A/N: Okay, I've just had one of my biggest fears alleviated: Mizu is not a Mary Sue! Thank God, though, that's what I was most scared of with these things. And another thing, I got KH2 the day after it got released here in the U.S.A., but I've only played for three hours (meaning I just now got Sora back, sorry for the slight spoiler). My brother, on the other hand, little shit that he is, claims to have almost beaten the game (I wasn't home for a couple hours today so I could meet my best friend's boyfriend, so I don't know). I only know that he's been playing for over twenty hours and says he's beaten every member of the Organization (spoiler again, sorry!), but there's a world he hasn't been to yet, so I don't see how he could have possibly gotten to the final battle, and there are some old foes he has yet to vanquish, and a whole bunch of other crap, I think. Like I said, I wasn't home for a few hours. Anyway, I was going to change this chapter after watching my brother pass through a certain scene (he's been letting me watch while he plays, and I keep forgetting to demand the controler every time he knocks Sora for a loop, so I'm doomed to watch him beat this game before me), but I decided against it, just for plot reasons. Anyway, this is one of my favorite chapters, just because, well, we get to see Riku being vulnerable-ish and a little bit of Mizu's past and you can so tell I'm making this up, but I'll clarify everything for those of you who've played KH2 and know all the misinformation in this chappie. Anyway, read it, enjoy it, review it, and if you know better than what's happening here, please remember that I am aware of the inconsistencies and will do my best to rectify the situation in a later fic dealing with KH2. :)
Riku watched Sora defeat the vizier, Jafar, and his lip curled slightly in contempt.
"That smarmy vizier could've had 'em," Hades said, subconciously clenching his fist in anger, "if someone had stuck around to give him a hand."
"Hey," Riku snapped, "I did my part. I brought the princess, didn't I?" Hades opened his mouth to argue, but Maleficent spoke before the words could get past his overly-pointy teeth.
"Jafar was beyond help," she said, "consumed by his own hatred. One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, lighten up," Hades said hastily. "I'm as cool as they come, okay?" He then turned to Riku with a conspiratorial wink. "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you."
"Huh?" Riku asked, having not been paying much attention to the pair.
"We had a deal, yes?" Maleficent asked sweetly. "You help us, and we grant you your wish..."
She gestured to the table, where the image of Sora had been replaced by one of Kairi, laying unconcious on her back in a room Riku didn't recognize.
"Kairi!" Riku exclaimed, moving to touch her before he remembered that it was just a hologram.
"Go to her," Maleficent urged, "your vessel is waiting."
"Just remember," Captain Hook snarled from the doorway, "this is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage."
"Why are you doing all this for me?" Riku asked, suspicion dripping from every word. "What's the catch?"
"Catch?" Maleficent asked incredulously. "What's the catch? Silly boy. You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy." She gently placed a hand on his cheek, but he slapped it away angrily.
"I seriously doubt that," he snarled.
"Believe what you wish," Maleficent said noncommitally, a slight smirk on her face. "But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain."
Riku turned on his heel and left, not even bothering to dignify that last statement with a response. He walked swiftly to his room, a room Maleficent had given him after he had first met her. He had trusted her back then, but ever since he had come back from Traverse Town, he had grown more and more suspicious of her and her cohorts.
He liked his room, though. For some strange reason, it reminded him of Mizu, and of home. Halfway there, however, he took a detour and headed towards the Library, deciding to continue on some research he had been conducting. He grabbed a book he had marked off of the shelf by the door, and headed towards a table and chair near a large picture window, situated comfortably in a large nook beneath a set of stairs leading to the upper level of the Library. When he rounded the last bookcase, however, he saw something that made him stop in his tracks.
Sitting in the chair was Cloud Strife. However, he looked younger than Riku remembered him, though how much younger Riku couldn't guess. He was leaning over an open book, head in one hand and scanning the pages, a frown-line creasing his brow as he concentrated on the passage. His hair and eyes reflected the blood-red rays of the setting sun, but he wasn't paying any attention to the sunset.
"Cloud?" Riku called, taking a step closer. He didn't know why he expected Cloud to recognize him, or even reply, but was kind of hurt anyway when Cloud ignored him. Riku opened his mouth to call him again when a young girl spoke from behind him.
"Aniki!" the voice said, and Cloud looked up, smiling when he noticed who had spoken. He pushed back in the chair a little as a small, blonde-haired tempest ran across the room and threw herself into his outstretched arms. He scooped the little girl up into his lap, and Riku saw intense green eyes in a too-thin face that he knew there was no way he could recognize. Then it hit him: he was watching a scene that had happened in this room over nine years ago.
"What's up, Mi-chan?" Cloud asked, settling the little girl comfortably in his lap. She snuggled back against his chest, looking as content as a cat.
"I just came up here to watch the sunset," Mizu admitted, looking out the window. "This room has the best view of the town."
"Huh," Cloud said, also looking out the window. "I didn't notice how late it was."
"What're you looking at, anyway?" Mizu asked, squirming around a little to get a better look at the book Cloud had been reading. "Wow, that's old. I almost can't read it."
"Yeah, I'm having a hard time making it out, too," Cloud admitted. "Besides, I don't think you'd recognize this language. It's written in Ancient, Munchkin. I'm trying to translate it, but it's not going so well."
"Shouldn't Aerith be translating, then?" Mizu asked innocently, looking up into Cloud's eyes.
"Aerith has enough on her hands working on more complicated translations, Mizu," said a man coming in from the side, carrying a two hot cups of tea. He had long silver hair, tan skin, and golden eyes, and his smile was easy, if a little tired. He handed one of the cups to Cloud, who accepted it with a slight smile and "Thanks."
"Hi, Ansem. More research on the Heartless?" Mizu asked. Riku's eyes nearly popped out of his head. With that look on her face, he could easlily believe that this six-year-old was the same girl he had fallen in love with a little over a year ago.
"I know you don't like it, little one," Ansem said with a reassuring smile and gently placing his now-free hand on her head, "but--"
"It's necessary, I know," Mizu sighed. "By the way, I have your notes organized. You have really messy handwriting."
"I get excited sometimes," Ansem admitted with a laugh. "You have to admit, these creatures are fascinating."
"I still think we should exterminate the lot of 'em," Mizu grumbled, sounding much like the six-year-old she was, but Riku could tell by the look in her eyes that she was serious.
"I know," Ansem said, taking her very seriously. "But if we can learn something from them before we destroy them..."
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before."
"I agree with Mizu, though," Cloud said, looking out the window again. "We should destroy them now before they cause major damage."
"Just a few more weeks, I promise," Ansem said reassuringly. "Then you can exterminate them. Until then, though, I suggest you get some rest, Cloud, before your eyes start to fail. Good night, you two. Sleep well."
"Night, Ansem," Mizu said, and he bent down so she could give him a hug before he left. Cloud shut the volume he had been working on and stood, picking up Mizu in the process.
"Off to bed with you, squirt," he said, hoisting her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Hey, put me down!" Mizu protested, and the scene faded as they left. Riku shook his head to clear it of the vision, or whatever it was, and took the seat Cloud had vacated. He opened the book to where he had marked it, but he found that he couldn't concentrate on the text. He kept running that scene over and over in his mind. He sighed, closed the book, and stored it back where he got it, then left the Library and headed back to his room.
When he got there, he turned on the lamp by the bed and stripped down to his waist, then grabbed his sword, not having a practice blade to use, and turned around to begin a warm-up exercise, but what he saw stopped him cold again. Right in front of him was Mizu, again as a six-year-old, her twin daggers flashing in the moonlight streaming in through the window. Even at six, she was graceful and slender, moving through attack patterns, parries, and blocks easily and fluidly, almost making the entire ritual a dance. Sweat poured down her neck and back, even condensed on her arms, but she still moved through the exercise as though she were entirely fresh. Riku guessed that in the vision, she had already been at it for several hours. After a few minutes, though, the dance of blades slowed, and eventually Mizu slipped the daggers back into the sheaths belted to her hips. She then began stretching, showing incredible flexibility, and also cooling down from the more strenuous exercise.
After her sweat had dried, and long after Riku expected the vision to end, she pulled out two coins from her pocket and sent them tumbling across the backs of her knuckles, barely even paying attention to them as she walked over to the window. Riku remembered her doing something similar with flat, round stones back on the islands, and still wondered the significance behind practicing that move. She leaned against the window sill, a pose that would have had any other child looking like they were trying to appear grown up, but with her, it seemed totally natural. She looked out at the stars, moonlight reflecting off her light skin and gold hair, and flashing from the coins still dancing across her knuckles.
Riku blinked, and the vision was gone.What's going on here? he wondered, moving to the exact center of the room, which was also the same spot Mizu had been standing in. I've never had these visions before. Huh. I wonder if I'm not just tired? He began a practice routine he had done every night back home on the islands, a set of moves so familiar to him he didn't even have to think about them anymore, and let his mind drift as his muscles shifted through the patterns of the dance as fluidly and easily as the vision of the young Mizu had with her own blades.
