast nothingness. Wished to leave the boy and his dog and duck.
But he was just.
So.
Tired.
He yawned.
And felt tears of exhaust well up in his eyes.
His stamina would return.
And then he could leave.
Until then, he would just bide his time with the Sora boy. And his dog and duck.
He opened his eyes to find that night had dawned over him again. The stars were dim.
He rolled over, and found his own ratty knapsack pressing into his side. Uncomfortable. He pushed it heatedly away.
He wanted nothing to remind him of that night.
He rolled over to his other side only to find himself breathing in a fistful of Sora's hair. The boy had not left his side.
His nose itched.
He heard faint sounds of snoring, well…more like a gurgling whistle. He presumed it was the dog.
Maybe he could leave. Now.
He had never tried so soon after a jump.
He stood. What the hell did he have to lose?
The grass was springy with dew underneath his feet.
He took a deep breath, and secluded his mind from all thought.
From all things of this world.
He tried to reach that void.
That blackness.
The familiar state he would enter…where his lungs would burst and his body would fail to remind him of anything else but the pain…of anything else but this wonderful ability to escape…But…
All he heard was snoring.
A gurgling whistle of a snore.
He couldn't do it.
He cursed himself.
His incompetence.
Why?
Why this world?
Why such a secluded place with such obnoxiously happy and fortunate people?
Not that he knew them. They could very well be unfortunate. But they were fortunate in ways Key could only assume they took for granted.
They were friends.
They could smile, and laugh at will.
They could argue, and be happy all the same.
They could sleep, and know that when they woke up they would still be together.
Not like him.
Who had no friends.
Who did not know how to smile, or laugh.
Who could argue only out of hatred and deceit.
Who would sleep, expecting to be secluded from all others when he awoke.
But he felt his yearn to be accepted by them growing.
No.
He would not make that mistake again.
He would not allow himself to find affection only to lose it.
Only to be the cause of it's exile.
He watched them. Standing over them, towering. Envying.
Could he have had this too, if he tried?
Was he too busy running? Searching?
Too busy being lost?
He didn't know if he was lost.
'You're only lost if someone is looking for you. And you only know if people are looking once you're found.'
Was someone…?
No.
Of course not.
Who would?
No one came to mind.
No one at all.
He didn't even know what he was searching for anymore, didn't know why he continued to jump. What was the point? Why was he so desperate for a constant escape?
Nothing came to mind.
Nothing at all.
He collapsed to his butt.
And sat with his legs crossed, elbow balanced on his knee and his chin resting in his palm.
"Whatever." He sighed, and surrendered from such things for the night. He scoffed.
He was even running from his own thoughts.
His fit woke the boy. Sora. He had a name. An identity. Sora Sora Sora.
He watched him twist around for a minute.
Then he lay still.
He wondered if Sora had dreams?
The dog? The duck? Wait…They had names too. Donald and Goofy. As if he knew which was which.
Nightmares? Did they have Nightmares?
Were they lost too?
Lost, together?
It seemed almost contradictory.
The boy….
Sora.
Sora woke again after only a few moments, as if startled back to life by some sudden realization.
"Key? Where'd he go!"
He sat up immediately and almost collided into Key.
"I thought you had left without even telling us!" He stuttered.
Like it mattered. They were barely even acquaintances. He would wager that his absence from Sora's journey would not have a large effect.
But he shrugged anyway and answered with a polite:
"Nope."
"It's not morning yet?"
"Nope."
"Then I'm goin' back to sleep. Don't scare me like that again. Geeze."
Key blinked.
This was a strange kid.
"What?" asked Sora.
Key shrugged.
"Oh. Just looked like somethin' was on your mind."
Key shrugged again, looking away. What nerve. He adjusted his jacket.
Sora yawned widely, over-exaggerated, stretching his arms through the air as he fell back to the ground. The dew looked as if it had exploded under his impact. He looked up again. The wind greeted them both, caressing their faces in a gentle tantrum.
Key followed his gaze.
"Are you lost, Sora?"
The words had fumbled out before he even realized he was thinking them. He scolded his babbled words, even though it was too late. The sky was the deepest blue, almost velvet in appearance. Sora said nothing. And for a second Key had thought his query had not even made it's way to his ears. He almost let out a relieved sigh when Sora spoke again.
"Nu-uh." Came the reply.
"I'm looking for someone."
Chapter Notes: PHEW. I'm sorry if that was lacking in action. And I'm sorry for those of you who wanted Key to go to another world before running into more of the original cast…But…
That would have just been BORING.
Key is BORING without other people around. Then he would have had to spend a couple chapters in THAT world…and I would have had to make up some BORING stuff for him to do, like get ANOTHER job and stuff…so you would have had CHAPTERS of BORING. Now, who wants that? Not me. Because I would have had to write it.
Speaking of Key…
Hello, emo-kid. What's up with him lately? I hope this chapter let you get to know him and his train of thought a bit better. I realize that he's probably not the easiest character to understand and stuff, because of all the things we don't know about him. That's right, I said "we". I'm just as clueless as all of you. Key is a total mystery until I can sit down and just decide wtf his deal is. But for now, he remains the emo-kid enigma. But you still lurve him, right?
Does Sora seem too…how should I put this…childish? I realize that this is a common OOC stereotype for him, and I do also realize that he can be an arrogant over-confident prick when he wants to. His naive friendly side is just what came out this chapter. I'm sure his truer colors will shine through eventually.
And Donald and Goofy? Sorry about that. They'll talk and interact next chapter, I SWEAR. I just…How can I say….(sighs) Don't yell at me for being a lazy bum.
This chapter came up a bit shorter than I wanted it too. By like…1000 words. (Starts singing the FFX-2 song) But seriously, that just seemed like such an amazing way to end the chapter. I couldn't pass it up.
Wow, I'm sorry I have so much to say about this chapter.
OH! That quote at the beginning, as you probably guessed because we're all Kingdom Hearts fans here, is NOT mine. And I'm not claiming it to be. Thanks to Sumi for being kind enough to retrieve it for me!
Alright. Same thanks to all previous reviews apply. I love you all, your input means the world to me, you motivate me, and make me feel happy and I bet, if you keep reviewing, you'll make emo Key happy too.