Flee From Our Troubles

Not Guilty

Disclaimer: Hey, guess what? I own Kingdom Hearts... in my dreams anyways...

Author's Ramblings:
Hey y'all, here is the next chapter of this story! You guys were allso nice and reviewed! I wasn't expecting so many reviews! This chapter is dedicated to Ayeshagirl, yuffiegal23, DieChan, Bloodyshy Testament, Nami D.J., and galerian57. You all rock! I promised you that I'd put it out if I got reviews! So, here comes the silver haired enigma that everyone loves! Enjoy, and remember to review!

Edit 4/17/06: This chapter has been redone a little. Enjoy!

My speed accelerated as I passed exhaust fumes and dirt along the city streets. A soft breeze tousled my cinnamon locks as I continued along my path. All I knew was that I had to get out of the city limits before somebody recognized me. I was almost there; I could see the gate that led out, and I felt hope swell up in my chest.

But like a bolt out of the blue, I realized that if I wanted to travel for a long time, I was going to need food, water, and a map. Ambling over to the nearest convenience store, I silently went to the freezer. Selecting a large bottle of water, I then went over to the snack section. I picked out a box of fruit snacks and a bag of biscuits out of the large variety, and quietly went over to the counter, and there found a map. I put all of the chosen items on the counter, and pulled out some money. I watched in odd fascination as the man at the counter counted all of it up, and deftly pressed some buttons on the cash register.

"Okay, that comes to $6. 89," he said not unkindly, and I wordlessly handed him the money. "So, where you going?" he asked, trying to strike up a conversation as he pushed another button. The machine opened up with a shrill ping. I opened my mouth to speak, but again no sound came out, just a weak groan.

"Unh…"

"Aww, can't talk? What's wrong with you? Are you sick?" he inquired, concern evident in his face and voice. I tried to talk again, but I received the same result. "Well, don't worry about it," he finally said, handing me back my change. I looked down and saw that he had given me extra money. Words of protest were on the tip of my tongue, but the man just shook his head. "Don't worry about it. My pleasure." I nodded my thanks, and left the store, placing my newly bought purchases in my bag, thinking throughout.

'Okay, so maybe not all people are bad.'

With renewed vigor, I started walking towards the city's main gate, jumping when I heard a sudden siren behind me. Out of instinct I ran, ducking into the closest alleyway. Shock overwhelmed me as I looked inside, and found a gang beating up an old man. A cane, presumably his, had been carelessly thrown off to the side, and blood was splattered everywhere. The gang itself looked like cruel, heartless people; no remorse whatsoever for what they had just done. As the ear-penetrating sirens drew closer, the gang seemed to realize that it was coming. Startled, they turned to flee, and one of the boys spotted me.

"Hey, who's that?" one of the boys shouted, and they all swiftly turned around and started after me. Yet they seemed to realize that the sirens were close, and took off running in a panicked frenzy. Cold at my near death experience, I tremblingly walked over to the man on the ground, and I nudged him a little. No breath was evident, and his wrinkled skin felt cold. It was then that I realized that they must have killed him.

"Hey kid!" an authorities voice called behind me. "What did you do?" I froze, my next move uncertain. Awww crap! I knew this had to look bad! I'm right next to a dead man, and there was no evidence that I hadn't done it. The police man came over next to me, and noticed the dead man next to me. "Kid, I think you had better come down to the station," he said in a stately manner . No! I couldn't go there! Ansem would find me there for sure! I wouldn't be a slave again, I wouldn't! I froze for a moment before doing the only I could do. The only thing I always did. I ran.

Terrified, I bolted, fast and hard, speeding out of the city gates faster than a rabbit. I hurried over to the underbrush, and ducked under, hiding from the police. I found that it was easy to hide myself; it's not like I was ever very well fed to begin with, and I had always had a small figure. I suppose it made me look younger than I really was, although as I recalled, I was somewhere around fourteen. I was hiding for over an hour before the police finally gave up looking. Slowly I crawled out, wary of anything or anyone coming. By now the sky was painted with brilliant oranges, yellows, and pinks, and I ran, far and as long as I could manage.

Catching my breath, I looked back, realizing that I was large distance from the city by now, and I knew that was good. I looked around for a secluded space to sleep in, and finally found one nestled in between some pine trees. The ground was hard and itchy, but it was comparably better than my old "bed", which consisted of the cold, hard floor in the cellar. I curled up in a scrunched ball, and fell asleep, exhausted.

I awoke in the morning, and looked up to the grey sky. From the position of the glinting sun, I could tell that it was still early in the morning, but I wasn't sure. Where does the sun rise… the west? No, the east! The sun rises in the east. I stood from my makeshift bed, and slowly trudged down the road, thinking about various things. What am I going to do when I run out of money? I thought about this for some time before I finally decided that I was either going to have to get a job, or steal some more. Now that I thought about it, I probably should have taken that dead guy's wallet. Well it's not like he was going to use it! Sure, I wouldn't have been proud about it, but why not help the living?

But quickly I dismissed that thought for a couple of reasons. For one, it was already too late anyways. Two, it was a sickening thought. And three, even if I had thought of it at the time, the gang that killed him had probably already taken it. So I just forgot about that and let my mind wander elsewhere. Like, how far till the next town. Let's see, there's a sign. "20 miles to the next town" it said. Well, it looks like I have a while to walk, don't I?

I continued traveling down the road, not stopping for an instant. When I started this journey, who would have thought that it would be so hot? I was sweating, and I swear if anybody messed with me they were going to get their head bitten off. Glancing up at the sky, I noticed that it was about noon. I looked behind me, and I found that I couldn't see the town. Okay, now was probably as good a time as ever to take a quick break. I found a tree to sit under, and got out the bag of biscuits and water bottle that I had bought. After eating a few biscuits and taking a sip of water, I put it away. I had to make it last, after all.

Sittingunder the cooling shade of the tree, feeling therelief against my skin, my thoughts wandered once again. 'If I'm traveling, I'll probably need to speak, won't I, since I don't know sign language.' I started trying to speak, not giving up. "S-Sora," I stumbled out. It felt weird to talk after not doing so for so many years. "H-Hi, I'm S-So-ra," I said, a little more confidently. I was finding it easier to speak, but it would be a lot less embarrassing if there was actually some one here to talk to. After my short break, I continued forward on the path, and by about sunset, I reached the next town.

Walking slowly into the town, I looked around, careful not to find myself in any dark alleys. I continued through, and I had almost reached the other end, when quite suddenly it started to rain, cold and hard. I ran for cover, finding some in a local park. It had a couple pavilions in it, and I found a secluded one near the back, hidden behind some trees. I threw my head up towards the sky, and watched the cloud strewn sky as raindrops fell onto my face. I laid down underneath the pavilion, and fell asleep, the soothing sound and smell of rain around me. At least this was just a simple rainstorm, without any thunder or lightning in it.

The next morning I woke up sore and tired. Yup, business as usual. Slowly stretching, I stood up, and grabbed my stuff, and started walking, but I immediately had to jump behind a bush as a saw a police car go by. I poked my head out five minutes later, earning a strange look from a couple walking by.

"I uh… f-fell," I said, still not used to the sound of my own voice. "I'll be m-more careful n-next time," I said, and the couple left. I sighed, and stood up, then continued on. I was about to leave the city limits and head for the next town, when a poster on my left caught my eye. I walked over to it, and read the contents, growing more excited with each word.

"Wanted," it said, "Lyrics and song writers, for contest. Reward, 200$. Contest to be held today at 7:30 at the coffee house. Arrive at 7:00 for registration."

"I c-could win that! I still r-remember the song that my mother wrote and sung t-to me!" I said, excited that I could win that money. I asked a passerby what time it was, and a nice lady said that it was twelve-thirty. Okay, I could wait that long. I suppose I could try practicing my talking, and then go to the coffee house later. I walked back to the park, and found a pavilion, slightly hidden beyond the leaves, but still a little visible. I sat down, and watched the people walking through the park. I saw many people walking through; families, couples, and friends. I felt a small twinge of jealousy at them. It wasn't fair that they get a life I was never able to have. Friends, family, love; it didn't matter. It was all denied me, in the end.

But I quickly pushed thoughts such as these aside, because it's foolish to be jealous. Being jealous doesn't get you what they have. Besides, all of those thoughts were the least of my problems as I saw what had to be the most memorable person that I had seen today. I didn't even know his name or if he had even noticed me; all I knew was that he was the sexiest boy I had ever seen. Glistening silver hair swayed in the wind, soft looking to the touch… I just wished that I could touch it; feel it. As if that wasn't enough, he had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. They were an exotic shade of aquamarine, making him look mysterious and handsome, all at the same time. I sighed as he walked past, his black bag slung over his shoulder, the bulging giving me the inmpression that it was full. His cream-colored skin had smudges all over it, giving him a dirty yet rugged look. He was simply wearing a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt, and a black hoodie over his other shoulder. He looked drop dead gorgeous. And yet... somehow... familiar...

As he paused in front of the pavilion, I had to resist the urge to jump on him. The strange silver haired boy looked at a watch on his wrist, and walked over to a pavilion a few yards away. He sat down, and I just watched him for a long time before realizing that I hadn't checked the time in awhile. Quickly looking around for a person to ask the time, I found no one around. Great, I was going to have to ask the silver haired boy.

Sauntering over to the boy, he eyed me suspiciously. Happily smiling at him, I hopped up the pavilion steps towards him and sat down next to him. He didn't seem to protest, just kept looking at me suspiciously. "Uh… hi," I said, as he continued to look at me funny. "I was uh… just wondering if you knew w-what time it was… uh… do you?" I asked nervously, my voice cracking in places, because that was the longest sentence that I had said in a very long time.

His eyes just narrowed at me, and he quickly glanced at his watch. "It's six-forty two," he said solemnly, still looking at me apprehensively. Okay, since it was a ten minute walk to the coffee house, if I left in a few minutes I could probably get there in time. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I almost missed the boy talking to me. "What are you doing out here alone, kid?" he questioned me.

Kid? He's calling me a kid, and he doesn't look much older than me! "Kid? How old are you?" I asked heatedly.

"Fifteen," he replied coolly. He's only a year older than me!

"Hey! I'm only fourteen!" I indignantly sniped.

"Really?" he suddenly asked excitedly as his eyes gleamed with interest for only an instant before they turned back to the normal cold state. "That's not the point. You are avoiding the question. What are you doing out here alone? You should go back to your mommy before you get kidnapped," he said.

I felt my insides clench painfully at the sound of him mentioning my mother. 'Too bad that's already happened, in a way,' I thought painfully. "I-I should go now," I stuttered, as I stood up and gathered my things from the ground. "Anyways, thanks for the time," I added as I ran off.

"Hey wait!" I heard him call, but I just kept running. Besides, I had to get to the coffee house. I was going to get that money, then leave right afterwards. That way, I could find a nice, safe spot to sleep. Then tomorrow I could maybe get to the next town.

I ran to the little coffee shop, and arrived just in time for registration. The place smelled like coffee and baked goods, and it smelled wonderful. I ambled up to the counter and started to fill out the proper forms with sloppy, shaky handwriting. One form was full of technical stuff, and in the other you had to write down the lyrics for the song you were entering. I handed them in, and the lady at the desk told me to go wait in a room in the back. I did as she bid me, and by seven-fifteen, there were many people in the back with me. By seven-twenty, the lady from the front desk had come to the back, and stood there as she waited for the room to quiet down.

"Okay," she announced after the room had quieted. "The following people have been eliminated," she said, and read off a long list of names. But, surprisingly, my name wasn't on it. Inside I was jumping for joy! I actually had a shot at this! More than half the room emptied, and there were only a few people left. "Okay, the rest of you lucky contestants have been selected from the others. So, you all will be performing your songs in the coffee house tonight, and they will judge it."

"Performing?" a man next to me asked.

"Yes, singing it in front of the people here," she said. "Now here is the line up," she said, and started reading a list of the people in the room.

"S- sing?" I asked nervously, as she read the list.

"…And Sora is last. Is that okay?" she asked. Everyone nodded in approval, but I was still too shocked to do much else. Soon after she left the room,leaving mesitting there in silent shock.

"I have to… sing?"

Author's Ranting:
Okay, I know that there wasn't much with Riku in it, but in the next chapter there's more! Promise! Don't hurt me! ((angry reviewers put down pitchforks and torches)) Phew! Okay, so next chapter, Sora has to... dun, dun, dun... SING! That's right, he has to face the music... I mean sing it! Okay so please review otherwise Sora shall mysteriously choke on his Sora Snacks...
Sora: ((eating box of Sora Snacks)) What?
Ya, so review and ja ne!