Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
Author's Note: A big thanks to chiiaroscuro for being my beta. You can all thank her for this being easier to read.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Despite the fact that being human was perfectly fine for him (considering how badly he usually did in animal bodies at first) Riku was envying the fact his friends had fur. For one thing, the mosquitoes had an easier time getting at his skin than theirs. They were faster than him like this, and did more damage than he. But when he woke up only a day away from the man village they had been slowly been heading to, he found a good reason to be human while his friends were animals.
He could go into a river for a morning swim, having taken off his clothes and soak there. In the humid heat of the jungle's misty morning, he sat beneath the waterfall, shadowed by two trees, their oval leaves rustling together in a small breeze that died almost instantly. He was cool, almost cold in the shadows. The only hair he had to worry about could be tied back. And in this weather, for once Riku did, lazily swimming back to shore, and shuffling through pockets for that one tie he carried around. He ignored Sora's amusement, a smug smile lifting his lips.
"It's so nice to be able to wash up in the morning," he exclaimed, grinning as Kairi and Sora both glanced sharply at him. "And so easy to dry off."
Their looks descended into glares. They had found out just the day before that as easy as Bagheera and Baloo made it look, even shaking did not get rid of all the water, and it would stick under the fur, melting into an itch and didn't cool them down for long as they tried to shake all of it off. Apparently they didn't have the hang of it. Sora especially didn't like the water, and Riku had to wonder how much of that was instinct. Sora usually loved the water.
Kairi's ears twitched and she turned her head away from him. He waited, his own eyes scanning the trees around them as he dressed. Then Kairi glanced back at him. "Mowgli is coming."
"Which means the other two aren't far behind either," Riku commented, tugging his hair into a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck with the elastic tie. Maybe he did need to cut it, for the sake of when he fought if for no other reason.
"He does need watching," Sora pointed out, flopping down on the riverbank. "Seriously, the only person I've seen get into more trouble..."
"Would be us. People, not person – you've definitely been in just as many accidents as me. And we did fine by ourselves, didn't we?" He realized his tone was a little gruff, but continued on. "And damnit, we learned from our mistakes and at least the trouble we got into was creative! He just gets into the same trouble, getting nearly kidnapped by some creature or another, or just being plain stupid! At least we had some survival instincts!"
There was a soft growl from behind them, and the clatter of familiar small feet, running away. Riku turned, suddenly regretting how loud he had been – though he didn't regret the words; they were true. Bagheera snarled at him once more before following Baloo who was shouting, "Mowgli! Come back! You'll get eaten!"
"We should probably go look for him," Sora suggested, already standing again. Kairi followed suit but Riku stood stiff-legged and stubborn.
"Why? Look, I'm sorry the kid ran off, but he's not our business. We're running out of time. The more time we waste, the more ground the Lost Company gains. Baloo and Bagheera can take care of Mowgli – they can face Heartless, what's one lousy tiger?" Without waiting for an answer, Riku stomped off in the opposite direction, unsure if he was angrier with Mowgli, his friends... or most likely, himself.
He knew Kairi was at least disappointed with him and Sora was understanding – but still wishing they had helped Mowgli more. It was nearing nightfall when they finally spoke again, and surprisingly Sora didn't bring up anything about Mowgli. "Hey Kairi, do you think that Nobody was telling the truth?"
Riku glanced sidelong at the red wolf as they walked through the underbrush. She had stumbled at the question and was studying the trees a moment before finally meeting their eyes. "I don't know."
"What do you feel?" Riku asked softly. In these cases their instincts were all they had to go on. And Kairi's instincts were better than most anyone's.
"It makes sense. I mean, every one of the Princesses of Heart either was or would become a Princess. Makes sense I would have been born into a similar position, if not quite the same," Kairi answered softly.
Riku exchanged a grim glance with Sora before repeating, "What do you feel?"
Kairi stopped, and so did they. He looked at her, cocking his head and being understanding. As understanding as he could be when he didn't get told he had unexpected family members. Then again, he knew all of his family members. So maybe he and Sora couldn't understand – but they could and would be there to hear her out.
She sighed, shaking her head, ears pinned back. "I feel... I feel like it should be a lie because... wouldn't he have recognized me? But I don't really think it is anymore. The more I think about it, the more a part of me just knows it's true."
"Ten years by the time he saw you... No one looks the same as they were as a child," Sora said sympathetically.
Riku, who had spent more time with DiZ, snorted and said not unkindly, "He was obsessed. Even if he recognized you it would have meant nothing to him."
He saw the ears flatten and Sora's reproachful look. His glance shifted away and he quickly amended, "Maybe at the end – he was better then. But it was a bit late for apologies then."
"Right," Kairi said, her smile shaky and uncertain. He hated that his words had done that and felt a bit lost, looking toward Sora who bumped his hand with his head before moving over to Kairi.
The boy in a feline's body prowled around Kairi, nudging the smaller animal. "Hey. Magic practice?"
And like that, there was a flicker of light back in Kairi's eyes, glowing brightly. "Sure. I've been thinking about trying out the other restoration type spells – Esuna was a big one. None of us get poisoned often, but we never know what we'll run in to. And I'm trying to figure out a way to make offensive barriers – a wall or a dome that spreads over people and sends out energy. I don't think it could be held long without a source... But I was kind of looking into that as well. Gems that can hold magic. If our clothes can carry enchantments, then things can hold spells – especially the stones that already have affinities for them."
Riku blinked, staring a bit, but wasn't surprised, not really. They had all done a lot of thinking last time in Radiant Garden, found new things to do. That, the enchantments, was a bit like her idea – but hers seemed quicker. And... Possibly highly fruitful, in more ways than one. He tucked the idea in the back of his mind, the part of his mind that had driven him to researching enchantments. Potions and Elixirs were well and good but not everyone could use magic. It would be a wonderful resource if they could sell gems or stones or anything that had spells in them, just one or two of each kind... They would have enough munny to be self-sufficient forever. They could take care of each other and the rest of the universe could leave them well enough alone.
Though, he hadn't really minded the attention. He had been getting close to Cloud, enjoying the man's quiet understanding sometimes, but with that same almost nervous tension underneath that Riku sometimes felt, like there was always something more he should or could be doing for his friends. Leon didn't have it, not in the same way – maybe he once had, but there was a confidence to Leon's graceful stride and a calm command in his eyes that Cloud didn't quite have – and Riku surely didn't. Sora was closer to that than he was. Except Sora would never think of commanding, ever.
He leaned against a tree as they came into a clearing, willing to let the other two spar for now. His spells were more limited, though he was surely working on that. It was funny – Sora was their powerhouse, Kairi their offensive healer, and he pure muscle with just a bit of emergency healing to back him up. Potions and Hi-Potions – which he was sure he could do now, though it was slow going still – and someday maybe Mega-Potions and X-Potions. X-Potions... Sora had some. He had nearly kissed his boyfriend breathless when he had pulled one out before getting to this jungle world. It was easier to conjure after he had already felt it, had it tingle into his blood, calming his veins and stitching him together. He wouldn't be able to conjure it yet, but it was a dream that didn't seem so impossible now.
Plus the stock of X-Potions would be useful. Even if the costs had nearly made him choke, and he had choked more when he realized Sora had never really counted his munny... and when he did pull it out, it was a lot more than Riku had thought. He had known Sora had a lot of munny... but he hadn't known it was that much. And he had called what he spent on the X-Potions a large portion – so how much had he had before?
He tuned in to hear Kairi chatting as she sent spinning globes of light at an astonishingly agile Sora who retaliated with waves of ice cold water – literally, he was mixing Blizzaga with... it had to be at least Watera now, Riku was startled to realize.
"The theory with synthesizing items isn't really that different than imbuing magic into something. I bet eventually I can combine the two – synthesize something and give it different properties than it would normal have. I mean, we have Fira Bangles – but what if we could make Acrisius but also imbue it with magic – or have some spells that could be set to go off if we were in bad shape or there were too many enemies." She was nearly babbling her excitement and it made Riku almost dizzy to think of how someone could accomplish that – to put those kind of things together, with those limitations and setting them off... it would take a special kind of armor and accessories that they didn't yet have... but maybe they could learn to make it.
He wanted that future. Wanted it more than he could ever tell them. He loved their adventure now – but because he was with them. He would gladly settle down - as much as he thought any of them could really settle down now with their instincts screaming at them to fight – as long as they were there with him. A nice house for the three of them – or four, leave room for another because he was practical enough to realize Kairi might eventually want to find someone. But he was possessive enough of them both to want them all under the same roof within easy reach.
"Kairi... I don't understand half of the things you'd need to do for that, but I'll try and help," Sora said earnestly, but there was a sly grin on his face. "First though – you should learn some basic magic defense."
And it was with those words that Sora switched and simultaneously – which was likely extremely dangerous, at least with Water and Blizzard he had done them one after another – called Thunder from above and Earth from below, trapping Kairi between them – she chose to jump away from the shaking, quaking ground, and was caught by the lightning bolts above. She yelped – but Riku knew she would survive and was paying more careful attention to Sora, who had shuddered a moment, then swayed before steadying, all before Kairi had even hit the ground again. There was a triumphant gleam there, and Riku realized all over again Sora hadn't been just healing while they were in Radiant Garden.
Two Keyblades, two spells – related, maybe, except Sora didn't have two Keyblades in this form and the spells drained power while the Keyblades, though depending on a certain kind of power being there, never drained them a bit. His friends were growing more powerful – but it was okay. He was growing too, and in his research for enchantments he had found other spells he hoped to try out – maybe even now. "So, can anyone join or is this just a party for animals?"
"I'm sure we can make an exception this once," Sora said, eyes dancing with laughter. Riku stepped forward – and bounded to one side at the Light Circle that appeared beneath him, ducking beneath the circle of fire aimed his way. He had to be quick with the spell. He knew Sora had once had something similar, but he couldn't grasp that yet, frustrated at how Sora could so automatically do it, but then, he had never done this.
"Slow!" He snapped sharply, Slender Thorn aiming the spell at the two of them. Sora and Kairi scattered, but not fast enough, their limbs suddenly slower and Riku grinned. "I win."
It was true – in a real battle, the spell would have been enough to destroy any enemy – they would be too slowed down to block, to defend. But he waited, Slender Thorn disappearing and arms crossed over his broad chest as the spell wore off.
He shouldn't have been surprised when Sora immediately pounced – but the purr was unexpected and the grin on his face and in his eyes made Riku desperately wish for them to be human. "That was amazing, Riku! Why haven't you used that before?"
Kairi's gentle laughter drifted closer until she was nudging Sora's heavy feline body off of him. The boy in a jaguar's body lazily leapt into the tree above, the energy that was always vibrating through his friend having new ways to get out now. He slowly rose to his feet, grinning smugly. "I was waiting for the opportune moment."
Which actually meant he hadn't known if it would work yet and Kairi's sidelong glance said she thought the same – but Sora just laughed and leapt away. "Let's move on, and we can see if it works as well on Heartless!"
Actually, it was Nobodies they met next; some as sinewy as the snake Kairi had run into, though with little feelers creeping up from under the scales. Sora called them Bugs. Kairi called them creepy, and he called them dead because Slow did work on them – though it drained more of his magic than he had thought and he tucked the spell away. He could cast it, but it was draining on more than a couple of enemies – it hadn't been that draining on Sora and Kairi, but he half suspected that was because they hadn't fought it as much, stunned and awed and willing to test it out with the curiosity that he always worried would someday swallow them up into something they couldn't handle.
Then there was Shere Khan. It was unexpected, and sudden, when Sora stopped dead, Kairi's hackles raised and he stopped at those signals to see a tiger lunging for Mowgli.
The spell was out of his hand before he knew it. Mid-leap, Shere Khan slowed – but Mowgli was still frozen, and the spell was useless if the boy didn't move. He had forgotten the Slow spell wasn't just of advantage to him, but to his allies, and Sora was moving only moments after the spell left his hand, following it, lunging – not at the slowed tiger, but at Mowgli beneath his claws. In near panic, Riku tried to strengthen the spell, not wanting it to break just as Sora somehow managed to spin the boy up, with teeth that were gentle, but still too sharp, leaving marks in the boys arm.
But Mowgli still had presence of mind to grab on as Sora barely slowed. Shere Khan's paws slowly hit the dirt as Kairi lunged forward and Riku felt the spell break under the struggling power of Shere Khan. As the tiger was released from the spell he jerked his head up to glare with yellow eyes. Riku gritted his teeth as Heartless suddenly began to appear. There was always someone who thought they could call the Heartless without being eaten by them. He should know. He had been one of them.
Shere Khan had no time to focus on Riku as the one who had hit him with the spell – Kairi had just hit him, her small wolf body bowling them both over, Keyblade in her teeth. Riku ran forward to help – and found himself wading through Heartless. Frustrated, he wished for Sora's Thundaga spell that would have cleared these out real quick. Instead he was forced to go through them, glimpsing with shock a new type of Heartless, long and cylinder in shape, and floating in the air, a yellow eye on either side of a diamond sharp point the only hint as to where the front was.
He found out a moment later that the point was as sharp as it looked as it dove into him with surprising speed. He hissed at the blood he could feel flowing and dispatched the Heartless with a couple of blows from Slender Thorns. More Heartless converged on him and he send out a flurry of Dark Auras to give him a moment to take a Hi-Potion, feeling the wound sealing up under its power, enough that it wouldn't cause him any problems.
Then thoughts were gone in the adrenaline rush of battle, moving by habit and instinct, with not thought as to what his blade was going through except that it was dark and a Heartless. He could have closed his eyes and still felt their darkness, seeping into the earth, and into his mind, still scrabbling for a hold on him that Sora and Kairi had made sure no one would ever have. He trusted in them more than he would ever trust in darkness again
He realized the battle was nearly over when he was jerked back to paying attention beyond the battle at Kairi's high pitched shriek of rage that turned into a howl. He absently destroyed another Heartless as he turned, eyes widening at the sight of the big bear laying still on the ground and Mowgli attacking Shere Khan with a fiery branch – which might have worked on a normal tiger, but Shere Khan held the power of darkness and batted the boy away easily, haunches gathered to jump after him – when Kairi was there, Keyblade half forgotten as she went for his throat.
He could only stare in horrified surprise as Kairi ripped the tiger's throat out, Light Flares also being sent in a deluge at the body of the tiger. It was Sora who pulled her off, teeth at the scruff of her neck as she stood growling over the body of the tiger.
He took a step forward – and saw Sora glancing at him, eyes widening in warning and surprise. It was all he needed to roll away and come up, cleaving the last Heartless in two, watching it slink into dark dust and a heart float up. Sighing, he glanced around and stepped toward Mowgli who was lying stunned on the ground. "Come on. Let's check on your friends."
He offered a hand, and his lips curled up into a half smile at the flash of anger he saw in Mowgli's eyes... but the boy took his hand anyway, recognizing his own need for help. He was growing up – which would be disappointing to his guardians... or his one living one.
After a tearful reunion when everyone realized Baloo was alive, they were all walking together again. But not for long, Riku had a feeling, as they heard gentle, human singing in the air. He glanced sideways at the enchanted expression on Mowgli's face and exchanged grins with his friends as they crept closer.
"A pretty face and even nicer words can turn anyone from the path they thought they belonged on," Kairi said quietly as Baloo tried to urge Mowgli back. She glanced aside at him, then toward Sora. Riku pursed his lips in an urge not to smile foolishly at the way Sora looked back at him. It had been as much actions as words, but it had been words and a silly face that had brought him home.
"He'll be fine," Sora assured the panther and bear as Mowgli picked up the jar. Baloo was looking forlorn and Riku glanced back at Mowgli – and his eyes widened as the jar began to glow. Kairi turned to look and he glanced at her, wondering if she could see it now. She looked at him, a question in her eyes and he waved one hand, smirking as Radiant Spirit came to her mouth. This time he heard the click – but there were no clouds, just a hint of sunlight over bright water.
"I guess we're out of here," Sora said, grinning as if Kairi had just won the Hades' Cup. "Nice job, Kairi."
Riku was glad to be going back to the gummi ship – if nothing else, he was missing the blush he knew should be on Kairi's face. "I'll race you two there."
"Sure, on thr- Hey!" Before Sora could finish, Riku had bolted, sprinting toward the transport circle they had passed on the way here. There was no way he could get there before them – but there was no harm in trying.
"I still can feel my teeth sinking into his throat," Kairi admitted as they lay on their beds, thankfully human and in such a mix of limbs Riku was surprised Kairi had slapped one of them by now. They had simply fallen onto their beds and each other and Riku was glad for it. Though he was getting his hand hit quite often – by Sora, who looked more amused than irritated as he slapped Riku's hand away from a zipper.
Riku didn't even mean to do it – they were there, and he was enjoying touching. It wasn't his fault that the zippers on Sora's clothes were too tempting and kept him from more skin. Absently unzipping a pocket and hooking a finger over the accessory trinket inside, he said, "Does it bother you? You were wolf, it is kind of instinct."
"I didn't do that when I was a lion," Kairi said quietly. "I ate bugs and that carcass Sora had found for us, but I never killed with my teeth and claws. But here... I hunted rodents. They didn't speak, but they could have and I just hunted. Like... Like some common animal."
"Um... I didn't find it, Kairi. I hunted it," Sora said, sounding sheepish. Riku had to crane his head to catch a look at the faint blush on Sora's cheeks. He felt Kairi tense where his head lay on her stomach. Sora, who had lounged out as if he was still a great big cat, was half on top of both of them, limbs askew, and Riku could feel the sudden tension in him as well. He laid a hand on Sora's leg, just keeping it there, silent support.
"You... but the animals were sentient," she said, utterly still. He tensed himself, remembering asking that same question. And he hadn't seen a problem with it – it was the way on that world. But there was some horror in Kairi's voice and he curled his hand around Sora's leg, keeping him from shifting away.
"It was the way it was – the lions hunted," Riku pointed out.
Kairi shook her head and she looked at him, avoiding looking at Sora. "We aren't animals."
"We are when we're in their bodies. You ate grass quickly enough when you were a deer," Sora muttered. Despite Riku's hand on his leg, he rolled away from them; curling up with a tension in his back Riku only wished was anger.
"Grass can't speak," Kairi said, an edge to her voice.
"Nobodies speak," Sora said very quietly and Kairi stiffened. Sighing, Riku sat up.
"Sora's right, Kairi. It's all instinct. The animals accept it. Yes, they can speak but they are prey. I hunted too." He met her gaze levelly and Kairi bit her lip, still turned away.
"I'm sorry," she murmured quietly. "I don't want to fight with you, Sora. I just... I couldn't do it."
"Not unless someone was in danger," Riku muttered and she glanced at him, stricken.
Sora, either not hearing or pretending not to, shrugged and glanced back at her, his eyes dark with emotional distress. "I wouldn't want you to Kairi. I never asked you to help, I just... wanted you to know it's not that bad. We may not have been born animals, but we are animals when we enter those worlds, and the instincts are there to guide us. If we don't listen. We'll be out of place... or dead."
Riku saw Sora's eyes go distant and he frowned, eyeing his boyfriend. That sounded like the voice of experience there and since he wasn't dead, something else must have happened. He would dig at it deeper, when everyone was less tense. Off hand he said, "I've kidnapped people. I've killed. And to protect either of you, I'd kill anything and anyone. Dark, light, it doesn't matter if you two are in danger. Your sphere is just a bit larger than mine Kairi – and more selective in whom you killed. Shere Khan was only a step away from being a Heartless. I'm surprised he left a body at all and didn't just turn into darkness."
Both of them were silent at that, shock on Sora's face – though none on Kairi's, as if she knew too well that Riku would do absolutely anything for them. He glanced at Sora, waiting for it to sink in and saw Sora's gaze grow thoughtful – but there was no censure there. That was what he had been worried about. Sora didn't mind, and that was all that was important – then again, Riku still remembered the bloody body of Sephiroth, feathers everywhere. Sure, Sephiroth had survived, but Sora had the urge there too.
"We need a different topic," Sora announced when the silence went on too long. "I mean, jeez Kairi, I expect the doom and gloom from Riku, but you're better than that!"
Riku scowled, and Kairi giggled at his expression. He had to fight not to make it into a smirk upon seeing her happier. As long as they were happy and safe, that was what mattered.
The next world... it wasn't like anything Riku had seen before. It didn't seem like a world filled with darkness, but it did seem a bit dark, of a more ordinary kind. The city where their gummi ship said was the closest circle was larger than any city Riku had seen – even what he imagined Radiant Garden must have been like at full strength. And unlike most cities they had seen... this one wasn't pretty. It was grimy looking, with buildings that rose up out of the bottom of the city, all steel colored and forbidding. He curled his lips, because while he had seen cities before, being a born and bred island boy made it easy to choke on the polluted air that most cities seemed to give off in some form or another.
So when they transported down into some back alley in what Riku had a bad feeling was the wrong side of town, he was expected the air to smell bad and for Kairi's wrinkled nose. He wasn't expecting Sora to stumble and nearly go to his knees before Riku provided a steady source of support. "Sora?"
He studied his boyfriend, who didn't look bad off, more... shocked. And blinking rapidly, but not in any way looking unhappy. "Whoa. I... I've never really felt magic from the outside. Not really. Sometimes on my clothes I can feel it but here... It's like feeling Thunder and Fire all around. This city... it's powered by magic."
Riku blinked at Kairi, who had her eyes closed, her breathing deep – and then she gasped too. "He's right. Oh... It's... There's magic everywhere."
"Can you two move? Will this distract you?" he asked sharply, suddenly afraid he would have to leave them on the ship – or Sora at least. Kairi seemed to have to concentrate to feel it. He couldn't risk dragging Sora around if the boy wasn't going to be all there.
Sora shook his head as if to clear it. "I'll be alright. It's just... kinda odd. And weird but... it's not a bad weird. Doesn't feel bad. I'm surprised the place looks so bad with all the magic they're using."
Riku shrugged, not wanting to say the words that came to mind – no matter what kind of power was used, it would be used for the good of those who wielded it first, and trickle down to those below after. Likely with magic so in use, people higher up on the food chain were living in luxury while people in the area they had landed in... Well, he could guess. "Let's get moving."
The city wasn't grimy, as he had first thought. It was clean... just nothing besides the roads were taken care of. The houses and buildings were old and practically falling apart. Animals he saw were half starved and either eyed each other as if to attack and eat, or them as if they would give up food. The way Sora kept twitching at each pathetic glance, he was going to bet half their munny they didn't have any food left by the time this world was closed.
"Odd. I wonder why it's like this? The air smells polluted, but everything looks clean..." Kairi murmured, looking around thoughtfully.
"Might not be this part of the city that's causing the pollution," Riku muttered as they turned a corner. All three of them froze at the distant human shapes at the other end of the street. "We could ask them, of course."
They were met part way there, two men and a bunch of children gathering curiously in their path. One man was dressed in a red cloak, hints of black underneath when it fluttered as he walked. Riku glanced toward Sora on his left at a movement from the boy and saw him regarding the dark haired man with his crimson cloak oddly. Riku shrugged, figuring he would ask later. The other man, with a gun casually leaning against his shoulder, was the one Riku cared about.
Despite the carefree grin, the man had a gun... even if the cowboy hat made him look a bit... different. Long coat that probably held a lot of hidden pockets inside, and didn't hide the graceful movements that Riku had seen often enough to know it was grace from battle, not from dancing... Though Sora had proved they could be translated one to another.
"Haven't seen you three around here. Where'd you come from?" the man said cheerfully, and Riku expected Sora to jump in with the usual excuse that Riku couldn't believe most people just took for granted, that they didn't question his cheerful, all too true explanations.
Instead what came out was a more subdued, "Do you know someone named Cloud?"
Riku jerked his head to stare in shock at his friend, who flushed under the sudden stares he was getting. "Sorry. I didn't... Stupid question. He just had a cloak and it kind of looked like yours so... It just came out."
Sora shrugged, embarrassed but cheerful and Riku shot a glance over at the other two, not expecting the wide eyes of the man with light brown hair. He shifted, feeling more wary by the second as the man asked quietly, "Cloud Strife?"
"Um, yeah. So... So you do know him?" Sora's whole demeanor seemed to brighten, a grin stretching easily onto his face. Friends of his friends and all that – Riku wasn't so trusting and despite the grin that spread on the face of the man in the hat, he didn't think the other men were either.
"I gave him that cape as a going away present," the black haired man said flatly, studying Sora intently with crimson eyes. Riku glanced over at Kairi who met him with worried blue eyes. She didn't like that look either.
"Oh. Is this... Did Cloud come from here?" Riku looked at Sora sharply, startled by the question. He had thought Cloud came from Radiant Garden, just like the others. He resisted the urge to ask Sora about it – they could do it later.
"Sure. He and Sephiroth went off with Zack. Tifa tried to follow – Never did know if she made it or not. Though there were rumors of Cloud and Sephiroth here and fighting." The brown haired man looked amused at that.
Sora looked thoughtful, tilting his head. "Would that have been about a year ago?"
Now there was just silence and Riku shifted uneasily, one hand straying outward, ready to call his Keyblade. Though the man with the shotgun was intent on Sora, the man wrapped in a cloak with no weapon in sight noticed the movement and switched attention to him as his companion asked, "Who are you?"
"Sora. I'm the – mmph." Riku grinned at Sora's halfhearted glare. Both he and Kairi had moved in unison, each moving a hand to cover Sora's mouth.
"Irvine. Me and Vince here keep track of all the orphans in these parts," The man said casually, making his black haired companion twitch.
"Vincent," came the correction, but Irvine just grinned, mischief in his gaze.
"Riku," he said after a moment where three gazes fixed on him. Sora had stopped glaring and was instead studying the children huddled behind the men with sympathy clear in his eyes. "We're just passing through."
"I'm Kairi," Kairi added, also turning her gaze onto the children with pity in her eyes. Riku grimaced, but couldn't blame them. There had to be about half a dozen children behind the two men. The oldest looked only around eight, and already had two of the smaller children in hand, bossing them around quietly, her blond hair in a severe braid as she protected the younger ones. Riku felt another pang of guilt as he remembered so easily giving up his own parents.
"Come on. Let's show you 'passerbys' the city. Maybe a place to stay out of sight while you get used to the place, huh?" Irvine's gaze was wholly amused, as if he knew something they didn't. Riku narrowed his eyes, not trusting these people.
"Sure!" Sora agreed before he could voice his rejection. Kairi was no help, still gazing with deep sympathy at the children.
It was with great reluctance that he followed the two men and the children down the too-clean streets that apparently felt like magic he couldn't feel. The coincidences were staggering – too much for him, in fact. He moved carefully, hyper aware of their surroundings even as Sora followed them easily, too trusting by far and Kairi was too focused on the children.
Except after a minute of scolding his friends in his mind, he noticed the grace in Sora's walk that was only there when he was ready for a fight, and the way the friendly smile barely reached his eyes. His gaze moved around as if curious – but like Riku he was noting every alley, every window where the curtain twitched a bit more than the non-existent wind could account for. Kairi wasn't watching her surroundings – but she was studying the men and the children intently, the same way she studied her magic – like she would figure it out or else.
Knowing his friends weren't being that naive, he was able to relax slightly – and that would be when the Heartless attacked. Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see even the children pull out weapons. Irvine was yelling orders to them as well. "Quistis, keep Zell and Zidane from diving in. Marlene, Denzel, stay close to Vincent. Kiros, grab Zidane when he tries to bolt."
Riku didn't think of what it meant, that Irvine was used to how the children responded to it all. He and his friends had taken the opposite edge of the cluster of children from Irvine and Vincent – the latter which had pulled a gun from somewhere beneath his cloak, a beautiful thing of silver and death. Riku had no time to study it – Slender Thorn was in his hand before the first child attacked.
Then they were in the midst of it and he was trying to keep track of the children and his friends at the same time. It wasn't working so well when Heartless swarmed over him, some of types he had never before seen, others of types that were knew. The cylinder shapes ones were there, spinning into him, faster than he could catch. The sound of Thundaga reached his ears and he smirked, whirling around. He took a moment to down a Hi-Potion in a single instant that there was no Heartless in immediate range.
Just as the last drop went down his throat Heartless descended from above. He ducked beneath the swipes of a Wyvern in the initial wave but found two more smashing him into the ground right behind it. Claws tore through his clothes and skin like butter and he let out a shout of pain before he could muffle it. He had no idea why or how there were so many strong Heartless here but he pushed hard against the ground, grabbing onto the neck of the closest Wyvern as it took to the air again. Wrapping one hand around its neck, the other held Slender Thorn as he slashed through its body. It disappeared beneath his arm and suddenly he was in free fall, the breath coming harshly in his lungs as multiple wounds bled out. Something hit him hard as he fell – then another as he slashed at that one, and suddenly three or four or maybe a half dozen Wyverns were taking turns smashing into him, not letting him hit the ground or more than glance blows off of their hides.
Then there was a flash of power, pulling on him – and returning it three fold. Something in his mind whispered a delighted, 'Final Form' as the world turned silver. The Keyblade seemed to shiver in response, coming alive in his hand. It moved not where he directed his hands, but moved on his impulses, out of his hand to strike at the closest Heartless. And he could feel Kairi and Sora, blurs of power. Some of his energy had been taken to make this – but not enough to matter, not with the powers returned. He noticed Slender Thorn didn't quite move like Sora's Keyblades, and he could feel Sora's agreement in his mind. Sora's blades whirled around him, moving either where Sora directed or in defense of Sora. Slender Thorn always came back to his hand, and moved with his thoughts, but not always to those Heartless closest – it couldn't sense what was behind him anymore than he could.
Now he could feel the magic around him, mostly through Sora who was naturally centered and whose powers weren't steeped in Twilight and things that didn't quite fit. Naturally centered - and neither he nor Kairi actually realized what that meant until just then. He could feel Kairi's envy, the joy at it all and both of them thinking as they fought, 'And he doesn't even realize
The Heartless went down and faded away, barely an effort now. Even when they did hit, it didn't matter. It was just a bit of blood and he caught an edge of worry from Sora that he smoothed out. The wounds were nothing, and look what they were doing. To think he had once looked to darkness for power – it had nothing on this power and sense of completeness. He wanted it to go on forever – and Kairi did too. Behind it, he could even feel the edge of Naminé and Roxas.
The last Heartless disappeared and he felt Sora try to banish Final Form. 'No,' he said firmly – or thought, really, and felt Kairi echo it. But there was worry in Sora's mind and in his voice. "Guys... This will drain us. I can't even – Our thoughts are all muddled together, I can barely think."
It wasn't that bad – not to Riku, not to Kairi. Damn, even Naminé seemed to passively like it. But Roxas added his own voice, angry and lashing out. 'Don't be stupid. It will fade either way. Hang on to it like this and you're likely to damage yourself... Or at least Sora. It's him this is running off of.'
Immediately, now that Roxas had pointed it out, Riku could see the strain in Sora's face, in his thoughts and guiltily he jerked back, let Sora fade them back to normal, struggling not to grab at the strands of emotions that weren't his. It would have been nice... to always know what they were thinking. To always know they wanted to be around.
Except without Final Form's effects on them, Riku realized with a sudden dizziness that he had forgotten to heal the whole battle. He ended up on his knees, hands pressed to his sides. His jacket was stained red in multiple places and Kairi gasped as she stumbled toward him – not injured, or at least no like him, just exhausted. Sora barely made it before collapsing to his knees. "Sorry, I... Nothing for Curaga. Hi-Potions, got some of those..."
He had multiple Hi-Potions stuck in his face – including one from unfamiliar hands. He took Sora's first, downing it quickly – and then another, and another, until he had taken one from everyone and a Cure spell from Kairi and the wounds were mostly healed. Except he had still lost blood and he couldn't have moved if he wanted to. It was then Vincent spoke. "You've been poisoned. We have no antidotes."
Those red eyes looked at them silently, almost expectantly but Riku just stared. They didn't have antidotes either and Irvine sighed after a moment. "Well, by the look of you three, you're strong and healthy. Let's get you safe and see to it that you survive this."
Sora tensed next to him, but neither of them could have risen – or should have been able to. Sora tried, struggling, mouth working to demand explanations... And then his eyes rolled back into his head and Vincent caught him as if he had been expecting it. Irvine chuckled. "Magically exhausted – used Thundaga so many times before you three went all silver, then during it too. I don't think we'll be attacked anymore. Need some help?"
He wanted to refuse – but Vincent was already moving with Sora and Riku needed to follow. He glanced at Kairi, too shaky herself to help him, and he reluctantly accepted Irvine's hand up and his support down the street.
He made it only about ten steps before collapsing himself.
End Chapter. Oh, and for all those who were interested in the Sephiroth battles, I posted it up on Missing: Vagabonds.