Chapter 4
Before the Exam
It was strange to tell you the truth. How we first met. No one liked me ever. I was the shit bag or the curse. I didn't understand why. I was sitting at my desk with my head down not wanting anyone to see me. Until I heard a voice.
"So you're Sora and I'm Kairi, right?" the girl next to me smiled. " Well, that was a stupid thing to say. Of course I'm Kairi! So, your last name's Sensune? My dad used to have a friend whose last name was Sensune. When he talked on the phone, I always heard him saying "Sensune this…" and Sensune that…". Do you talk much?"
" No," I mumbled. How can she talk like that?
" How can you not?" she asked curiously.
" I just don't," I said, making circles under the table with my fingers.
" Oh…why's your hair like that?"
" My hair?" What was she talking about?
" It's so…spiky. I've never seen hair spiky like yours. How'd you do that?"
" I don't. That's just how it always was," I muttered. Why won't she stop talking?
Something poked my hair. I looked up. Bad mistake.
" I got you to look up," the girl next to me giggled.
Kairi Kamaru had short red hair and big blue eyes. She was wearing a long white dress and had a purple backpack. It looked brand new.
Something poked my hair again. It was her. She poked at my longest spike. " It's not that funny stuff my dad sometimes uses. So how do you get your hair to stand up like that?"
" I, uh…"
" You should smile," she said. " Everyone smile. It's like you've never been happy," Kairi giggled again.
"…Kairi, please be quiet during roll."
" Sorry" she said quietly. She bit her lip. I stared.
" Why do you do that?"
" Do what?"
" Bite your lip?"
" Like this?" She did it again.
" Yeah, that."
" I don't know," she said with a shrug. " I just do. Dad calls it 'habit'."
" Oh…"
" Right, sorry. Danual Smith, Mika Dilva, and Tucker Yeazle, Kairi will you all please stand."
Great. Everyone looks at those standing. They look at Kairi, they look at me. I don't need any attention.
" Rest of you have been here before. These are our new students. They don't know where things are. I would like someone to volunteer to become a buddy for one of them today and show them the school. Who'd like to be a buddy for Rinoa?"
Three hands. All girls. The one hand that was waving like a windmill belonged to Selphie Tilmitt, the crazy girl in the yellow shirt and skirt. She was the school's jump rope champion. Every recess and lunch she played with the jump rope.
" Selphie, will you like to be Rinoa's buddy today?"
" Yes!"
The two other girls – they laugh whenever people pushed me – pouted as they put their hands down.
" Rinoa, I want you to sit next to Selphie. Um…and you are?"
" Wakka."
" Oh yes, you, please exchange seats with Rinoa. Alright, who wants to be a buddy for Kairi-"
" Mrs. Jones? Can I choose my buddy?"
Mrs. Jones looked startled, Now everyone was looking at her. Me, too.
" Dear, you don't know-"
" Can Sora be my buddy?"
What!
I stared at her. Everyone was looking at me. She was smiling.
" Oh very well. You two sit next to each other anyways…now, Terel Owens…"
She sat back down, looking quite happy. Did she have any idea what she did to me?
" Well, now you'll have to show me this school, huh?"
What do I say? Sorry but I don't want you to be found around me? What if we become friends and people find out? She'd won. The teacher had won. I lost.
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"Why did you do it again?"
"Do what?"
"You know." He looked at the sky the nervousness of talking to his best friend and secret crush was getting to him. "Cut your hair."
"Why does it look bad?" she asked twirling a loose straind of hair around her finger.
"No, I was just
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"Chuunin exams." Sora walked down the street of Destiny. He ran his fingers through his hair. "All this shit going through my head. I'll go to the library." He sighed walking farther down the street.
A couple of kids ran bye making him move out of the way. He sensed someone following him. He shook it off because who he sensed couldn't be following him. He continued on his way ignore the curiosity to look back behind him that lingered over his head. He stopped in the alleyway hearing rustling noises. Sora walked down the ally spotting the little boy Denzel being lifted off the ground by a guy in a black cloak.
"Zell hurry up." A female voice came from another cloaked figure.
"Zell is it?" the two cloaked figures looked at Sora as he walked out in the opening of the ally way. "I think you should put him down and let him go."
"Wow." Sora quickly looked at the female figure blush underneath her hood as she looked at him.
"What was that all about Namine?" Zell asked still holding up Denzel.
"I-"
"It doesn't matter just put down Denzel." Sora said cutting Namine before she could say something stupid. She blushed again.
"And who are you?"
"He's Sora!" Denzel yelled over Zell's fist. "He's gonna one day Cid Seed's place as leader of Destiny."
"Is that so."
"Believe it." Sora said glaring at Zell.
"Let's see how you handle this!" in a blink of and eye instead of one Zell there where ten. "Huh, Get him." They all charged as Sora stood his ground calmly.
"Sora watch out!"
Sora hand lifted and pointed at half the group of Zell. "Gravity!" the group slammed into the and vanished in black smoke. Sora turned to the voice that warned him expecting to see one of Denzel's friends that he took care of. He was surprised, which was his mistake. A fist from the original sent him flying.
"Weak." Another cloaked figure spoke from the trees.
"Sora, huh." Zell dropped Denzel as he walked towards him. Zell stopped when a kunai infront of him. They all looked up to see Riku sitting in a tree.
"Damn Sora am I going to have to help you all the time. I thought you were better then that." All eyes turned to the silver knight.
"Let's go." Their eyes all turned to the new cloaked figure. And they began to walk away. Zell sliced a cut across Sora's face as he walked by then they vanished.
Riku jumped down from the tree. And Kairi ran up to him. "You okay Riku?"
"I'm fine Kairi. You?"
"I'm good." She smiled and turned to yell at Sora only to find him walking down the road arms full of the young boy Denzel. She felt her heart sink at the sight.
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Sora ignored the pain that was coming from his cheek. He had to get Denzel to the hospital quickly.
He the first twenty and dodged them with ease but it was the last five that made contact. The last five rocks hit directly on his side making a cut. He looked over to see a couple villagers glaring at him.
"Demon, put the boy down!" one of the villagers screamed.
Sora just shook his head and turned to walk towards the hospital. Another rock came soaring at his head but exploded before it reached him. Sora eyes shifted back to the villagers in a glare. "Back off." And didn't wait for an answer as he headed for the hospital. 'Fuck this.' In an instant Sora was in a full out run and in minutes was in front of the hospital. He shook his head thinking that it was over. He pushed his way through the double doors. And walked to the front desk. The secretary was busy with paper work. He cleared his throat to get his attention.
She looked up saw that it was him then glared looked back at her paper work. Five seconds later her head shoot up to the boy in his arms. He stepped back as she came around the desk to stand in front of him.
"Give him here." He handed him to her as she called for help. She handed him to the the med. She turned back to Sora who looked relieved that Denzel was okay now. "You." His head shot to look at the female in front of him. "What did you do to him!"
"I… I didn't do anything to him." Sora said confused.
"Demon Lair!" she raised her hand to strike. Sora stepped back in a defensive position preparing himself for the blow. He watched as it came down only to stop mid air by a hand. Sora followed the hand to the arm, to the body, to the face, to Cloud-sensei.
"What do you think your doing?" Cloud asked but his attention was on Sora. 'His cut on his face.' The cut was… glowing in a white light and healing instantly. "Get him in a room and fast."
"Cloud-sensei I'm-."
"Going no questions or arguments." Sora nodded and let his stance down as he followed the disgruntle nurse to a room.
He stopped in the hall and turned back to Cloud. "Could you do me a favor then?"
Cloud tilted his head to the side and looked at Sora confused. "Yeah."
"Could you pick up some books for me from the library?"
"Which ones?"
"Kingdom Hearts, and Four Horsemen of Apocalypse."
Cloud stiffened but nodded as he turned to leave.
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Like any legend, the legend of the Keybearer has good and evil, in this case, the light and the dark. The darkness fought through a number of deadly evil creatures, the Heartless. The light fought back through a single weapon; the keyblade, which in the hands of a Keybearer with a strong heart, could defeat the darkness. in this case, the Keybearer would be the antagonist.
'Hearts' are another concept in the legend that must be explained. According to the legend, the heart is not your physical organ, but more like your spirit. Every person, even every world, has a heart. The heartless are essentially beings devoid of heart, who seek the hearts of others to fulfill their dark desire for sustenance. Both the heartless and the Keyblade.
To seal the heartless the Keybearer sealed them in Kingdom hearts and sealing kingdom hearts into a baby boy. Some people believe that the fifth horseman of Apocalypse is the same person as the Keybearer.
"Well that book I guessed helped a little." Sora threw the kingdom hearts book aside and picked up the other book.
Four Horsemen of apocalypse once know as the Five Horsemen of Justice. Until One of the horseman didn't agree with the way the other horsemen were heading. Leaving the group to search for oneself. When returning he found the other four running hell. With his legendary weapon he put a stop to them locking them up and sealing them away somewhere. Some believe that the keybearer is the same person as the fifth horseman of apocalypse.
"Didn't help much." He shook his head. And threw the book next the other book on his bed. "I need to get out of this hospital."
"You don't need to do anything." Sora turned to the voice that always stopped him in his tracks.
Sora's eyes fascinated her. Flecks of grey were mixed in with the blue, and the colors swirled together in an intricate tapestry weaved by his current mood. When he was angry, his eyes became almost black; when he was happy, the grey sparkled around the blue. All of these things she had come to notice as she grew closer to the boy she once believed to be a nobody, the boy who continued to care about her even while she showed no interest, the boy who picked her up and supported her when she needed him most...
"What are you doing here?"
He woke her from her though. She shook her head and smiled at him. "I came to say sorry."
"For what?"
"Distracting, you." She said. "Yeah, you're a horrible ninja, but me distracting you didn't help much."
Sora's high from her apologizing dropped with her last statement. He shook his head and looked out the window his cold demeanor returning. "Is that all you wanted." He said coldly.
Her smile vanished as she realized what she did. "Can I ask you something?"
"Do I have a choice?" he said looking back at her with a glare.
"Why are we so far apart?"
"Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"You… You, freakin chose to put your love for Riku before our friendship, you always have. You always treat me like shit when he's around. I never meant to be so cold to you but I got tired of it. I never want you to see the fucked up side of me, that I keep that I locked inside of me so deep. Looking back I see that I guess I never really got it right. I wasn't the all gorgeous guy that Riku was and is. I'm sorry for the way I am. Maybe in a different life you can see me stand on my own again." He shook his head. "But I guess that's not good enough. Is it."
"…No." Kairi whispered.
"That's what I thought."
"Sora, why do you go after the blind?" Cloud thought to himself from the doorway. "Our we in the same boat that we can't see that the women we love are in love with another." He shook his head. "You show so much leadership, your judgment on helping Denzel. Your justice for trying to give Zell what he deserved. Your decisiveness on your decision to worry about Denzel over yourself. Your integrity to Kairi's questions, your dependability Denzel depending on you. You tact with the villagers, your initiative to keep going after the villagers tried to kill you. Endurance, bearing, unselfishness, you courage, knowledge, loyalty, showed all of these. That's why it's not hard to choose who I put down for my strongest team member."
A/N:
Final Thought from Zell
How did he take so many out?
Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Sora): I do not claim any rights to Kingdom Hearts I or II or the characters associated with the game/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Disney and Square Enix. I do offer my thanks to them for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.