Simple Movements

Chapter 17

-Only-

"Im just a little tired..."

Riku turned towards the darkened horizon, a ringing resonating in his ears. He was sitting near the river with Pocahontas and his parents when he noticed the peculiar sound. They all gave him a quizzical look, their expressions telling Riku that they hadn't noticed what he heard. He used a hand against the green earth to push himself up and into a standing position, his attention set on a single spot.

"Riku dear, what is it?" Dr. Aerith asked

"I don't know…I heard something out there."

Pocahontas followed his lead, but failed to notice anything. "What did it sound like?"

"It sounded like, well, an explosion."

They all got to their feet, the two doctors a step or so behind. Dr. Sephiroth placed a hand on Riku's shoulder. "We're all a little tired after today. It could just be your imagination."

"Hmm," he mused, eyes still lingering towards the horizon, "maybe you're right…"

But something inside Riku was compelling him forward. Without bothering to look back, Riku took off at a run.

"Riku!"

They shouted for him, but he didn't stop. Guided by star and moonlight, Riku awkwardly traveled through the unknown forests. He climbed down hillsides and ran up their equal lengths, nearly tripping over logs and catching the attention of spooked wildlife. Gripping a branch here and there, Riku propelled forward until the forests began to thin out. The trees became sparser and that's when something familiar tickled his nose. There was the scent of the ocean. Riku walked out from the wooded land to meet the glowing night sands of a beach. The breeze caressed the ocean surface and wafted towards Riku. It pelted his face, his hair lifting and falling back effortlessly.

"There's something out there…"

Riku sat down in the sand and propped his legs against his chest and simply waited. There wasn't a sign of anything out of the ordinary, but the feeling in his gut was telling him otherwise. All he knew was that he needed to wait. Eventually he heard the rustling sound of footsteps behind him and Pocahontas came out from the woods with a severe look of anger dotting her face.

"What were you thinking?"

She was scolding him, and Riku's parents who came just a minute after didn't seem to mind that the job was being done for them. They joined him at his side, the worry and anger quickly dissipating after realizing Riku was okay.

"I don't know what, but I just have this feeling like I need to be here."

"Might as well," Pocahontas answered, "after what Grandmother Willow told us, there's no point in trying to find help."

Her demeanor was saddened, and Riku didn't blame her in the least. After all, he couldn't imagine what it felt like for an entire country to hate you. She and her father had been exiled as the people of The New World unfairly thought it was their fault that such a deadly virus had killed so many. They were none the wiser that it was the very Council that was the true harbingers of the smallpox that ravaged her country. It was a truth that should have brought her clarity, but one that also brought with it unimaginable suffering.

"I know this is going to sound really selfish and terrible," Riku began touching a foot to Pocahontas' own, "but what if you never left here?"

She looked up sternly at first, but the glossy black eyes that stared at Riku didn't hold a single trace of malice. "We never would have met."

"And we never would have become best friends."

Pocahontas bit back the tears and placed her head against his shoulder, the canopy of silver hair flowing across her back. "That's something I will never regret."

"Me neither," he replied with a small smile, "I've felt guilty getting you involved in all of this the more I think about it. Sometimes I wish-"

"Hey, none of that," she shushed with a finger, "and don't say 'wish' out loud, you'll stupidly activate your last wish."

They laughed and their banter carried on for a while, the small group eventually succumbing to the exhaustion from the day's traveling. When Riku next opened his eyes, the skies were still dark, and the seas still whispering with each crashing wave. He looked next to him to see Pocahontas curled up against the sand and her arms nestled against her chest with sleep still looming over her. Further back his parents were nestled against a tree with their white lab coats draped over their legs as they slept. He watched all three for a minute or so before getting up. It was then he realized how thirsty he was. With nothing but sea water in front of him, Riku began walking down the length of the beach in hopes of perhaps finding a section of the river that emptied out into the sea. He trudged along, his eyes cast against the sand and the journey taking him further away from the little encampment. It was during this quiet time on his own that he started going over things in his mind. They were away from The Council, but their situation wasn't any better. Riku had no idea what was their next step. And while he was able to smile and hide it from the others, Riku was stricken with a guilt he was having a hard time swallowing. If it was just him, he could deal with it, but he had put the people he loved the most in the world through such hardships. There wasn't anything he could do to make things better, there wasn't an easy option for him to take that would remedy everything. All Riku could do was continue walking and let the thoughts consume him. He was so closed off from his surroundings Riku didn't realize that a ship was approaching from the horizon.

"Hey."

Riku stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned to the side, his heart thumping through his chest. It was a sight of gleaming silver and chocolate brown. Sora stood at the front of a beautiful metallic ship, the waters slowly churning beneath its massive frame. He looked to Riku's somewhat dumbfounded expression, those sky blue eyes boring themselves into the silver haired man. Riku finally understood what it was that was propelling him forward.

"Sora…"

He kicked hard against the sand as he flung himself towards Sora, the spiky haired man jumping from the ledge and plummeting against solid ground. Sora sped up his pace, the length between them growing smaller. Riku reached out as far as he physically could, the muscles in his arm almost stifling as his touch finally reached him. He wrapped his arms around the brunette's smaller frame, his hair cascading over them as they fell against the sand. Sora was pinned against him, his own hands snaking themselves upwards in order to touch Riku's face. Their eyes met, blue against seamfoam green. Riku lifted Sora's chin with a finger, their lips inching closer until they met with a sudden fervor. Hot tears melded into their kiss, a series of breaths and sighs escaping them both. It was Sora that finally had to pull away with his cheeks flushed a deep red.

"I'm so sorry…"

Riku wrapped an arm around his neck and brought him to his chest, a choked sob resonating from his throat. "No, don't…don't say that. I'm just…so glad you're okay."

"I need to tell you everything."

"It's okay…"

"No, I have to…I owe it to you and everyone else."

Sora's face was etched with yet another person Riku hadn't met yet. There was a strong, resilient, and sincere demeanor being expressed. There was no hostility, no angered eyes and words laced with a deep anger from the man he met balled up in the middle of the street. There wasn't the blank and confused expression from when he sat in his parents' hospital bed covered in tubes and wires jutting from every fixture on the wall. The person Riku was looking at was someone that encompassed both sides, yet spoke of something entirely different. This was the Sora that Riku longed to know.

"There's so much we need to talk about," Riku said with a hand cupping Sora's cheek.

He melted into the touch, "Not here, we need somewhere more appropriate."

"How did you know I was here?"

Sora motioned towards the silver ship. Riku saw Lilo at the helm, a smirk playing on her lips as a small bout of giggles escaped her. Her innocent reaction made Riku blush before pulling away slightly. He and Sora laughed.

"Hehe, it's cute," she replied with a toothy grin.

The pair walked back to where Pocahontas and the doctors were. After a few soft shakes they were roused from their sleep and surprise met them with Sora's presence. Pocahontas and the doctors gathered around him, all thoroughly happy to see him. Sora kindly acknowledged and welcomed their words before asking them to follow him back to the ship. It was his intention to take them along to a nearby island country he and Lilo had passed on their way to The New World, a place where they could all talk and rest.

"Lilo, say hello to the doctors," Sora said to the young girl. "They helped me through a tough time."

Drs. Sephiroth and Aerith kneeled to her level before Lilo threw an arm around the pair. Slightly taken back, they simply accepted her embrace.

"Thank you for taking care of him," she said with her voice straining, "he's important to me."

They were immortal beings, people that would live for all eternity. It was a strange sight watching the young girl on the verge of tears, thankful to the doctors for helping someone that no matter the circumstance would live forever. It was a concept that Riku didn't and couldn't understand, but it spoke of something very humane, something that made people who they were. Emotions, eternal being or not, lived in everyone. That was a fact he couldn't deny.

"I believe I owe everyone an explanation for everything you've gone through," Sora spoke after Lilo left the doctors' embrace. "It's the least I can do."

"There's a small island not far from here where we've made arrangements to stay," Lilo said, "we'll take you there, so please board the ship."

Sunlight began to peak at them by the time they were on the waters, the ship speeding along effortlessly. Dr. Sephiroth and Aerith took the opportunity to rest in the interior while Sora and Pocahontas joined the two man crew near the front of the ship. The cool, salty breeze was something that never got old for Riku and welcomed it as it swept his hair up. Pocahontas had Lilo in front of her, a hand gently clasped on her shoulder as they watched the breaking of the ocean surface. They were talking amongst themselves, the occasional word audible to Riku as he leaned against the railing. He turned his head slightly to find Sora mimicking his actions, a finger running along the length of the silver material.

"Where did you guys get a ship?" Riku asked

Sora swerved his eyes to him, a small smile on his lips. "Magic."

"I figured that," he replied with a chuckle, "is it anything like what we saw Godmother doing a while back? She used a wand to fight off a Wish Enforcer and this weird guy he summoned."

Sora moved his mouth, but no audible words came out. The next moment, a crystalized glass of water appeared in Sora's hand. Riku watched as Sora extended it to him, the silver haired man a bit hesitant to take it.

"Go on, it's just water."

Riku accepted it before taking a swig. It was the most clean tasting water he had ever had. Downing the rest of it, the glass then faded away in a series of sparkles. "Magic, right?"

He nodded, "I recited a simple scripture that created that glass of water. Magic has always existed. When the world was created by the Gods, each one imbued their teachings and words into books we call Scriptures. Normal civilization knew of them, but couldn't decipher the writings. Figuring out how to use them required time, more than any normal person had in a lifetime. So it wasn't until The Council came into being that we truly learned how to use them. With the founder an immortal member, he was able to figure out how to use the Scriptures."

Riku looked to Sora in quiet surprise. "What about our wishes?"

"What about them?"

Rubbing the last active orb on the back of his neck, he spoke. "Are they magic too?"

Sora remained silent for a few moments, his gaze cast out into the horizo. "No, they're not."

Sora removed himself from the railing and took a step towards Riku. They were a foot or so apart and Sora reached out to him. Sora's hands snaked past Riku's shoulders, parted the length of his silver hair and carefully, eyes asking for quiet permission, laid them at the base of his neck.

"This wishing system came into being long before the founder Zack created The Council. What he, and in turn, what we did was simply make adjustments to something that already existed. There was nothing holding back people from wishing for the most horrific of things they could think of. The world was a mess and it was through Zack and The Council's efforts that brought a wave of stability."

"Then, you guys simply acted as guardians," Riku mused.

Sora nodded, "We monitored the world, made sure that everything was going smoothly. Through Zack we all learned how to read the Scriptures and unlocked new magic and technologies. We've contributed a lot to the well being of humanity."

Sora was saying this, but the hard expression on his face spoke differently. He was speaking positively about the very organization he had abandoned for reasons Riku didn't know yet. He had learned the dark side of what The Council was capable of when they didn't get what they wanted. There was so much Riku didn't know, and Sora was well aware of that. "I'll tell you everything once we get to the island."

They arrived on the sandy coast of a rich green island. With everyone off the ship, Lilo stopped her chanting and the vessel, much like the glass of water Sora created for Riku, disappeared in a wave of sparkling lights. Sora had everyone follow up the beach and into the green foliage. Their walk became steeper as they ascended. After a few minutes of toiling through the canopy overhead they arrived into a clearing. Off near the ledge of a large cliff was a modern looking house that seemed way out of place. They came up to the structure and with a turn of the doorknob, walked inside.

"Please make yourselves comfortable," Sora said with wave of his hand. "There are plenty of rooms on the second floor so feel free to sleep, shower or do whatever you'd like for the time being."

The spacious house with sleek wooden floors had the crisp scent of citrus. Everyone wandered around for a few minutes taking in the environment. An open kitchen lay on one side with the living room facing large glass paneling in full view of the ocean. Pocahontas stood with a hand pressed against the window admiring the scenery. Off in the kitchen Lilo had the refrigerator door open and pulling out all manner of food. The sight forced a deep growl from his stomach that echoed like thunder. Everyone turned to him and broke out in a bout of laughter.

"Guess I'm hungry."

After a quick shower the group sat around the kitchen preparing an impromptu lunch. Deli meats and bread were spread around with an assortment of vegetables sliced up to pile into sandwiches. Lilo was not shy and piled her plate up high and began munching away. They all ate with a healthy appetite as none had much of anything in the last couple days. Within the hour the marble countertops were wiped clean. With their bellies full, all eyes seemed to fall on Sora. He didn't buckle under their gaze and breathed calmly. With his thin chest rising, Sora gathered his thoughts.

"There really is no easy way to go about this, so I will be blunt. My name is Sora Kinneas. I was born as a frail Blank Point in the country of Twilight Town. Like many, my family was wealthy through the gains of my parents' wishes. But the condition I was born with was something that no doctor or money could cure. I was given a short time to live, but through sheer will power and the support of my parents I made it to my teenage years. The way you see me now, at age 16, is the way I have been for the past 500 years."

They already had some prior knowledge, so the revelation didn't come as a surprise to Riku and Pocahontas. Drs. Sephiroth and Aerith on the other hand, were left speechless. Sora took a seat at the counter, his hands placed around a glass of milky white tea.

"Blank Points, those born without wishes, are the rarest in the world. But they are also the only ones with the ability to attain immortality at any point in their lives. The Council was founded by a Blank Point by the name of Zack Fair. He spent centuries, if not, millennia finding other Blank Points he could guide into choosing immortality and in turn, join him as those that monitored the world's wishes. At age 16, Zack Fair came to me asking me to join him…but I refused."

His fingers tightened around his drink. "I was born with the slimmest of chances for survival. I struggled throughout my life. But I made my life mean something to me. I knew that I was going to die, but I wasn't afraid. What Zack was offering me meant that I'd be betraying everything that spoke of me. If I chose immortality, all the pain I endured and all the effort my parents and I put into living just one more day would mean nothing. I couldn't do that. I looked at Zack with clear eyes, my answer set. But I was robbed of my answer."

Lilo was huddled next to him, her head resting against his side. He beamed down at her, his face trying to appear cheerful. "Through means I still don't know to this day, Zack forced the activation of my immortality. I was taken away from everything I knew and loved for the sake of joining The Council. I was told this was what I was meant to be. I would serve the world and watch it grow. I joined a small group of Blank Points led by this man in isolation, doing something I never had the desire to do. I learned many Scriptures, my powers grew, but so did the feelings building up inside of me."

"Which is why you left," Riku expressed rubbing the length of his arm with a hand, "what happened?"

Sora looked to Riku and smiled. "I realized something. Even if Blank Points were so few, they still suffered for being who they are. Ridiculed, ostracized, made to seem like they were the lowest of the low. That wasn't the type of life anybody should go through. Despite being the only ones capable of attaining immortality, they shouldn't have to suffer. I grew to hate the wishing system we were so intently monitoring. With the help of a few other Council members that I managed to convince, we abandoned our roles and left The World That Never Was and made Destiny Islands our new home."

Things were falling into place. Missing pieces of the puzzle were slowly filling in the bigger picture. Sora looked around to everyone, finding their gaze and bowing his head slightly. "Because of my past and association with The Council, I've gotten each one of you involved in something that was never your problem to begin with. I can't begin to offer enough apologies for what you've all gone through for my sake. You meant to help me, and I've only brought hardship."

Sora had gone on to explain everything he could to them, answering whatever question they had. Before they knew it, night had arrived. Their minds were full of new information and processing it would take time. But if there was anything they could all agree on was that at last, things made sense. It was crazy, almost fanatical sense, but sense nonetheless.

"Thank you for talking with us," Dr. Aerith said hugging the brunette with a motherly embrace. She patted his spikes, her green eyes shining. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Immortal or not, you'll make yourself sick."

She smiled at him, the spiky haired man returning the gesture. Dr. Aerith excused herself along with Dr. Sephiroth, the silver haired man giving his bony shoulders a soft squeeze before they made for the second floor to get some much needed rest. Lilo had fallen asleep in Pocahontas' lap and she too flitted away to put the young girl to bed. Sora and Riku were left alone in the living room, the pair sitting across from one another. Riku opened his mouth a few times, but couldn't get the words out.

"Why don't you turn in too?" Sora asked getting up from his seat. "We've all had a long day."

Riku shook his head. "There's no way I can sleep with everything you've told us."

"It's a lot to take in," Sora said quietly.

"Yeah…it is."

Sora was an immortal, former member of The Council. He abandoned the group with the stolen reincarnation spell that powered the very system the world used. The current leader Rinoa was desperate in finding Sora and taking him back and was not in any position to give up on doing so. He was betrayed by what he thought to be his ally, Luxord, and Godmother for all they knew was still being held by The Council. What was Sora's next step?

"You mentioned that the wishing system would run out of power within the year," Riku finally got out, his seafoam green eyes lifting upwards. "Which means going forward everyone would be born a Blank Point."

"That's right," Sora replied facing the darkened oceans from the living room windows, "it would mean the end of the wishing system. Everyone would be born the same."

Riku bit his bottom lip, the tips of his fingers creating indentations against the fabric of his jeans. Sora could see the uneasiness in Riku's face through the reflection on the glass. He turned to him, bent down and placed his hands on Riku's. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, really."

"You're not doing a good job of lying. Come on, you can tell me anything."

He swallowed a breath and found Sora's eyes. "You're going to live forever. One day, I'll die and be reborn as another person. By then, I'll be a Blank Point and be given the same rights as you had. I'll be given the chance to wish for immortality."

"Only if you choose to," Sora assured him with a squeeze of his hand, "That wtill be up to you. It's a choice that belongs to you and only you."

Riku could feel his lips pulling upwards. "You sound just like my mom...she said the same thing about my wishes on my 18th birthday." But that smile quickly faded. "But…"

"What?"

He cupped a hand to Sora's cheek. "I won't be the same person I am now."

And that's when Sora realized it. An eerie similarity to a situation he himself was in. Zack had kept tabs on him for many of his lifetimes. He had watched him be born, grow, die, and rejoin the world as a different person. If Riku was reborn, did that mean Sora would be doing the same thing? Would Riku one day be born into a lifetime where he would suffer? And what would Sora do? How could he justify watching over him when Zack had done the very same thing with him? Sora's heart beat hard against his ribs, the sudden onslaught of thoughts leaving his mind at odds. He leaned forward, resting his head against Riku's broad chest. His arms wrapped behind him, pulling him close. Riku rested his chin on top of his head, closing his eyes and gently rubbing Sora's back. He noticed the blue orb on Sora's neck, the light contained within pulsing like a heartbeat.

"Sora, are you okay?"

The brunette shook his head and burrowed deeper into Riku's body. "I'm just a little tired."

But something wasn't right. It felt like a dead weight in his arms, there wasn't any sign that Sora was holding himself up. With a gentle tap on the cheek, Riku tried to rouse him, but to no avail.

"Hey, Sora, what's wrong?"

Pushing himself off the couch, Riku picked Sora up without any difficulty. In his arms he could feel just how small Sora was in comparison. "Sora, please, wake up."

"He'll be okay."

The voice came from the top of the stairs. A sleepy looking Lilo stood against the railing, a yawn escaping her. "Sora's been using really strong magic since he got his memories back. I told him to be careful, but he's exhausted his power. He just needs to sleep for a while, that's all."

"Are you sure?" Riku asked

"Yeah, I'm sure."

She waved at him before heading back to her room and walked past Pocahontas. The raven haired woman watched the two. "Is there anything I can do?"

Riku shook his head. Pocahontas crept back into a room and brought out a blanket before tossing it over onto one of the couches below. "Don't stay up too late."

With an exchange of goodnights, Pocahontas went back to bed. Riku sat back down and reached for the blanket before tucking it around the pair. Sora lay comfortably in Riku's lap as the warm sensation of his breath melded into his chest. Riku didn't know how long he sat there cradling the frail looking man and running a hand through his hair. At some point, with the stars winking at them through the glass windows, Riku finally joined Sora in a much needed sleep.

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