AN/ Hey! ASASch54 covers this chapter from Yuffie's POV! Check it out maybe.
Chapter 170: The Agreement
Riku didn't get out of bed the next day. Well, he got up once to get his book, but he discovered quickly enough that reading wasn't going to go well, and had tossed the book to the floor again. After that he'd just flopped back onto bed and put the pillow over his head and tried to shut out the world—or more importantly, the thoughts that were running around in his head.
You should probably go downstairs… find something to do…. he told himself.
He pulled the pillow away from his face, staring up at the ceiling.
He didn't feel like moving, though…
His head was still pounding from the nightmare.
Of all the memories… why'd it have to be that one?
I already know she doesn't care about me. I don't need it smacked in my face like that.
Besides, I thought I was done having dreams like—
There was a knock on the door.
"Riku?"
It was Aerith.
He rolled over, quickly, fumbling for the book. He winced, though. That was his bad shoulder he'd just rolled onto. "One sec," he called, clenching his teeth to fight back the pain. He finally had the book, though, and quickly positioned himself like he'd been reading this entire time. "Yeah?"
Aerith opened the door and poked her head in.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Okay." She smiled. "I was just worried, because you hadn't come downstairs…"
"'Fraid I'd left?" he asked.
She shook her head, laughed. "No, I was just worried about you. It's one in the afternoon… that's a long time to sleep in…"
Riku shrugged. "I wasn't… exactly… sleeping…" he said, slowly.
"So, did you finish the book?" Aerith asked, after a moment.
He shook his head. "No- not- not yet," he said. "Been a little distracted."
"Right… Can I look at your shoulder?"
He nodded. Aerith came in the room, told him to sit up on the bed, and then started feeling his shoulder, having him move in various ways. He did so, mindlessly, his thoughts elsewhere.
Now that he was distracted by something other than, well—
He was beginning to hear things, from downstairs. It wasn't a surprise. Aerith was fairly quiet, probably sensing he didn't want to talk, and with his hearing the way it was…
"I bet he's just upset because he's away from Namine," Yuffie said. She was loud. No surprise.
"Heh, you're probably right!" Cid laughed. He wasn't much quieter.
"Give him a break," Leon said. "It's not like this is easy."
"What would you know, Leon?" Yuffie asked
"I'm just saying it's hard to spend a lot of time away from someone you love."
Riku tensed.
I don't get it. Why are they going on like I—
No.
No, I don't.
He didn't. He couldn't. He wouldn't allow it.
Besides, what would they know, anyway?
They didn't. They didn't know anything about him
"Are you done?" he asked Aerith, gruffly.
"Hmm? Oh!" Aerith nodded, satisfied, and stepped away from him. "Yeah. Yeah, I think you'll be okay. It's in place, and… should heal just fine. Though…" She handed him a hi-potion.
He grunted, but took it from her. It'd just be faster if he didn't argue with her. He downed the hi-potion, and then got to his feet.
"Where are you going?" Aerith asked, a little surprised.
"For a walk," he said, heading downstairs, and out of the house. He ignored everyone else. Counted his steps.
He just needed to be moving or he'd go crazy.
xxx
"Leaving so soon?"
"I- shit." Sora's Shadow backpedaled, distancing himself from Hades. His brain was spinning. "I was- no. No, actually, I-" He dusted himself off, straightening his shoulders and all around trying to compose himself. "I was looking for you. Yes. I was trying to get your attention."
"Really?" Hades didn't seem convinced.
"Yes. I, uh, wanted to ask you something."
"Me specifically?" Hades asked. "Or any chump who stumbled on your noise-making?"
"You specifically." He cleared his throat. "I'm, uh, I'm looking for someone. And I heard you might be able to help."
Hades lit up—not quite literally, but there was now a certain glint to his eyes that Sora's Shadow wasn't sure if he liked or not. "You want my help looking for someone? Well, that shouldn't be too hard to do!"
"Yeah?"
Finally.
"Yeah, sure." Hades was very nonchalant about the whole thing, making it seem like it was no big deal. "Locating people—it's a specialty, really. Ah, but, of course, my work comes with a price!"
"Ah…."
Y'know, I was sort of expecting that, to be honest…
He tentatively started poking around in Hades's head, trying not to be too obvious about it. Hades was… affiliated with the darkness. To an extent. Maybe he knew something that Sora's Shadow didn't…
"Actually, not a price, per say…" Hades said, quickly. Like he'd noticed that he'd lost his audience and was doing his best to make up for it. "Think of it as a favor. I'm doing you a favor, so it's only natural you owe me one in return—"
"Name it." He folded his arms across his chest. It wouldn't hurt to see what Hades's terms were. And he could still probe Hades's mind while he was at it.
"How would you feel about entering a tournament, hmm?" Hades asked. Sora's Shadow quickly moved before Hades could put an arm around him. He didn't want to test his odd plane of existence. At least Hades got the point and didn't try again. "It's something of a… game," he continued, as if nothing had happened. "You seem like someone who likes games."
"Mmm…"
Not necessarily these sort of games.
"Anyway, there's this guy," Hades continued. "Hercules. He's something of a big deal—a hero and stuff—but he's really just a thorn in my side. And he'll be in the games, too. Your job? To fight him, and kill him!"
All that effort just for—
He frowned.
"Why do I have to go through that tournament, though?" he asked.
That seems awfully roundabout. And dumb.
"I mean, wouldn't it just be easier to have me kill him flat out and not in the games?"
"Easier? Sure!" Hades laughed. "But easy isn't what I'm going for. No. It needs to look like… an accident! I can't be held responsible for an over-eager warrior, if you get what I mean."
"Oh." Yeah. He got it. "Right…" He scratched his ear, grimacing. "Yeah, uhm, I don't know if I'm the man for the job, though. I mean, I'd love to, but I—" He paused, eyes going wide.
Aha!
He'd found something juicy in Hades's mind.
"Juicy" meaning information on Maleficent, of course.
"Tell you what," he said. "I'll do it for you. As soon as I find that guy I'm looking for. He's a good friend of mine, and he should be able to help me out." He fought back the grimace that was threatening to form on his face and the bile that rose in his throat. Sora? His friend? Ugh. But for the purpose of convincing Hades, he needed to lie about that. "I'll have a better chance against this Hercules guy if we team up, right? I mean, he's obviously pretty strong if you're having so much trouble getting rid of him."
Hades nodded. From the looks of it, he liked the sounds of this idea.
"Also, I think I know how to make it look like an accident," Sora's Shadow added.
That got him.
"Do you now?" Hades asked.
"Yeah! And I'm fairly confident it'll work!" He grinned, feeling rather confident. This was going well. "Of course, again, I gotta find this guy first."
"Sure thing, sure thing!" Hades said. "How exactly do you want my help? Do you want me to track him down for you, lend you a tracking hound—I've got a few of those—maybe give you a general idea of where he could be, keep an eye out for him—"
"I need information," Sora's Shadow said. No game playing right now. No tricks. He was just going to give it to Hades outright. "What do you know about Maleficent?"
"Maleficent? That witch? Pah! Promises us the moon, then blames us when her plans fail!" Hades flared red with anger, and he pounded his fist against the wall, causing another portion of the already-damaged-ceiling to collapse. He didn't seem to notice. "I mean it's not like it's our fault the stupid Keyblade brat was too much of a goody-two-shoes to agree to our plan. Not to mention that he wasn't suited to handle the darkness at all! How'd he even end up involved in it, anyway?"
"A fluke," Sora's Shadow answered, on reflex.
"Must've been!" Hades rubbed his head, took a breath, calming himself down again. "But what does Maleficent got to do with your friend?"
"Ahh… my friend's the Keyblade brat." Again, no tricks right now. Besides, manipulation worked best with truths and half-truths.
"Hmm, not surprised," Hades said. "You look enough like him… Say! You look pretty darkness-oriented yourself, too!"
"Yeah. You have no idea."
I don't have time for this…
"But, anyway, I need to get him away from her—"
"Now, now, wait a minute!" Hades interrupted, anger flashing across his face. "You said your 'friend' would be able to help you! If your friend is the Keyblade brat then how is that going to work? We both agreed he's too much of a good-doer to even think about hurting Hercules!"
"I know! I know." Sora's Shadow held up his hand in defense. "But that's the point." He tried to keep the smirk off his face. "He's not supposed to look like he can hurt Hercules. No one will be expecting it, then. So, when, say… the darkness lashes out from him all of a sudden… and he can't control it… or contain it… and say it… lashes out and oops." He grinned now. "Buh-bye Hercules."
"And you can make that happen?"
He nodded. "Trust me. I've got a way with Sora. I can make that happen—at worst, it requires a little acting on my part. I could play the part of his darkness, don't you think? His darkness, lashing out, taking form against his will and blindly attacking anyone and anything it its path." He smirked. "Don't tell me this isn't convincing."
Hades stared at him for a long moment, but then nodded. "You know… you may be onto something."
"Exactly. I just have to find Sora first."
"You said… ah, Maleficent had him?"
He nodded.
"Then we may have a bigger problem than Hercules here." Hades grinded a fist into his palm, clearly annoyed. It seemed Maleficent and annoyed went hand in hand. "Even if the Keyblade brat—Sora, did you say his name was? Well, whatever. Even if he wasn't much of a good vessel for the darkness, Maleficent knew what she was doing. And if she's pulling the strings for that kid again—"
"So we both agree that Maleficent having Sora is a bad idea?" Sora's Shadow asked, grinning. Oh, yes, things were going good.
Better than I expected them to, actually.
"Agreed, yes, yes," Hades said, impatiently. "Now, how do you plan on getting him back?"
"I need to find Maleficent first. Do you have any ideas? Base of operations? Where she might head next? How powerful is she?" He couldn't help the questions from spewing from his mouth. Everything he'd been needing to know was right in front of him. "Can I take her? What's she like? Am I better off grabbing Sora and—"
"Whoa whoa, slow down there! One question at a time!"
Sora's Shadow sighed.
"Base of operations?"
"She still in Hollow Bastion?" Hades asked.
Sora's Shadow shook his head.
"No. I've checked. About ten times."
Hades shrugged. "Then I don't know."
"Where might she head next? Is she planning anything? Was she planning anything?" He wasn't sure what to ask. "Is she—I don't know!—plotting revenger or something?"
It seemed stupid, but the thought was prevalent in Hades's mind, so…
"Well if she had the Keyblade brat to do it… hmm…" Hades tapped a finger against his chin, thinking. "Y'know it seems like one of those ridiculous things she would do."
Okay. A lead is better than nothing.
"Who all was working with you?" Sora's Shadow asked.
"Let's see… there was that slimy vizier from Agrabah, and that good-for-nothing Captain Hook from Neverland." Hades nodded. "Everyone else is dead."
"You sure?"
"I'm the Lord of the Dead! OF COURSE I'M SURE!" Hades flared red again, but it only lasted a few seconds.
"Right. Right," Sora's Shadow said. "Sorry. I forgot. You're just so easy to talk to that it slips my mind—the fact that you're a god and-"
"Cut the flattery kid."
Sora's Shadow nodded, sharply.
"Yessir!" he said. "You think I should look there for her? Him. Both of them."
"Probably," Hades replied. "And if she shows up around here, I'll, uh, let you know."
"Great!" He broke into a grin. "I'll be back as soon as I find him!"
xxx
Riku made his way around Hollow Bastion at a brisk pace, not really heading anywhere in particular. Just walking was fine. It kept his mind… sort of distracted. He didn't want to think about Namine. He didn't want to think about her. And if the walking wasn't enough, then at least he could count his steps and keep himself further distracted.
Just three more days, he told himself. Three more days and then everything can go back to normal.
I can go back to Castle Oblivion, and—
Oh, but then he'd have to worry about what was causing Namine's meltdowns again. He wasn't looking forward to that…
He almost wished all he had to worry about was Saix again. Even seeing L would be a pleasure—he'd still try and shove his blade through her gut, but it would be a pleasure. Something he was used to. Something he didn't mind doing all that much.
Dealing with the Rebellion was easy. All he had to do was fight.
Dealing with Namine's meltdowns…?
That was—
Riku paused, going stiff. He thought he'd heard something. Footsteps. He'd definitely heard footsteps.
He glanced around, but didn't see anyone. Curious, and glad for a distraction, he did a thorough search of the area, checking behind every corner and every crate. From the looks of it, no one was around.
I'm… hearing things, then? he thought, a little worried. His ears had never lied to him before…
But unless the someone who'd been following him was hiding up on the rooftops, they didn't exist.
I'm… apparently hearing things…
That wasn't a comforting thought.
He shook his head, and started walking again. He didn't get far before a group of Heartless popped up. There were three Neoshadows, and then two flying yellow heartless that he didn't recognize. Or maybe he recognized him. He wasn't sure. He didn't care. He went after the Neoshadows first.
That turned out to be a bad idea. He'd finished off one of the Neoshadows—being mindful his shoulder while doing so—when the distinct and all-too-familiar sound of lightning striking the ground reached his ears. He tensed. The yellow ones could control lightning.
Kill the yellow ones first! Namine'd warned him.
He cursed himself for not remembering the warning sooner, and turned his attention immediately to the nearest yellow one. He wasn't quick enough. He'd stood still too long. The second bolt of lightning struck him.
It was like his heart stopped.
Riku stumbled forward, thoughts blurring, before his knees gave way beneath him and he crumpled to the ground. Just his luck, he landed on the bad shoulder. If all air hadn't left his lungs, he would've screamed.
Or maybe he did scream… he'd lost all touch with his surroundings. Everything was just a blur of white, Larxene's stupid laugh ringing in his ears.
"…iku! Ri…"
He blinked a few times, as if that would clear anything up for him.
"…an you walk?"
"Wha-"
"Riku!"
It was Yuffie, shaking him impatiently.
"I, uh-" he stammered, trying to sit up.
"The Heartless are gone," Yuffie told him. "But I can't carry you! Can you walk or not?"
He stared at her, having a little trouble processing everything. Lightning always did that to him. But he was on the ground… in a lot of pain… the Heartless were gone… Yuffie'd saved him… But where had she even come from? She hadn't been here before…
"Were you… following me?" he asked, slowly.
"Yes! Now come on!" She pulled him up, throwing one of his arms over her shoulder. They got up, shakingly, Yuffie grabbing her weapon as she did so. Of course, since she had to carry that, she could only support Riku so well.
"Oh… so that's why I heard footsteps…" he muttered, a little grateful.
Why was he so out of it, though? His brain was foggy. Foggy and… it hurt a little. All of him hurt, though. It was the lightning, most likely. What else would it be?
"You shouldn't have heard me," Yuffie mumbled, but dragged him forward. "Come on. We should probably have Aerith look at you."
Riku gasped with shock and pain at his first step. The way his skin pulled when he moved hurt. He clutched his chest, where it hurt the most, and was a little surprised to feel blood.
"The Neoshadows got you while you were down," Yuffie explained, urging him to continue walking. "But that shouldn't stop you from moving. Let's go!"
Riku nodded, and they made their way back to Aerith's house.