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S A C R I F I C E
x;; Kairiku collection
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oo6 ;; breakdown
Golden sunlight dripped from the sliver of fire left above the oceanic horizon, bursting in a silent finale while a thick layer of navy bled into the sky. Nighttime was fast approaching, dully lit stars just beginning to blink overhead and enticing the near-full moon out of hiding with a soft nocturnal rhythm. Palm trees became silhouettes, standing eerily against a background of calm waves and purple skies; one in particular, bowed at its base and gracefully stretching over the water, held another shadow towards its middle. Riku sat lazily atop the beige trunk, mindlessly staring into the glittering mass of color as it crept further and further away from sight, ignoring that he might permanently damage his eyes should he continue to gape at the daily phenomenon. If there were only one thing on Destiny Islands that would never change, it would be its breathtaking sunsets; after being through a year-long nightmare, the boy was only expected to cling to familiarity, and this was it.
Eventually, while only minutes away from submerging in darkness, gentle footfalls broke Riku from his daze. The sound came from behind, sandals clacking slowly against the wooden makeshift bridge; but the sluggishness seemed almost unnatural, as if the intruder had invisible shackles strapped around their ankles. Riku blinked and steadied his vision before glancing over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of pink and red while his eyes tried to focus on her face. At the realization that it was only Kairi, however, he figured she would simply be prodding him to go back to the main island, as it was so late.
But when she noticed that he was watching her, she only flashed him a halfhearted smile and continued walking. Still, an anxious glint was apparent in her violet irises and negated her attempt at covering up the worry that she reeked of. Her eyes were glossy, a small layer of liquid visible within the delicate orange light – and it was more obvious, as she got closer to the Paopu tree, that she was on the verge of tears. Although she remained silent, she managed to damper Riku's previously serene mood with a sheet of awkwardness; even more so when Kairi pressed her back and palms against the tree, hopping up a moment later with only a few inches between them. She refused to look at him again, but instead gazed towards the ocean with a blank frown ruining her pretty lips.
For a short moment, he thought he heard her breathing get heavier, and concern dripped into his eyes nearly minutes before she finally decided to speak:
"I'm worried, Riku." Her gaze diverted to her hands, lightly trembling while she absent mindedly picked at her nails.
It didn't take a genius to figure out the reason; Sora had recently left the Islands after being summoned by the King, so Kairi, naturally, was troubled. Despite that there wasn't much room between them to start, Riku leaned towards her, bumping his shoulder against hers and offering a light smile. "Give Sora some credit," He started smoothly, tone laced with slight compassion while he watched her fumble with her own hands, "He's been through a lot. He won't go down that easy." His reassurance was welcomed by Kairi, but seemed to hold little effect while she continued to bite her lips and shift around uncomfortably.
Eventually, she hung her head and swallowed harshly before responding in a low, strangled voice: "Yeah, but…" His lips curved downwards as her words trailed off – he knew she would take Sora's departure hard, but not to the point of breakdown. Foreign to comforting or sympathy, he only considered placing a hand on her shoulder, or trying to pull her into a hug; and his opportunity was dismissed when she, suddenly, twisted and threw her arms around his neck. He hastily responded by recoiling back an inch or two, overwriting his previous compassion with shock – but she only clung to him tighter, as if afraid that he would leave just like Sora if she ever let go. After a few seconds of trying to keep his heart from pounding out of his chest, he hesitantly curled his arms around her back and she buried her head into his chest.
A literal whirlwind of emotions swirled around the pair: she was dismayed and he was confused (and enthralled and mystified and god he hated to see her like this). Through sniffles and sobs, a muffled voice slipped between her lips, tears running from her eyes and directly into his clothes – but he could care less. Each word seemed to pull a new string on his heart:
"I just keep thinking –"
Empathy (Don't, don't, it will just hurt more – I know).
"What if he dies out there –"
Jealousy (Sora won't die and you know it; he'll always return for you and you'll forget about me).
"What if he never comes back?"
Determination (But I'll always be here and I'll never leave you like he did).
Without comprehending, without thinking, he snuck a hand beneath her chin, gently tipping her face away from his chest. Their eyes clicked together for mere seconds – watery violet against glazed aquamarine – before he slipped forward and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was soft; neither passionate nor emotionless, but she grew slack in his grasp anyway, barely responding to him with more than a rapidly fluttering heart. It was like a wordless promise: he loved her and would never leave her alone again, even if that meant forcing the selfish brunette to let Kairi go along with them. The kiss shortly deepened before he pulled away, their noses still close enough to touch – and Kairi, looking as if she had just committed sin, choked back a last sob.
"Riku…" Neither of them could comprehend more than each other's breaths and heartbeats and awkwardness. She blinked away droplets of tears that were still clinging to her eyelashes, her obvious declaration rushing from her tongue in a sheer whisper:
"I love Sora."
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a u t h o r s . note ;;
Oh wow. It took me forever to update this time. I blame school, kay? D:
I also blame my lack of emotion and shortness of this oneshot on being sick. So rawr.
Yeah, I'm aware that I completely ruined my first Kairiku-kiss ficlet with that last line. Stfu? ♥
( But I may or may not have a few more half-written. Sooo. )
ILY, reviewers & readers. (: