Flee From Our Troubles

Realization

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts ... but I own this can of Dr. Pepper ...

Author's note:
Okay, I'm very, very, very sorry that this took so long to get out, but I've been really, reaaly busy. I hope you like this next chapter, and I'm going to try and get better about updating!

"Get off, runt," was the first thing I heard the next morning. If felt like I had only just fallen asleep when I was rudely awakened by an angry voice. I quickly opened my eyes and found myself staring into two aquamarine eyes, which were, at the moment, narrowed into a deadly glare. "Did you hear me? I said, 'Get OFF!'" he yelled, shoving me off of him. Wait. How did that happen?

"Sorry Riku," I said in as cheerful a voice I could muster. "How did you sleep?" I asked.

" 'Bout as well as I could with someone rolling on top of me," he replied gruffly, pulling himself into a sitting position. "What were you dreaming about, anyways?"

At this, I hung my head pathetically. "Nothing," I muttered. In truth, I was dreaming about him again. Who's him, you may ask? Nothing but a figure from my past. Or at least, that's how I want to think about him. I do wonder what ever happened to him …

"Whatever. Come on, we have to get moving," Riku said, standing up from his place on the ground and picking up his sack. He started heading towards the path, and I scrambled up and grabbed my things, and then jogged a little to catch up to him. For someone who's only a year older than me, he sure does walk fast … I wonder how long he's been out here?

"Riku, what time is it?" I asked after a little bit of walking.

He sighed and looked at his watch. "7: 22," he replied before going back to the thoughtful look he had on before. This guy is a complete mystery to me. Why did he decide to join me if he doesn't even like to talk to me? But then again, he does remind me of someone I once knew … He was always like that. He wasn't shy, or scared or anything like that … just quiet. I don't remember much about him. All I remember was that he used to be my best friend until they attacked. When they attacked my new town -

"You're falling behind," Riku said abruptly, making me jump a little as I snapped out of my thoughts.

I quickly closed the gap between us and said, "Sorry, I got distracted."

"With what?" he asked, glancing at me for a second.

"Just … thinking," I quietly replied, before he turned and looked at me. "Wh - What?" I asked, confused at his abruptness. "Am I talking too much? I'm sorry, I just –"

"Shut up. That's not why I stopped. You look kind of pale. Are you sick?"

"N – No!" I stuttered, even more confused than ever. Since when did he care if I was sick?

"Hn. Maybe we should get some food," he said as he continued walking.

"Sure!" I said, following him.

We arrived at the next town at around noon, and I followed him to a small convenience store a few blocks away from the town gates. He took me to the sandwiches section and we each chose a sandwich. I chose ham. He chose turkey. I noticed him raise a delicate eyebrow at this, but I didn't say anything. Next, he led me over to the drinks section, and he told me to pick one. "But … I don't know which one to get," I said hesitantly as I looked over the different selections.

"Just pick your favorite," he said, already having chosen a Coke.

"I don't have a favorite."

"Well … how about Dr. Pepper?" he asked me.

"A doctor? What does that have to do anything with drinks?" I asked, confused as I tilted my head like a small puppy would. I saw his eyes glimmer as some unknown thought came to him, but it faded just as quickly as it came.

"No, not a doctor, doctor. It's a drink. I think you would like it," he said, reaching into the freezer and grabbing a bottle with a maroon label.

"Okay!" I answered, taking the cold bottle from his hands. We went over to the counter and I paid for what we had selected, and then left. We headed for the park, and found a bench. We started to eat the food, and I tried the soda that he had gotten for me. "It's – It's fizzy!" I exclaimed. "But it tastes good!"

"I'm glad," he said, leaning against the bench as he finished the sandwich. A delicate silver eyebrow was raised at me as I greedily ate the sandwich. "What? Never had a sandwich before?" he asked, and I hung my head in resignation. If only he knew …"Never mind. Just hurry up, and hand me the money while your at it."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I'm worried that you'll lose it."

"Fine," I said with a sigh. Well, at least if we do lose it, I can blame him.

"Come on, let's go," he said when I finished my sandwich. He stood up, and started walking. I followed close behind.

By the time dusk was upon us, we had already traveled a great distance. We had left the town, and we were about halfway from the last town. Since the stop in the last town, we had traveled in almost complete silence, the only sound being made was either that of the world around us, or Riku telling me to hurry up because I was falling behind.

We only stopped to rest once, and the entire time we just kind of sat there, staring at the clouds, reminding me of the old days before he came into my life. It is a very faint memory, and truth be told, I don't remember it much myself, but I remember me and my best friend, whose name I sadly can't remember, used to lay in the new summers grass, a faint breeze whispering words of the world's unknown language to us, watching the clouds float past us, letting the hours of the day waste away. Ah, if only we knew that those days would be the last of our days together, we would have spent longer together, doing more things. But, for then, I was content just being with him as we laid in the comfortable silence. When we did that … everything just felt … right with the world.

We used to play games, like hiding from his step-dad. That much I did remember. Mostly because he was rich, and I was poor. The noblemen's children were not supposed to mingle with commoner's children. But to him, that didn't matter. But argh! Why can't I remember his name?

"Come on," Riku said, standing up at what seemed a random time to me. I followed him out of the woods – our hiding place lest we be seen by the gang or any other unwanted viewers – and we continued on our journey.

It was now dusk, and the sunset was beautiful on the horizon as we stood atop of the hill, gazing at the glittering city.

"Um … ready?" I asked, uncertain of the strange look Riku had developed in his eyes. I was worried about breaking the silence between us with my newly developed urge to chatter. Funny how just a couple days ago I couldn't even remember my own name, much less how to speak. I stood, watching him, before he started down the hill, toward the glittering city as the day got darker and darker, turning into night.

We arrived in the city about night time, and Riku, who seemed to know his way around, led us to a cheap hotel around the center. By cheap I mean the beds weren't all that glamorous, dirt was evident on the walls, and the halls smelled heavily of smoke from previous guests. I watched as Riku paid the receptionist for a room with two beds for one night, and the cost wasfour dollars all together. After giving the receptionist the money, he received a key and the silver haired boy gently prodded me towards the elevator, motioning for me to move forwards. I did so, and he pushed the button, which was worn from the years.

The elevator let us out on the second floor, and Riku led the way to our room, which he opened with the key. The room looked old and ugly, dirt showing on the walls and doors. I looked over at the window, which was so encrusted with dirt that you could only see a thin stream of light from an outlying street lamp, which made the overall feel of the room gloomy and depressing.

Flopping his backpack onto the bed he had chosen, which was the one closest to the window. He yanked off his shirt, exposing his tanned torso and strong chest. I quickly averted my eyes to the ground as I sat quietly on the bed, and put my bag slowly next to me. I heard the shower start in the bathroom, and the door shut with a small click.

With a sigh of relief, I sighed and leaned back against the pillows, listening to the sound of the shower and to the crickets creating a steady sound of cheeping outside.

"I wonder why Riku is always so distant and quiet?" I asked myself, with an audible sigh. "He always looks like he's looking for someone, or something. I wish somebody cared that much for me … but no. I don't have anyone left to care about me. Which makes me wonder what Riku is doing traveling with me. It's not like I really even know the guy, much less know why he's out here. He just doesn't look like the type that would be out here, ya know. And I know I probably sound really stupid right now, talking to only myself, but oh well. Nobody will know anyways." With the sound of a small click, he heard the shower being shut off, and after a few minutes, Riku emerged, completely naked except for a towel that hung off of his hips, covering the lower parts of his body.

"Shower's open," he stated politely before walking over to his bag and starting to rummage through for a clean set of clothes.

'How long has it been since I've had a proper cleaning?' I ask myself silently as I see Riku pulling out some clothes from his bag. I slowly stand up and walk over to the bathroom, entering and then locking it with a small click as the metal locked itself. I slowly peeled the long sleeved t-shirt off my thin, frail body, and remove my jeans and boxers.

Standing in front of the large mirror, I stood and examined the pale boy that stared back at me from the reflection. My body had numerous scars that ran all over from my chest down to my legs. Compared to the strong body of Riku, I looked frail and weak. Which, I suppose in a way is true, but I suppose that can't be helped until I get some exercise. My gravity defiant locks hung lankly to the sides of my face, matted with sweat, dirt, and a little bit of blood. It really has been a long time since I've had a proper shower.

I walked over to the tub and turned the knob, watching as the water cascaded through the nozzle and into the ceramic container. I gently ran my hand through the water, and the feeling of warm water felt like heaven against my dirty, messy hands. I pulled out the knob, and the water switched for but a moment before coming down from the shower head. I stepped in, and immediately I felt grime come off of me as the water surged over my body, cleaning the blood, dirt, and sweat from my hair.

I anxiously grabbed the shampoo, and, squirted a small amount into my hand. After replacing the bottle, I scrubbed my hands together and started running the soapy substance through my dirty locks, efficiently covering and cleaning my hair. I massaged my scalp and made sure that hair had plenty of suds in it before rinsing it through the water, feeling it flow through my hair. I looked down at the suds that were slowly running into the drain, and I realized just how much dirt was in it. Now I really do wonder how long it's been since I've had a proper bath.

After repeating the same process with the conditioner (which, surprisingly, smelled strongly of cinnamon), I took the rag and used the soap to scrub down my body. Making sure I reached every nook and cranny on my body. For extra measure I even scrubbed behind my ears. I wasn't taking any chances with that. It smelled delightfully like apples, and I stepped back as I watched the suds tumble and disappear into the drain. The water was starting to run cold now, so I shut off the water and stepped out into the bathroom, grabbing a towel and using it to mop myself off.

After the majority of the water had been wiped off, I wrapped my hair up in the towel and started scrubbing it down with the towel, making sure that I got a lot of the water out of my hair. Once I was satisfied, I took my time getting dressed, making sure that the scars were out of sight of Riku and anybody else that happened to look my way. I really didn't want any of them to know what they were from.

I unlocked the bathroom door and exited, noticing Riku was now fully dressed in a pair of gym shorts and a white t-shirt. He shot me a funny look that I couldn't help but notice.

"What?" I asked, plastering a whimsical grin on my face.

"It's nothing. I just never really noticed how much dirt was in your hair.It looks a lot different now."

"Really?" Even Riku noticed?

"Yeah. And don't you have any other clothes other than that?" I shook my head no. "We'll go get you some clothes tomorrow with the money. Nothing too fancy, mind you, but we'll find something for you to wear. Here," he said, rummaging through his bag again, "You can wear this till we get something. It may be a bit big on you, since you're so small, but it'll be okay till tomorrow." He threw me a long sleeved shirt that went past my hands (which I was thankful for) and some sweatpants (which I was also grateful for), which I took into the bathroom to change into, after a murmur of thanks to the older boy.

I finally lay down on the large bed, and I look over at Riku. I notice that he's already asleep by now, and I decide that I should probably do the same. He looks so peaceful when sleeping. And once again I wonder what the strange emotion bubbling in my heart is. Whatever it is, I'll shrug it off for now. I want to sleep.

Author's Randomness:
Okay, I hope you liked that chapter! I think I really liked the part where Sora was taking a shower (get your minds out of the gutters, you perverts) because of the descriptions. You'll soon find out why Sora has so many scars, and by the end I hope to answer all of your questions! ((yawns)) It's like 2 in the morning here, so I'm going to bed. Night! Ja ne! Don't forget to review!