Kingdom Hearts: Slave of Love Revised
Ch.11 The Start of Something New
Sora and Kairi continued to walk aimlessly through town, not because they liked the idea of sightseeing but because they were still hopelessly lost. Of course, having been the victims of a trap, the two were a bit hesitant to ask for anyone's help and settled for finding some kind of official that they could ask for help. But, as it turned out, they hadn't come across a single one. It was as if some higher being liked to come up with ways to annoy them to no end.
"This is…" Sora muttered as he and Kairi came to a stop at an intersection. Said girl looked at him with a hint of annoyance, not directed at him but at the situation they were in.
"What is it this time?" Her question was void of any emotion since she already knew that they were going from bad to worse at a rapid pace.
The brown-haired teen groaned. "We've already been here. I recognize that stupid store anywhere," he said, pointing at a corner shop with colorful pictures of ice cream cones and balloons.
"I'm not as mad as I thought I'd be," Kairi muttered to herself, though Sora heard her clearly. She laughed bitterly, "It's like I'm not even surprised by these things anymore. We're doomed to walk this area forever."
"Hey! Don't be a pessimist," Sora scolded though his face was filled with panic, "We'll get back in no time. All we have to do is um… Find a map! We could just ask someone to tell us where we can find one."
"Do you really want to ask another shady person for help?"
Sora's head dropped. There was no use in arguing with that statement. They were in quite the hopeless situation but for some reason, he was pretty calm and strangely somewhat optimistic. He guessed it came from Kairi's pessimistic attitude but he dismissed the thought in favor of racking his brain for any sort of solution.
"Whoa! You look like you're thinking hard!"
Both teens turned at the sound of the sudden voice. Kairi raising a brow at the unknown girl standing before them while Sora's eyes lit up. He could feel tears gathering on his eyes as he took in the form of the angelic – no – godly holy apparition.
"Y-Yuffie…" Sora spoke up uncertainly, afraid that she was a mirage.
Yuffie cocked her head to the side at his odd behavior. "What's the matter Sora? Hit yourself on the head or something? You're acting really weird."
Sora almost laughed like an idiot but controlled himself though he was sure that he was grinning like an idiot. He felt a nudge on his side and turned to see Kairi looking at him in confusion.
"She's Yuffie," he introduced with the goofy grin in place, "She goes to your school."
Kairi's eyes lit up as well, hope and happiness brimming in the form of tears, "Y-You do?"
"Um… I'm Yuffie, nice to meet you…" she trailed off, feeling a bit weird about the way they were looking at her, "Is there something wrong?"
"We're lost!"
Leon picked up a small piece of paper and read over its contents once again. He had a habit of looking over things too much, something he didn't really like but, seeing as he read the building's address correctly and it matched the one he had gotten from an old man, he made it. It only took a couple of hours to find the place where Sora's friends lived, which was a pleasant surprise since he thought it would take him a lot longer, considering the fact that he was in a town he knew nothing about.
He gave the paper one last look before pocketing it and entering the small white building that stood to the side of a dull brown gate that led to several small homes. It did look like a place where a single person could charge rent. He went on to enter the building and was hit by a warm wave of air and the smell of sweat. His mouth formed into a thin line as he took in the small office that had a single reception desk standing next to a wooden door, and a few chairs stacked against the walls.
"Welcome."
Leon heard a voice from behind the reception desk but saw nobody behind it. He raised a brow but walked to the desk and, much to his shock, found a small elderly man sitting on a chair with a tired smile.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"I don't need one," Leon responded while pointing at his blue coat, which he wasn't too happy about wearing, "What I need is to talk to your employer."
The man looked to the side wearily before turning back to Leon and giving him a nervous smile, "Oh… yes he's here. Just go into that wooden door but please tell him I didn't let you pass so easily."
Leon nodded absently in response and opened the wooden door to find himself in another small room, this one considerably cooler than the previous one. The room had a few shelves stacked against the walls, leaving enough space for light to go through the windows, and two chairs placed in front of a desk. A man wearing a business suit sat behind the desk, his black hair and beard giving him a rather normal appearance.
"What are you doing in here? I didn't let you in," he sneered in an obvious sign of anger.
"I'm with Radiant Garden… I'm an officer," Leon explained as the man's eyes widened at the revelation, "To tell you the truth, I was going to give you the whole story about my higher ups catching wind of what you do here but I'm tired of all of this so I'll make it clear."
The man gulped as Leon's eyes hardened on him before, in one swift motion, he reached over the desk and gripped his tie tightly.
"Do not try anything with the people living here or…" Leon placed a hand before the man's face, fire gathering on his palm as the man began to whimper, "I'll make sure you won't live long enough to buy another cheap suit."
"Seriously, you guys are like two kids," Yuffie laughed as she led Sora and Kairi through the streets which were thankfully getting more crowded, a sign that they were going back to the plaza. The two teens took a bit of offense at the energetic girl, it wasn't their fault that neither of them had any sense of direction.
"But what were you two doing here anyway?" She asked, not having been told much apart from them being lost.
Kairi grimaced, "A friend dragged us here. We were supposed to look around the shops but she went off somewhere and left me alone. Next thing I know, I'm in the middle of nowhere and run into Sora."
"I just went to get a couple of drinks and was set off course by a crowd running my way," Sora admitted sheepishly.
Yuffie rolled her eyes with a playful smile on her face, "You guys have the worst luck. Well, it's nothing compared to your sense of direction though."
Sora and Kairi kept quiet, both sporting an annoyed expression. Yuffie had done nothing more than poke fun at them, it was just friendly teasing but it didn't change the fact that the two of them had had a bad day. But the annoyed feeling died down as they turned a corner, relief washing over them almost instantly, making them feel bad about having bad thoughts about the 'Great Yuffie, Savior of the Weak.'
They were back in the shopping district and, as if signaling that they had been lost a long time a lot of the vendors had begun to pack up their stock. Sora felt it was unfortunate since, despite his initial annoyance, he had wanted to see more of the district and what they sold, curious with how different it was to the Hollow Bastion market.
"We have to get home soon," Kairi stated as her eyes landed on Sora, seeing his disappointed expression. She rose an eyebrow at this before smiling slightly, thinking that he really acted like a kid at times. "But we'll have to come back soon though. We didn't get to enjoy the place…"
Sora turned to Kairi with an exited smile before he quickly masked it with an indifferent expression, "Well, I don't really mind."
Yuffie laughed silently at the display before placing a hand on Sora's shoulders, getting his attention. "Well, I have to get going since I have a few things to take care of… You guys can get back to school on your own, right?"
"Yeah," Kairi responded with a polite smile, "We just go straight and end up in the road taking us back."
"Alright then, I'll see you guys later," the energetic girl gave a wave before leaving.
Kairi watched her leave, making sure she was gone before glancing at Sora with a frown on her face, "You have no idea how hard it was to keep being polite to her."
Sora chuckled, "Yeah I know. But still, she helped us out."
"I know," Kairi answered with a nod, "I'm grateful to her and even think she's fun to be around with but… well, in small doses I guess."
The sun was setting as the two teens walked away from town. Sora had been a bit concerned about leaving the others behind without saying anything but Kairi had simply waved a wand in the air and placed a hand to her ear. He had almost jumped out of his skin when she had begun to speak and it wasn't until later that he found out that she had cast some sort of magic to communicate with them. Not understanding how magic really worked, he had just taken her word for it.
Radiant Garden was a lot more different than he first thought. Some things had been obviously exaggerated, like people from Hollow Bastion disappearing upon setting foot on the place, while others had failed to capture the wonder and excitement that the town gave off. He was learning something new every day and it felt like he hadn't even scratched the surface yet. It made him want to learn more about these very different people that, after spending time with them, he realized were not so bad.
"I've been wondering…" he trailed off, hands in his pockets as he glanced at the girl walking next to him. Kairi looked at him, eyebrows slightly raised in question. "Well, after seeing you do that weird 'talk-with-your-hand' thing. Do all of you use wands? I mean, I've seen first-hand that your scary officer brother can use magic with his hands."
Giggling slightly at the 'scary officer brother' bit, she shook her head. "They're mostly for students, to help us get familiar with using magic. It's not until our two last years of school that they start to show us how to use magic without a wand," she explained, watching his awed face with a hint of amusement, "Leon and the majority of officers, I think, can use magic with their hands but it's not really necessary. Some people never get the hang of it and simply settle for using a wand it they ever need to. Radiant Garden is really peaceful so magic is not being used as much as before by civilians."
Sora grinned slightly at the explanation, glad that his interaction with Kairi wasn't hostile. She was really keeping her word on treating each other better. "Then, what are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"I'm just curious about what you'll do once you're done with school," he suddenly smiled and placed both hands behind his head, "Back when I was in school, I never really thought about it."
Kairi looked at him curiously after hearing him talk about school as if it were a thing of the past, "You don't go to school anymore? How old are you?"
Sora chuckled at the confusion and waved his hands in the air after seeing her eyes narrow slightly. "I just turned sixteen but I had to leave school because we didn't have enough money to keep on going. Aqu – err, my 'guardian,'" the word felt odd on his tongue, "Had to pay for everything so I just stopped going without her knowing. She didn't have time to go pay the school herself since she worked most of the day so she just gave the money to us but we would return it later after coming up with some excuse."
He chuckled again. "I remember one time my friend, almost got us caught," he called back on the fond memory with an amused smile, "He had the money out in the open and when our guardian suddenly burst through the door, he ended up jumping towards the money and shielding it with hid body. You can guess how that looked for her, to see me with a look of panic and my friend on the ground clutching and shielding something near his midsection that she couldn't see."
Sora laughed a bit loudly this time, "She only gave us with the most surprised look before leaving." He found it harder to speak but kept going, dismissing the odd sensation on his throat, "Aqua… gave us odd looks for days. It wasn't until a couple of weeks that she told R-Roxas and I that she… didn't mind our relationship. He had the most flustered expression on his face… and then she – Aqua said… she said that… that Roxas and I –"
"Sora!" Kairi interrupted with a worried frown. It wasn't until then that Sora noticed just how blurry his vision was, "Are you okay?"
He felt something run down his cheek and wiped it away, only for it to be replaced by another thing running down his cheek. Sora suddenly sniffed and felt more tiny warm droplets running down his face.
"You're crying," Kairi pointed out with a sad expression.
"I-It's nothing," he chuckled, cheeks burning up with embarrassment. He tried to wipe the tears away but more kept on coming, for the first time he realized that he couldn't see his family anymore. The really odd family he loved.
"I just…" he went on while scolding himself for breaking down. He hated it. He hated finally being aware of the situation. He had unconsciously kept those things away from his mind and instead convinced himself that he didn't mind. That his sacrifice would keep them safe and that he should only focus on the new wondrous world he had been placed into.
Sora bit back a sob as he closed his eyes firmly and was taken taken by surprised as a warm hand clasped his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Kairi looking at him with stern eyes. For a second he thought she was going to yell at him but the thought left the second her other hand grasped his other shoulder and pulled him into an awkward embrace, their bodies barely touching.
"Don't worry, you don't have to stay here," she spoke in a soothing voice. "I can talk to Leon and you can go back home. Just don't cry anymore, ok? I'm not good with people crying because I…" she choked on her words as a lone tear slid down her face, "I… start to do it too."
Sora smiled as he pulled away from the hug, his tears finally stopping as he raised a hand and placed it on her head. "Why are you crying too?" He chuckled while using his other hand to wipe his remaining tears away, "I'm all better now, see?"
His shoulders relaxed as he took in a deep breath. "I'm not going anywhere," he affirmed himself with determined eyes, taking Kairi by surprise. "I made a deal and I can't back out just because I miss my friends. Going back to them would cause more problems in the end," he ruffled the girl's hair fondly and took a few steps away, "Let's get going, I'm feeling a lot better after that cry."
Kairi smiled and wiped her tears away, "Alright then, I have a few things to do anyway."
Sora nodded and, much to his shock, noticed that the sky was mostly dark now. "Oh no!" He cried out in panic, "All the rooms are going to be taken before I get there!"
"Don't worry," Kairi waved him off with a small smile. "I have a futon in my room you can use," she watched as a shocked expression crossed his face but spoke before he could argue against it, "It's perfectly fine, so don't argue with me. We're friends now, right? And what kind of friend would I be if I just left you without a place to sleep?"
"Fine..." Sora trailed off a bit nervously.
He and Kairi continued with their walk, both feeling glad about giving each other a chance. The two were left with big impressions of the other, Sora had seen how understanding and sensitive Kairi could be while she saw just how deeply he cared for his friends.
"Hey Kairi?"
"What is it?"
"…Thank you."
Ch.11 End
Short chapter I know, but I just wanted to get a chapter out already. I know it's been a while but I plan on updating more frequently now that I find myself with more free time.