A/N: Yay! Finally! An update!For the people going all 'Kairiku? Man, that's just wrong!', I tell you now--this is a SOKAI. Okay?
Disclaimer: I don't own it. No, I don't. Stop asking.
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XXII: Celebration
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Sora wrinkled his nose disdainfully, turning the page. This Marquis de Sade guy sure was a fan of pain-- Larxene was nowhere near his sadism. He rubbed his Heartless eye, and sank back deeper into his pillow, yawning.
"Wielder."
He blinked. Yep--he felt someone was standing at his door, and was calling him. Aggh. Just when he was getting to the good part.
"Wielder."
This time, Sora recognized number One's irritated voice. He lowered his book, and stared at the silver-haired Nobody silhouetted in the doorway. He smirked slightly when he saw Xemnas flinch--Sora staring always made him do that. Heck, Sora staring at anyone made them flinch. "Huh? Superior?"
Inwardly, he laughed--it felt that he truly was a part of Organization XIII now. Hm. And to think he was the one who actually killed these people. Some of them. He saw the Superior force down a smile, and scowl. "Sora, you've left the kitchen sink bloody again."
Oh...riighht, Antiform whispered in his head, realization dawning on both of them--'cause Antiform had washed off there, and they kind of...left the sink bloody.
Yeah. Mmm. Blood. No matter, Sora's bloodlust had already been temporarily satisfied. Grinning, he bolted up in bed and sat on the edge. "Oops. Sorry."
I hate cleaning, Antiform moaned, a mental image of him slapping his forehead filling Sora's mind's eye. He grinned even more broadly.
"Clean it up before dinner."
He stood up, and dusted imaginary dust from himself, beaming. "Yep. I'm going." 'cause if he took too long in the kitchen, Lexaeus might catch up with him. And being alone with a guy you left three-fourths dead isn't really a good idea. Especially if the guy's a hulking number Five named Lexaeus. Besides, he'd rather nothing spoil his day today.
"You seem happy today," Xemnas commented, as Sora passed him by the door.
"Heck yeah!" he exclaimed happily, knowing that Xemnas knew full well that Sora couldn't feel real happiness. Whatever. He was happy...'cause he got his Keyblade back. Pssh. King Mickey was pre-tty hard to defeat, though.
Number One had probably realized that something was up, because the next thing he asked was, "Who did you attack this time?"
Aww. Did he really attack people that much?
Maul would be such a better term, buddyboy.
"...shut it," Sora muttered under his breath. Not having Roxas around sometimes seemed to be a bad idea. Sometimes it didn't. Gah. It confused him. He did have his sane, and insane moments. "Pssh. Attack is such a harsh word. I only...uh...took back something."
Yep. That was what he did. Technically. The blood was a secondary sort of thing.
Xemnas seemed to take this in stride. "Oh...okay. Clean the counters too, Sora."
"Glad to!" he nodded enthusiastically, drawing out his newly-acquired Keychain, intending to...clean the Keyblade that came with it. 'cause a bloody Keyblade definitely looks worse than a shiny, just-polished one. Twirling it between his fingers, he set off for the Castle kitchen, opting to walk instead of portal. Portalling was something that was definitely not his forte. Besides, the Kitchen was what...only a floor down, and about four hallways away.
It occured then to him, as he was walking with the Keychain in his hand...King Mickey did ask him to seal the remaining Keyholes, right?
No! Antiform protested vehemently.
"Aw, c'mon," he chided himself. "...Have a heart. Grant a dying man his final--"
"Wielder!" Xemnas' voice called after him.
Sora looked over his shoulder, at a very white-faced Xemnas. Whoo. He had finally figured out why he was happy, then. "Yeppers, Superior?"
"--h-have you paid a...visit to King Mickey lately?"
I sure did.
Laughing, he tossed the reverse Disney Keychain into the air, and commanded it to transform his Keyblade. At the height of his toss the three-circle gold Keychain flashed momentarily, becoming only a white glow. The white glow then lengthened, and faded (with a multitude of pretty white shiny sparkles) into a three-foot Key. He then caught it by its silver handle, and winced--as expected, it still bore the blood from the duel the night before.
A mixture of his, and King Mickey's blood.
As they said, no pain, no gain. Well, Sora might have twisted it a little, but the thought's still there, right?
"Y'know, royal blood tastes just the same as ordinary blood..." He smiled, and walked off, ignoring Xemnas' spluttering behind him. Hmm. The kitchen awaited the arrival of cleaning extraordinaire, Sir Sora Hikari.
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Rinoa was a perfectionist. That, she admitted to herself. For example, although she had been exiled for being a sorceress for almost ten years, she had been faithfully keeping her abilities honed--just in case something happened.
And that was also why she had been attacking this margarita glass for something like thirty minutes straight now; hardwater stains was something she could easily remove, but she preferred taking care of it the mortal way. It seemed theraputic. Now that she had no Knight, it was much more easier to keep focused this way. (1)
"...so, Rin!" the brunette in front of her clapped her hands enthusiastically, emerald eyes sparkling. "They're coming tomorrow! I'm so excited!"
Beside her, Hayner, a blonde, and Olette's boyfriend, rolled his eyes. "Yay," he said halfheartedly, and the girl punched him lightly on the arm.
"How about you, Pence?" Rinoa asked, eyelid twitching--stupid stain. "You got your camera ready?"
"I always have my camera ready," the rather chubby photographer of their group said confidently. "When that girl Naminé comes---ooh, I'll prove that she was at the Old Mansion, yeah."
Rinoa paused, and raised an eyebrow. She knew for a fact that the blonde Nobody ('cause she knows that) once worked in the Old Mansion, to rechain the Keyblade Master's memories, but that was almost two years ago. What was the memory-chainer doing there right now? She smoothed her face into a look of mild curiousity. "What?"
"You know the Old Mansion's locked, right? Well, for some reason, we saw this blonde, Naminé, standing at the windows. We thought it was the Seventh Wonder of Twillight Town--and we have proof," Pence explained, handing her a three by five photograph.
She fingered the picture. Sure enough, the cerulean-eyed Nobody was standing at the huge second-story window of the Old Mansion, staring blankly outside. Once again, she made her tone curious. "...how did she get in...?"
Hayner nodded. "That's the first thing we're going to ask her once Destiny Academy gets here for the Twilight Festival tomorrow."
"Well, keep me upda--"
"We interrupt this program for breaking news--"
She blinked; had the Bar's radio just...?
"Heartless have attacked the world of Destiny Islands today..."
The whole Bar had fallen silent at this proclamation (which was saying something, sine the Bar was almost filled to capacity), and the three teenagers sitting at the front bar went rigid, hands frozen on their ginger ales. Rinoa flounced to the radio, and turned up the volume.
"...the disputed source of the Neoshadow attack had been identified as Destiny Academy. Casualties have not yet been verified, but at least twenty students have been taken. We have live feedback from the Academy--Raine, come in."
She watched impassively as her customer's faces turned from stunned to horrified to pale and frightened. She cast a magnifying spell silently, so that the radio blared outside 7th Heaven Bar and Restaurant as well. As expected, the people outside in Market Square froze, listening.
"I-I read you, Ellone. W-We're here live from the Academy--"
She understood their shock--Destiny Islands was well-known for being one of the safest Worlds out there, since the Island Administration had accepted King Mickey's personal offer of protection. It actually had to, since Destiny Islands was home to two Keyblade Wielders and a Princess of Heart--Heartless would doubtlessly storm the Islands if they got the chance. However, the stationed Paladins and Defenders always made sure the Islands were safe.
If Heartless got in; it meant one of the safest places in their universe was no stronghold. In turn, this would spread panic; Heartless was gaining strength.
"The destruction here is unbelievable. The quad's broken into concrete rubble, and students are lying sprawled around. Professors and Healers are trying their best to help the students--"
Rinoa sighed inaudibly; she knew at once who had orchestrated the attack. Only one person would dare to strike at the heart of one of Disney's most heavily guarded Worlds...someone who had something personal against Destiny Islands.
A very mad fallen Keyblade Master.
'cause King Mickey had done something very stupid. Yep. Even if he was the King. King Mickey...he reminded her of Ansem. And Ansem the Wise didn't have a very good standing with her, either. Sometimes she thought the two shared more than an image of authority; they seemed to think in the same way. Both loved to sacrifice a single person for a major end. She gritted her teeth, forcing her anger down--too much emotion was bad for a sorceress, since they tend to go berserk and destroy known reality.
She had met with the King the night after Sora had been reborn as half-Heartless, half-Nobody. Of course, she knew that--a Neoshadow had told her. Since her powers were of the darkness, naturally, the Heartless took to her like a sister; they knew better than to try and take her heart. His Majesty had been stunned, to say the very least, to see her in her full sorceress regalia, with her broad white wings and amber irises and whatnot (she only wanted to intimidate him--she didn't actually need to show her wings).
Rinoa had talked in-depth about the realm of darkness' standing--it was her jurisdiction, after all, since she had no Knight to speak of, because Ansem the Wise had exiled her from Radiant Garden, because---agh, she's getting a headache. King Mickey had argued back--him sending Sora on an impossible task was for the realm of light's safety.
King Mickey had finally agreed to find a way to reverse the disastrous Knighting, and Rinoa had promised him that she'll be watching. She knew that she wasn't even supposed to interfere with mortal issues and problems, but what the heck--here was a kid who had saved the world twice over, and had no idea that being the Key to Kingdom Hearts was an all-consuming job. Poor thing. He was never supposed to lead a happy life, because Heartless were waiting for him around every corner.
"--the Heartless had just been annihilated by an unknown force thirty minutes ago. Miss..."
The Bar was still deathly quiet, save for the sound of erratic breathing, at this point. She strained to hear outside--it was the same. You could drop a pin and hear it echo.
"Yuna."
"Can you describe what happened here?"
"Well, there was a commotion right before the Heartless appeared...Professor Fujiwara and Kairi were demonstrating something and--"
Rinoa blinked. Kairi...the name of Sora's sweetheart(what? She knows Sora 'cause she's a sorceress. But she knows Sora loves Kairi because she's such a sappy girl), and the seventh, and most powerful (she might even be equal to Rinoa's own powers) Princess of Heart. It was also, if she was not mistaken, the name of Radiant Garden's legitimate princess--well, it had been years since she last saw the princess, so there's a chance that she could be wrong.
Besides, who trusts sorceresses, anyway?
"All of a sudden all these Neoshadows burst up of the ground...we were fighting for a bit and we were almost losing and then," Yuna's voice panted ,"all of a sudden this light streams out from the quad and all the Heartless simply vanished!"
"...this Kairi...Kairi Dalmasca-Leonhart?"
"Uhm, Kairi Dalmasca, yes."
She smiled slightly. "...his little sister."(2)
"Of course! A Princess of Heart! And then--"
"BREAKING NEWS Good heavens, viewers," the radio crackled out, after giving an abnormally loud static squeak,"We have just confirmed that King Mickey Overseer of the Worlds has just been attacked viciously--His Majesty has already been placed under the care of Disney's Healers. We have no word if he is still alive--"
and, as expected, Twilight Town burst into chaos.
She slapped a hand to her forehead exasperatedly. Gah. She had told King Mickey to up his security. Rinoa looked around--some people were randomly screaming, and the three teens had vanished into the crowd. Pandemonium broke out as people struggled to calm themselves down.
She took the chance, and disappeared in a flurry of sorceress feathers. Rinoa had a feeling that only a Level Eight white mage ('cause she's level nine of both white and black magic) can save him now. He could still be saved if she hurried.
If she hurried.
She wondered if she should take her own sweet time.
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"...I know, yep. Trade seats," Kairi said knowingly, even before Elazul opened his mouth. He smiled sheepishly, and nodded.
"Thanks," he beamed gratefully. "I'll carry your bags there."
"You'd better," she grinned, before standing up and searching for Elazul's platinum blonde girlfriend, Pearl. Oooh, she hoped she got a good seatmate, someone she knew, preferably, so that she could do something else than sleep all the way through the 3-hour flight to Twilight Town. And someone preferably who didn't hate Riku for his guts. Uhm. That would be fine. "Pearl! Where the heck--"
"Dalmasca," Professor Zexion said sharply, chancing to walk by her. "You have feet. Use them."
"...yes, sir," she said under her breath, watching as the blue-haired Physics professor walk down the Gummi Ship aisle. She wondered whether professor Zexion had any other color in his wardrobe other than black--even though they wore civilian clothes today, he and his fellow professor, the blonde Healing Arts prof Larxene, had worn their usual black.
Hm. Maybe they were sympathizing with Disney?
Worlds protected by Disney Castle had started a vigil for the health of King Mickey, who had been mauled last night. Media were quick to point out the connection between the Heartless attack in Destiny Academy, and the attack on the King. Reporters had had a field day on learning her and Riku were more than friends already--a Princess of Heart and a Keyblade Master, and had gushed all over them...
However, the question on everyone's lips were...where was the other Keyblade Master?
Where was Sora Hikari?
...Eh, you're not connected to him, anyway.
There was that voice once more--and Kairi had taken to it gratefully. It kept her sane, since every so often she'd wake up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, wondering where the hell Sora was. Then she'd feel guilty, and try to forget it.
I told you, forget it, Kaikai.
"..."
Today was the Twilight Town trip, and they were set off for their sister school, Twilight Academy. Students of Year II and Year III could go, provided that they presented a letter of permission from their parents.
Her adoptive father, and her apprehensive grandmother, had reluctantly given her permission--granted that Riku would protect her at all times...which was actually what they were planning to do. The aquamarine-eyed Wielder had gladly agreed.
Well...Riku had lived alone for so long, he had no idea where to ask permission from. His problem was solved when he found out that the Academy would not allow him not to go, since he was skilled with a Keyblade and everything.
Speaking of Riku...where was he? He was seated way in the front, while she was seated around the middle of the Gummi Ship. Sighing, she plopped down back into the plush seat, and turned to Elazul. "Eh, why don't you find your girlfriend?"
"'kay," the raven-haired Jumi replied, picking up his grey bag, standing up himself and walking to the front; Pearl was bound to be in there, with a last name of Antonoia.
Kairi looked around, taking the feel of the Gummi Ship in. She had been told once that commercial Gummi Ships were very different from the weapon-ones. Those were much, much smaller--this Gummi Ship had a seating capacity of about three hundred people. Every aisle had three plush blue fabric-covered, armrested seats, and the rectangular reinforced ('cause the atmosphere outside a world, even with the established routes, is not very pleasant to be in) glass windows at the end of each aisle were very large. The floors were carpeted also in blue, but there were no overhead storage--those were for the longhaul flights.
Sighing, she sank back deeper into the chair, hoping to the high heavens she got a decent seatmate.
"...argh, what did you pack in this thing?"
"More things."
"Girls..."
Kairi twisted around and knelt in her seat, peeking over it. A frustrated Roxas was trying to place a brown leather suitcase properly at the foot of the seats, while a bemused Naminé was trying her best to help. Key word there being tried. She ended up adding to Roxas' frustration. "...hey guys."
"Hey Kairi."
"Hi Other."
Was it just her, or way her Nobody's greeting a bit...strained? Sapphire blue eyes met blue-violet ones, and Naminé quickly looked away. Hm. It was just Kairi's imagination.
She smiled broadly, and turned her attention to Roxas, ignoring the pounding of her heart at the sight of cerulean blue eyes so similar to Sora's. "Nice seating, huh, Roxas?"
She watched with unsupressed glee as his ears slowly turned red. "...yep. Just don't go all PDA on us."
"It's not PDA! And no, Riku's not my seatmate."
The blonde boy had finally decided to just let the suitcase be, and he leant tiredly on his chair, while Naminé had already scooted past him and sat in the seat nearest the window. "He's not?" Roxas asked curiously. "Didn't you swap or something?"
Kairi shook her head. "We're going to spend the day together, in any case. And absence makes the heart grow fonder, anyway."
She didn't miss the look that said 'THEN THAT MEANS YOU LOVE SORA TO DEATH, 'CAUSE HE'S BEEN MIA FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG' between the two, but she brushed it off silently. "...what about you two? Am I supposed to expect PDA from you two?"
Naminé's mouth twitched. "Shut it, Kai."
"Touchy, touchy," she teased, leaning her chin on her palm as she giggled. "Proves that you're guilty."
"Am not."
"...you are."
The blonde girl blushed furiously, and refused to meet her gaze, opting to stare out of the window instead. "Am not."
"Yes, you are."
"Hey, sit properly," a voice behind her reprimanded, and she smiled, looking over her shoulder. A smirking Riku met her gaze.
"You don't tell me what I do, Sir Riku," she said airily, turning back to face the two blondes. "This is my chair--go back to the front."
"Nope," she raised an eyebrow as she felt Riku snake his arm around her shoulders. "It is my chair. Pearl's my seatmate."
"...and I thought I could get away from you."
Riku laughed, and kissed her cheek. "Now you know you can't, Kairi."
Roxas spluttered. "Ah, it burrrns!" he said sarcastically, shielding his eyes from their display of affection.
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"Out of my way," Rinoa said calmly, even putting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow. "I have to see King Mickey."
The hulking, breastplated guards looked down on her, and laughed, pounding their spears on the carpeted floor in front of the massive mahogany doors of the Royal Bedchambers. "Missy, scrawny runts like you ain't allowed inside."
Her eyelid twitched--Mickey needed his dose of industrial-strength Curagas, and only she was strong enough to administer them hourly without fainting from the stress. In fact, she hardly broke a sweat.
Pssh, and these were the guys who attacked her on sight the instant she coalesced into Disney Castle. Of course, she had her wings out then, so it was pretty understandable the guards didn't recongnize her. But 'scrawny runt'...? She deemed it insulting. And it was common sense not to insult a sorceress.
"Don't you recognize me?" she asked evenly, peering up into their visors. "I'm Sorceress Rinoa."
They laughed even harder.
Gritting her teeth, she spread her left hand towards the sky, and the black clouds suddenly gathered. Thunder resounded, and lightning flashed unmercilessly. She was one finger snap from making it storm like there was tomorrow.
The guards stared at her in fear, laughter dying away almost instantly.
"...need even more persuasion?" Rinoa said in a deathly quiet voice. To her surprise, both the guards twirled their lances into a defensive position, crossed across the massive mahogany doors.
"Friend or foe?" one of them asked in a shaky voice. She slapped her forehead frustratedly, and as a result, it began to rain heavily. Oh cripes, she thought. She focused, drew on deeply on her powers, and let the excess energy take form as massive angelic wings sprouting from behind her back. She didn't let it disappear, as opposed to what she usually did. People respected her more whenever she had her wings out--if she was not mistaken, her name was spoken with fear here in Disney Castle.
"I am a friend," she said firmly, "And if you don't let me in now, your King will die."
The lances straightened hurriedly, and Rinoa pushed the doors open, wondering if she should've teleported straight inside. But she needed Disney Castle's trust, and for that, she needed to respect the rules of the household.
She went straight to the majestic four-poster bed in the middle of the cavernous room, and came to a stop beside an asleep Queen Minnie. Rinoa smiled warmly, and cloaked the slumbering mouse with a blanket. The Queen had faithfully kept vigil over her unconscious husband, refusing to even sleep. Rinoa herself had not slept in the last two days, but she wasn't to feel fatigue because of sleep deprivation for another two weeks. Being a sorceress had its perks.
"Curaga." She murmured, placing a hand above the King, tucked in white antiseptic blankets up to his pale chin, which mercifully hid the bandages and stitches that he had to be supplied with. White light surrounded him momentarily, and faded away. King Mickey's breathing eased considerably.
"Sorceress Rinoa," a voice said timidly, and she didn't need to turn around to know it was one of the Palace Healers.
"Yes?" she said blankly, feeling the King's forehead. As expected, it was cold as ice. Oooh, Sora was one hell of a hard hitter--he did leave the King only a hair from death. She often wondered if Sora left the King alive on purpose. Which reminded her; none of the residents of the known universe knew that it was Sora who attacked the King, save for Organization XIII.
"...thank you, for helping us, and the King."
"What can I do? I'm just a concerned citizen, aren't I?" she said cheerily, adjusting Queen Minnie's blankets gently.
"We are eternally grateful."
You sure are. "You're welcome."
"...so that's why we," the Healer cleared his throat uneasily," have informed the Kingdom of the good samaritan who saved the King by finding and giving him the Healing spells he desperately needed."
She froze, and her wings flared involuntarily. Rinoa felt her irises turn amber. "...you what?"
"The Kingdom knows your goodness."
Rinoa spun around, and the Healer recoiled. "...you were not supposed to do that."
She watched impassively as the Healer gave her face one frightened look, and sprinted away as fast as he could. She made a mental note to remember her expression--it sure was effective.
She sighed, and set about the daunting task of making sure this information did not reach outside ears.
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"This is Professor Larxene, people. Sit down and put on your seatbelts, please, until the Gummi Ship takes off. Secure all weapons and items properly. Trading seats may be done once more when we are in flight. People who have motion sickness--say something before you hurl. The trip is going to last approximately two hours and fifty-two minutes. Be safe, and let's take off."
Riku almost had to wrench Kairi from the chair, and make her sit down properly. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes; Kairi was sixteen years old, and she acted so much like a kid sometimes.
Which painfully reminded him of somebody else. A certain sky-blue eyed somebody.
Not matter what he told himself, he knew what he was doing was just wrong...but it hurt him so much to see Kairi sad. The redhead looked perfectly happy whenever he was with her; and to him, it was all that mattered.
"Do I have to put on the seatbelt for you, Kai?"
"Uhm, no," the redhead stammered, fumbling with her seatbelt buckle.
"This is Captain Barrett, and I shall be yer pilot for this trip. Buckle up, kiddies."
"...did you know I've never flown in a Gummi Ship before?" Kairi asked, teeth bared, face white.
Riku shook his head. "Don't worry, I think most of the people here haven't, either. Even I've only ridden on a Gummi Ship once."
Well, if you considered that thing he and Sora rode on when they were battling with Xemnas. Eh? Why did everything have to remind him of Sora? He was getting paranoid...or maybe his conscience was acting up.
The ship lurched, and he was forced to sit back in his seat. Kairi's fingers gripped his hand tightly as they took off; the view from the window turned from the navy blue early morning sky of Destiny Islands to orange atmosphere, to green mist, and finally, into the black void of space.
"Mhmm, that was an interesting experience," she said shakily, staring out of the window.
Riku leant back into his seat, yawning, watching as various scattered Gummi blocks floated across their windows lazily. He knew for a fact that those were left there by the Heartless ships Sora had destroyed long ago--what was it, three years?
How long since he had seen his best friend?
Were they even still considered friends now...?
Argh. Why did everything have to remind him of the brunette Keyblade Master?
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"Achoo!"
Sora blinked rapidy, eyes watering. He had just sneezed twice in a row; someone was thinking of him right now. Hm. It could be Xemnas, wondering when he'll go berserk next. Or it could be King Mickey, wondering how Sora managed to defeat him. Or it could just be Axel, wondering how he'd be able to get out of 'Sora duty'.
Pssh. Xemnas had secretly (well now it wasn't exactly a secret) assigned Organization XIII members to guard his every move whenever Roxas was not within the Castle boundaries. Now, it was Axel's turn, and the fiery redhead made no secret of it. Sora wondered why Axel hadn't gone on that field trip to Twilight Town Roxas kept going on about--that meant alone time for Zexion and Larxene.
"You know, I can take care of myself," he said, directing the statement behind him, where he knew Axel was walking casually.
He heard number Eight snort derisively. "Sorry to be blunt, but I'm not babysitting you--I'm making sure you don't go berserk on us."
The words struck him like a well-placed Thundaga. Had he really gone that far? "...I didn't mean to, really."
"You're only saying that because Roxas has just gone. Pretty soon you'll go all violent."
Sora stopped short, contemplating Axel's words. He felt calmer this morning...and it was true. It was because Roxas had just left a few hours ago. Give or take a day, Antiform would speak again. It was only in moments like this that Sora was alone with his thoughts--he had realized earlier this morning that he had left his journal somewhere in the Academy...gah. No matter; the lock automatically resealed itself whenever it was out of a Keyblade Master's hands.
Which led to a horrifying, and heartening thought: what if Riku was the one who found it?
Shaking his head, he looked back over his shoulder at Axel, who stared back at him with blazing emerald eyes. "...I guess everyone thinks that of me, now."
"You did attack the King," he said pointedly.
He had a point there...but still. Sora turned around to face him, and the pyro flinched. He always made Organization recoil, or flinch, for one reason or another. "You don't understand how I feel, Axel," he shot back in a hoarse voice,"If you were in my place, you'd do the same."
He hesitated visibly, probably mulling the things over his head.
Sora's life had been ruined by King Mickey. Heck, he had no life to speak of now--he was floating between Heartless and Nobody. Of course he'd want to return the favor. Besides, he needed his own Keyblade.
Axel quickly changed the subject. Well, not really. "Sora, you left King Mickey alive, right?"
He asked it so casually it could've been a question about the weather. Sora nodded, and stared resolutely at his yellow sneakers. "I had to. I couldn't get his Keyblade if he died."
It was a safeguard, the Keyblade's connection to its Master. No Keyblade can be forcefully taken from its Master; it had to be given willingly. Of course, it had taken a lot of coaxing on Sora's part to make King Mickey give him the Reverse Keyblade. Even dangling his Majesty from death's edge didn't work. In the end, Sora had to trick him into doing so. It was a pain in the neck to get, really.
"So you're really set on having his Keyblade, eh?"
"Yep," Sora nodded. "Never got the feel of the Dark Keyblade, anyway."
He never would--the Dark Keyblade may be very powerful, able to rip away hearts, but it was downright sickening to wield the very same Keyblade that killed him. Sora could still smell his own blood on the ebony-black metal.
He wondered how Riku and Kairi would feel if they found out what had happened to him; but there was no way in hell that'd happen, for the King had forbidden Organization XIII to reveal what had befallen Sora.
...maybe he should've killed the King after getting the Reverse Keyblade. That would be a great stress-reliever. He turned to Axel once again, and found the pyromaniac lost in his own thoughts.
"I've never seen you space out like that," he said loudly, and Axel blinked rapidly, grinning.
"I was just thinking," he grinned even more broadly, walking up to him.
They set off for Fragment Crossing together--the Nobodies down in the black market were celebrating, and Sora was invited as the guest of honor.
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Flash.
"People, this is Prof Larxene again--we'll be landing in Twilight Terminal in ten minutes. Wake up, and make sure you leave nothing that you're not supposed to."
Kairi blinked sleepily, and shifted position slightly, snuggling closer to Riku. The platinum-haired boy opened one aquamarine eye, and smiled. "Kai, wake up already."
"I don't want to..." she moaned, clutching his arm tighter.
"Well, you need to," he said warningly," or do I have to make you wake up?"
She remained silent, still perfectly groggy. Ugh. She didn't really hated mornings; she only hated waking up in really early mornings. Her eyes snapped open when she felt something poke her side--unfair! Riku knew she was ticklish! "No fair!"
"...wake uuup," Riku said in a singsong voice, tickling her mercilessly.
"Ah! Ah! Okay! I'm up! Gah, stop!" Kairi could barely talk for laughing--ooh, she'll get back at him for this. She always got back at Sora whenever he tickled her; pssh, she had always gotten back, she always did...
Her breath hitched. Oh, why was she thinking of him now, of all times?
Surprisingly, that voice was gone...it always did, whenever her Nobody was close to her. She didn't know if it was good or not. All she knew was that right now, she was worrying for Sora, and that was enough.
"Kairi, you okay...?"
Blinking, she nodded enthusiastically, opting to stare out the window instead.
"Prof Kisaragi and Alcaia, we land in five minutes. Please proceed to the Ship bridge now. Barret out."
Kairi watched as the two black-clad professors brushed by their row and proceeded to the front. Professor Larxene was something of a cult figure in the Academy; it wasn't everyday that they had both a skilled physical warrior and Level Seven mage as a Healing Arts Professor. Not to mention that she was breathtakingly beautiful.
It made her feel slightly jealous. No matter. She knew Riku only had eyes for her, and she only had eyes for---
Why couldn't she just say it? What was happening to her? What the heck was she thinking, being together with Riku like this?
Kairi, why...?
"...it's even more than what Kairi and Riku would pull off!" a very vehement exclamation from the seat behind them jolted her out of her thoughts. Curious, she knelt on her seat and peered at the two blondes, who were examing what suspiciously looked like a photograph.
"What won't we pull off?" she asked loudly. They looked like deer caught in headlights. Naminé coughed loudly, and lightly smacked the back of Roxas' head.
"Nothing, nothing."
Kairi raised an eyebrow bemusedly. "Huh?"
"Kairi, sit down."
She giggled a bit; that was a very annoyed Riku talking. "Okay, okay already." She reluctantly sat back down, pouting. She was about to catch Roxas and Naminé in the act, and Sir Grumpy has to ruin it.
Aquamarine eyes bored into the side of her head as she refastened her seatbelt. It was unnerving, Riku's gaze; it always made the hairs at the back of her neck prickle, but in a good and tingly way. Wooh. Her fingers fumbled, and Riku calmly fastened her seatbelt for her, making her cheeks blush scarlet. "T-thanks."
"No problem, Princess," he replied, putting an arm around her shoulders. She leaned on him and smiled as the World of Twilight Town came into view.
She had never been here, yet she knew that it was a world stuck in eternal twilight (hence the name Twilight Town--stupid, stupid Kairi), and it was having its festival today. She hoped the dorms they would be staying in would be good.
She wondered if this trip was going to be any good. Period.
And in some deep recess of her mind, she secretly wished Sora was sealing this World's Keyhole.
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"Achoo!"
Sora sneezed again, and he had to hold his cup steady in order not to spill too much blood on the ground of Fragment Crossing.
"Sir Sora?" a passing Gambler asked--Marty was his name, yeah. He was the Nobody who sold him his first pack of blood. "Are you all right? You've been sneezing a lot of times since you got here."
"Yep, I'm fine," he nodded slightly. "Nice party, by the way."
Marty beamed. "Thanks!"
Nobodies sure knew how to celebrate--Fragment Crossing was packed full of assorted Nobodies, and Sora had even spotted Demyx somewhere there once. Hm. Maybe he should go find number Nine while he was still sober--Demyx drunk was something he did not want to see. He had heard enough terrible stories already.
UHh...he could chalk up his annoying repeated sneezing to the fact that someone was thinking about him, but what the heck. Something probably got stuck in his nose or something. Eh.
Whistling, he spun around on his heels and went to find Demyx, the Nobody crowd parting for him as he went through, and a cheer going up where he had passed.
These guys really had something against Disney, yeah.
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(1) Don't worry, this has no spoilers. For those who haven't played FFVIII (where Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly come from), a Sorceress needs a Knight to help her control her sorceress powers. Her powers are naturally attuned to the dark, so the Knight's support balances it out. Kind of Roxas' control over Sora's antiform.
(2) I'll use this. Uhm. If I do decide on making a sequel. If.
Sneezing is considered to be a sign that someone's thinking of you. Also applies to accidentally biting your tongue. Yeah.
I have some art for this; it's in my deviantart account. See my profile for the link, yeppers. Tell me if you like it.
...sorry to tell you guys, but the ending's on the horizon. It shall be quick and painless, ne?
Review, flame if you want. I'll get back to ya.
Special shoutout to skilled-like-a-ninja, numinanaminé luvs you. Thank you very much, yeah. -nods-