Chapter 12 : For a Woman's Ambition
Hello everyone! You know, I never expected my story to get to twelve chapters! I'm quite happy about it! I'm going to keep continuing my story till the very end! I'm trying to cut down the number of chapters to make it a bit less tiresome to write and read this story, but I hope you enjoy the rest! Ooh wow, a lot of exclamation marks there. :D
Thanks to everyone for their support - senseiREN
Onihime sat alone in the apartment. It had been a whole day since that...the incident. Sora had become so withdrawn and sullen since then and no matter what Onihime said, he just didn't seem to want to cheer up. Now it was midnight and Sora had just...left. With nothing but a mysterious note telling Onihime not to try and find him, because he would be back soon. Onihime cradled his head in his arms. What if Sora was in trouble and Onihime couldn't be there to help him? What if he never came back? Onihime was so...so mad. How could he just do this? Just leave without telling him where he was going? When Sora pulled stunts like this...
"DAMMIT SORA!"
Sora himself was wandering aimlessly through the streets of Vila Civitas, completely oblivious to the world around him. Hadn't he...hadn't he stopped the Heartless? If they had escaped and they were here, did that make Riku and King Mickey's sacrifice meaningless? No matter what he or his friends had done, were the Heartless just going to keep coming and coming until every world succumbed to them? Sora was going to have to keep fighting, but fighting to protect a world that had hated and spurned him since he had arrived here was hard to do. No Sora, don't think like that, he told himself, the people here need you, there is no one else to protect them. You've got to fight for Onihime and...Kairi. Fight for yourself! But...Sora didn't want to have to keep fighting to survive, he wanted to go back to Destiny Islands and live a peaceful life free of Heartless and Keyblades...Inside Sora's soul, the Keyblade hummed loudly. Sora clutched his chest. Alright, alright I don't want you to go away, he thought irritably, I just want...to be normal again...I don't want to be a hero...Kairi...I want to see your smiling face again, I want to see you so much...
"Sora?" Sora was jerked out of his little private world. A pale face looked at him, framed by silky raven hair...
"Oh...Minerva, wasn't it?" Sora did his best to smile cheerfully. The fortuneteller smiled back.
"Ha...so you remembered me!" She walked over and took Sora's hand in her own, shaking it. "Of course, I couldn't have forgotten you!" Then she laughed at Sora's embarrassed face.
"Oh come now, I'm only poking fun." Sora looked at Minerva. Her long black hair, and dark, plain robes. Had she been an outcast too?
"Yes." Minerva said suddenly.
"Wha-what!" Sora jumped. Minerva laughed again.
"I know what you were thinking, I am treated as an outcast here." Sora blushed.
"I'm...I'm sorry..." he said.
"No worries, I guess that's why I think we connect so well!" she grinned, "so, what brings you to this neck of the woods?" Sora stared at the environment around him, blankly.
"Where am I...exactly?" Minerva rolled her eyes.
"You just got lost, huh? Say, now that you're here, why don't you stop off at my place for tea?"
"Ummmm...well..." Sora thought of Onihime, alone at home.
"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" Minerva winked at him and took his hand. "Come on now! This way, this way!" Sora could feel himself being swept along by this odd woman. She was so...pushy. Or maybe he was just a pushover because he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
"Al...Alright, then."
Minerva pushed open the heavy wooden door into her little kitchen.
"Ta-daaaaa!" She said happily, "Make yourself at home." Taking off her long, purple cape, she went to hang it up on the coathangers. Sora looked around at Minerva's little house. The kitchen and living room had been integrated. One small wooden table that looked as though it had been through the wars sat in the middle. One leg had been stuck on with a weird, creamy plaster.An iron pot-bellied stove took up most of the back wall, as did a large collection of pots and pans. On the floor was a thick, furry rug and a large fireplace spread its welcoming heat across the room. There was even a spiral staircase. Minerva appeared beside him.
"Sorry it's so small, I don't earn a lot of money for what I do," she scowled.
"Oh no, it's lovely." Sora said. Minerva suddenly began laughing at him.
"What? Now what did I do?" Sora demanded. Minerva wiped her eyes.
"I'm sorry! It's just-" she collapsed into a fit of giggles again. "I've never heard a man using the word "lovely" before! Ah, you're so funny!"
"It wasn't that funny..." Sora pouted. Minerva smiled at him.
"Heh heh, how cute!" She pinched his cheek and Sora blushed...he wasn't used to this...
"Oh dear!" Minerva clapped her hands together, "I almost forgot the tea! Sit down, sit down!" She pushed Sora towards a lumpy armchair. For a moment, with the sounds of Minerva humming and bustling about in the background and the warmth of the fire engulfing him, Sora felt at peace. He closed his eyes...felt himself drifting...drifting...
"Hey there! Sleepy head! It's your tea!" Sora jerked awake, "Huh?" Minerva handed a steaming mug to him.
"Here you go!" She smiled.
"Oh...thanks." Sora cupped the mug in his hands, blowing gently at the top to cool the liquid.Sora looked up from beneath his bangs at Minerva. She sat at her table, sipping at her tea. Sora wondered, if he talked...would she listen? He needed someone to talk to and Onihime...well, Onihime didn't seem like the kind of person who could deal with problems of this magnitude. Onihime's life had been too sheltered.
"Don't give up." Minerva said. Sora looked at her, surprised.
"Huh?"
"Don't give up!" Minerva was looking at him from the corners of her eyes. "I'm a fortuneteller, right? I can sense things, you know. How people are feeling, the questions at the very front of their minds which they long to ask."
"That's scary, are you a mind reader?" Sora smiled.
"No, there are too many confused thoughts running around like lemmings to human minds clearly."
"Lemmings?" Sora tilted his head.
"Well they're...oh never mind," Minerva sighed, then she grinned wickedly,"I'm not so good at this analogy stuff. I've never been one for pretty words."
"Sometimes it's hard to find the right words to say..." Minerva looked in surprise at the young man, his sapphire eyes so full of sudden emotion.
"Sometimes it's good to talk, if something is on your mind," Minerva's emerald eyes were fixed on him, "I may not be much, but I'm a good listener." Sora frowned slightly. He could never tell Minerva what was on his mind. For one thing, she would probably never believe him that he had fought shadow-beings called Heartless and now they were re-surfacing to consume another Heart. Besides, the Keyblade was a secret in this world. Here, he didn't have Donald or Goofy. Here, he couldn't trust anyone.
"I...it isn't that simple," he murmured.
"You remember what I told you, right? When I performed your tarot reading?" Minerva said to him.
"Yes...you told me that no matter how dark the world would become, there would always be light." Sora believed that. Sora had lived through it. There was light in every heart, although sometimes it was so small, only a pinprick. But, like a flower if nurtured it would grow and blossom, into a shining star. Sora believed that with all his heart. He did.
Minerva came to kneel on the floor in front of him.
"Give me your hand," she said. Sora's eyes widened.
"What for?" he asked. Minerva nudged him playfully with her elbow.
"Oh don't worry, I'm only going to do a palm reading for you, perhaps it will cheer you up. But be warned, if I foretell something bad I'm not going to lie." Sora held out his hand and Minerva took it gently in her pale, slim fingers. She focused on the little lines criss-crossing Sora's palm. Under her breath, Minerva muttered the words,
"Halaeia Usati." Instantly images, passionate feelings flashed into her mind. This form of reading a person's soul came easily to her, so she had learned not to be overwhelmed by the experience. Her impassive face gave away nothing to Sora, even as the witch searched the very depths of his soul. Pain, sorrow and happiness came in violent bursts. Minerva heard whispers of Sora's memories echo through her brain.
Kairi...no...don't leave me alone...all alone...Riku why?...Why are you doing this why have you turned against me why I don't understand...Fighting...so much fighting want to be at peace no Riku I don't want to fight why do you not understand...Must protect my friends must help them or all I know will be lost and everyone will die...Ansem don't do this there is always light why can't you see the light is always there in your heart waiting to grow but you suppress it with your darkness why?...never get home...all alone...Kairi...never get home...Kairi don't go...want to be home...I want...I want...
Minerva pulled back before Sora began to suspect something. She did feel...sorry for him. It pained her to think what should become of him, but he wasn't her concern. The soul-reading had confirmed it, this boy was her ticket to redemption. The one the Master wanted. She shook herself and smiled pleasantly up at him.
"Who's the little boy you're staying with?" She chuckled.
"What! How do you about Onihime?" Sora said, a look of shock on his face.
"I'm a witch, a psychic remember? I just know these things!" That's a lie, she spied them walking through the market streets together, well, he'll never know. "Onihime? That's some name he got stuck with." Minerva stood up and brushed down her deep-purple dress. "So, why's he staying with you?" Sora's eyes stared at the ground distractedly.
"I dunno...really. I guess, I was lonely and...he wanted to come. It seemed like a good idea at the time, he cleans and everything...but..." Minerva reached out and touched the back of Sora's hand with her fingertips.
"But what?" Sora looked up at her.
"I know you know." He said suddenly, "I know you know what I'm hiding from him. I know you felt the weapon hidden in my heart." Minerva blinked.
"What...what are you talking about?"
"I'm not a fool. I was a fool before, but I have been through a lot. The Keyblade felt you probing inside my heart, although obviously, you didn't know it had caught you out." Minerva bit her lip. Dammit.
"I-I'm sorry," she murmured, "I didn't mean to go prying, I just...you just interest me, that's all..." She peered up beneath her raven hair at Sora, whose expression had softened.
"That's alright," he stood up, brushing down his jet-black coat, "But now...you know everything." Minerva stood up as well.
"It doesn't...surprise me all that much. I'm a witch, after all. Although, the fact that there are other worlds besides our own, does surprise me a bit."Sora nodded.
"I was surprised too. It's a lot to get your head around." Minerva paced slowly up and down her little room, twisting a strand of hair around her finger.
"You think that these...Heartless...are here?" she asked him. Sora nodded again.
"I was confused at first when I saw that man. I thought, why would a Heartless bother to strangle its victims? It didn't make any sense. Then, I realised that the Heartless that appear in each different world are able to change according to their environment. So these Heartless must have evolved and developed some kind of new passion for killing. That's why these Heartless are more dangerous than any other Heartless that came before. They enjoy prolonging the death of their victims before stealing their Heart, at least, that's what I think, " Sora put his head in his hands, "At first, I was searching for the world's Heart just to get home, but now I need to find it to protect it. If I don't find it, there is no telling what might happen to you and Onihime and everyone else here. I...I hate this place. But I can't let it be destroyed, Kairi...she wouldn't have wanted that..." Minerva watched him as he strode across the room to the door.
"Sora!" she called. Sora turned back to her, "I want to help you, in any way I can. If I hear anything about where the Heart might be, I will be sure to tell you. I can use my magic to assist you, if you want." Sora smiled.
"Thank you, Minerva. Before I came here, I didn't want to fight again. It was too much, having to bear the fate of the world by myself. Now I know, who will bearthe burden if I run away? No one will. I know, what I have to do." Then, he walked out into the dark street, shutting Minerva's door with a bang behind him. Minerva sighed and began to walk to the stairs. She smiled, but there was no joy in her eyes.
"Such an idealistic young man and so trusting," she said softly. She turned to look at the front door.
No, Sora. You are a fool.