Chapter 6
Disclaimer: Not mine, kids.
Relena composed herself, "What of the Guardians?"
Rashid shook his head.
"Heaven help us."
Sora yawned tiredly. They'd been walking for two hours in the darkness, and it had been a long day anyway.
"Riiikuuuu," he whined, "It's late, I'm tired, you're tired, can we pleeease just set up camp and go to sleep?"
Riku stopped suddenly, and it took several moments for Sora to realize he had done so before he too stopped walking. He turned to look at his companion, cocking his head curiously.
Riku sighed, "All right, you set up; I'll make the fire and handle the food."
Sora grinned, revitalized. Anything for food.
Sora paused for a moment, only to wipe the sweat from his face and cast a Curaga spell on himself before leaping back into the mass of Heartless. Ever since the day if the disastrous Conference in Sanq, the Heartless had not ceased in making their presence known, though he was grateful that the Nobody had not made any appearance. Yet, anyway. It was just like before, when everywhere was invaded by Heartless and he'd fought battle after battle daily in a vain attempt to stem the flow. But it seemed that nothing he did was ever good enough. He remembered something he'd said in the kingdom of Hollow Bastion when he was fifteen, 'Maybe our journey meant nothing after all…' and he couldn't help but think it again. Maybe nothing we have ever done had meant anything. Maybe this will never end. Maybe I'll never get to live my life free of this destiny. He glanced at Riku. His friend looked tired; Sora suspected that he hadn't been sleeping. Sora fought back the uncharacteristic anger he felt towards life in that moment. Riku, too, was trapped by destiny. These… these Keyblades, they were a great gift and also a terrible curse. He was jerked out of his thoughts as a Shadow scored a hit across his bicep. He quickly twirled the Keyblade in his hand, striking in an upward motion. The Shadow disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, and Sora once again cast Curaga. He glanced at Riku and noted that his friend had just finished off the final Heartless.
"Jeez, I'm tired," groaned Riku. Sora glanced at him in surprise, Riku almost never mentioned when he was reaching his limits. He didn't like to admit that he had any.
Sora gulped, and gathered his courage, "Riku," he began hesitantly, "Have… have you been sleeping?"
Riku looked at him sharply, but Sora didn't back down, his own gaze hardening, "You haven't have you?" he demanded.
They glared at each other for a few moments, but Riku was the one to break the gaze, sighing and looking away, "It's fine."
"No, it's not fine. You need rest too, you're not all powerful!"
"I know that!" shouted Riku. Sora jumped in surprise, studying Riku closely as he continued, "I know," he whispered, "But there's nothing you can do to help me. It's something I have to face on my own."
"It's the nightmares again, isn't it?" Sora asked softly, his brows pulled together in concern.
Riku didn't say anything, but nodded shortly.
Sora chewed on his lower lip, knowing it was true. He couldn't help Riku. Riku had had nightmares since he was sixteen, and they had intensified until the whole event with the Chaser. After that fight, Riku had dreamt of it for a year after, and then the dreams had diminished, and eventually disappeared. Sora suspected it was because Riku had finally forgiven himself, and allowed his own heart to heal. So why, why now?
Riku seemed to sense that he was thinking too hard, and shook his head with a sad smile, "Don't worry about it, Sora. I'll fall asleep eventually."
Sora nodded, "I'm watching you."
Riku laughed, "Yeah, I know."
They sat in silence for a while, gathering their strength again. Finally Riku stood, "Come on, we can make it a few more miles before camping."
Sora nodded, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Together, they headed west.
They barely knew where they were going. The day after Kairi had disappeared, they'd felt helpless, not knowing where to start looking. A cryptic letter from their friend and fellow Keyblade Master, the King of Disney had arrived, simply telling them to head west and apologizing for not being able to accompany them.
Now, they were following the trail of Heartless and the whispers and rumors of odd events occurring towards the west. Sora was used to such wandering travels, however. He would follow his intuition and his heart; neither had ever failed him before. And they would find the answer to what was going on.
Two hours later, the sun had set and the two finally dropped their bags. Riku didn't say anything, and didn't even bother to remove his shoes before collapsing into his bedding. Sora spread his own out, too tired to even be hungry. He kicked off his shoes, and lay back. Yawning widely, he closed his eyes and felt himself drifting off. Usually they traded watching at night, but Sora knew that he'd sense any threat to them and wake up, and succumbed to his exhaustion.
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Riku was laughing as he ran across the sand, Sora close behind him. They were having their usual race, but since they'd returned home, it hadn't been the challenge it had once been. It was just something they did in pure fun. Of course, it had always been fun, but somewhere within them, there had been a serious part about it. Now, that was gone, and, while the boys were still competitive, they both knew the deep respect they had for each other. Sora, laughing, passed Riku, sand flying. They had nearly reached the finish; Sora pushed himself harder, running as fast as he could. Riku gathered his strength, pushing off and leaping hard and fast. Riku's feet hit the ground parallel to Sora's, and they passed the invisible finish together.
It was evening, and the three of them sat on the paopu tree together, watching the sun set over the water.
"I'm glad you two are finally here with me," whispered Kairi.
Sora peered at her closely, "Kairi, we've been back for months."
Riku frowned thoughtfully, "No, it's been a year."
The other two faced him surprised, "Has it really been so long?" Sora asked.
Kairi didn't face him, "I know, but you were gone for so long, and I missed you both so much…" she trailed off, her eyes sad. A hand rested on her head, and she turned in surprise to Riku. He grinned at her, ruffling her hair.
"Don't worry, you won't get rid of us so easily again."
She smiled at him, and Sora nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Kairi, we're not going anywhere."
"But, the note-"
"Don't worry about it; we'll deal with that when the time comes."
She nodded back at them, and Sora took her hand and squeezed it. The two of them sat there and smiled at one another for a long moment. Riku rolled his eyes at them, "Get a room."
They both jumped, and then flushed. Sora grinned apologetically at his taller friend, his free hand scratching the back of his head, but he didn't let go of her hand.
"I should be getting back," Sora sighed, "My mom has been insane about curfew since I got back. She wasn't this strict with me when I was twelve! Heck, she's not this strict with the twins either."
"When you were twelve, you hadn't disappeared for a year and a half and fought countless dangers," Riku pointed out.
Kairi giggled as Sora pouted, "But I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"
Riku grinned back, "I know that, and I'm fairly certain she knows that. But the truth is, she missed her baby."
Sora's pout seemed to reach new levels of pathetic, "I'm not a baby."
Riku only laughed.
Sora's face suddenly turned serious, "The note…"
Riku sighed, "We'll just keep our eyes and ears open, Sora. If the Keyblades are needed again… then… we'll do what we have to do."
Both Kairi and Sora looked away, and Riku could feel the fear rolling off of them. The fear of being separated again, the fear that one of them wouldn't come out of the next situation unscathed. They really had been so lucky before, but that luck couldn't possibly last forever.
Sora jumped from the tree, and turned back, offering his hand back to Kairi, helping her down. He then turned expectantly to Riku.
"You two go on ahead," Riku told them, looking a bit uncomfortable, "I'm gonna stay here for a bit longer."
Sora looked at him, concerned, "You could stay at my place tonight, if you want."
Riku shook his head, "No, it's fine. I just want to stay here a bit longer."
The other two looked at each other in concern. They both knew Riku hadn't been able to sleep much recently. He had vaguely mentioned dreams of the past being the reason. They also suspected that his family wasn't helping the situation. They knew Riku had to be the one to face his past, but they wished that he'd let them help. Finally, Sora nodded, and he and Kairi walked towards the boats, hand in hand.
Stretching out on the tree, Riku attempted to calm his already frazzled mind. Maybe tonight, with the waves lulling him to sleep, the dreams would stay away.
Hours later, Riku tiredly watched the sun rise. He'd only gotten a few hours of sleep, but he did feel better than he had the day before. He slid off of the tree, stretching. He wandered to the edge of the small islet, and hopped off, landing lightly in the knee deep water. The water was cool and pleasant, and he sighed, savoring the calming sensation.
"Carrier of The Road to Dawn."
Riku nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise as a voice spoke from behind him. He whirled, and to his surprise, there, standing beside the tree, was a figure in full armor.
It spoke again, "Hand over the Keyblade."