- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Riku's Report #1 - Dark Storm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The noonday sun reflected off of the shifting waters and white beach, lighting up the small island until it practically glowed. A few birds squalled above, circling the sand in search of small sandcrawlers.
A small lizard, flecked with brown, blinked, sunning itself on the railing of the great wooden ramp that connected the small arboreal village to the beach. It cocked its head, listening intently as two voices made themselves heard.
"It's true! I saw it with my own eyes!"
"You sure you didn't just hear it this time?"
The two boys continued their leisurely stroll down the spiraling wooden ramp and towards the bridge, and the lizard darted away, out of sight.
"What difference does it make?" the leader of the two asked, his fingers laced behind his head as he walked. "There's a huge monster in there, I tell you!"
His silver-haired friend followed him, watching his best friend with an amused nonchalance. "All right. Suppose there really is a monster... Think we can beat it by ourselves, Sora?"
Sora continued along for a ways, finally stopping at the mouth of the cavern. "No problem! Let's do it!"
His friend met his grin, and returned it.
"Listen! There! Can you hear it growling?"
Riku leaned forward, spreading his arms in preparation to either spring into battle, or flee. "Shh. Quiet. We've gotta be careful," he warned in hushed tones.
"See that? It was just the wind making that noise."
"Aww man. I wish it was a monster!"
"Hold on! What's that over there?"
Walking forward, Riku placed his hands on the wall. "A window, or maybe a door? It won't open."
"Geez," Sora said, "is that really all that's down here?"
"What do you expect in a boring place like this?"
Sora looked away, to the dark walls of the cavern. He was about to reply, when Riku interrupted his thoughts. "Hey, Sora."
"Hm?"
"When we grow up," his friend continued, "let's get off this island. We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!"
"Sure," Sora agreed readily, making his way back to the cave's entrance. "But isn't there anything fun to do now?"
"Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house?"
- - - -
"Hey," Riku called out, pausing for a moment to join the pair. "Aren't you guys forgetting about me?" He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. What am I gonna do with you two? "So. Guess I'm the only one working on the raft," he chided, adding a gentle emphasis to 'raft' as a reminder about what they ought to be spending the afternoon on. With that, he tossed the log he'd been carrying to Sora, who, true to form, not only failed to catch it, but fell on his back with a cry. Kairi giggled, watching as Sora slowly picked himself off the sand, rubbing his head.
"And you're just as lazy as he is," Riku added, stalking over to Kairi and placing his hands on his hips in mock anger.
"Hehe, so you noticed," Kairi grinned. Okay, we'll finish it together!" As Riku spread out on the beach, the girl continued. "I'll race you!"
"Huh?"
"What? Are you kidding?" Riku asked tiredly.
With another giggle, Kairi raised her hands. "Ready? GO!"
Sora and Riku exchanged glances, the initial look of 'yeah, right' changing to a mutual challenge as each saw the 'weakness' in the other. As one, the two boys rose to their feet and took off across the sand.
Riku pulled ahead quickly, glancing back with a grin to Sora, who was staring ahead of him, determined to catch up with his rival.
All talk of rafts forgotten, the three tore away across the beach, Kairi laughingly following the boys.
- - - -
"Still working on that?"
Pulling on a vine-rope knot to keep it taut, Riku gave a distracted grunt, straightening up to look at his handiwork. "What a work ethic. Try none... am I the only one who cares about this thing?"
"It's pretty," Selphie nodded, looking it over. "But you guys are coming back, right? I mean, you can't leave forever... besides, you don't wanna worry your mom too much."
"Nah," Riku shrugged. "She'll be okay. Doesn't seem to really care what I do these days, anyway. Have you seen Sora?"
"Um..."
"Let me guess. With Kairi?"
"I don't know," Selphie replied, twisting shyly from side to side. "I saw him earlier today, but he ran off somewhere."
"What a surprise." He walked around the raft's edge, checking all the knots he had made so far, and cut the rope, tying it in the middle of the log closest to him, weaving it around the other logs and beginning to knot it around the far log.
"You're pretty good at that," Selphie commented, and Riku glanced up.
"Thanks. Hand me that knife, will ya?"
"Sure!"
Riku accepted it, double-checking the knot's strength before cutting the rope and starting in on the other end.
Selphie watched him work. "So, is it almost done?"
"Almost. Damn it, where are they?" Riku stepped back. "You know what? I've done enough. I'm not making this thing all by myself if we're all gonna use it."
"You'd better write," the girl grinned. "I wanna hear all about it!"
"Who knows, maybe I will," Riku replied.
"Selphie! Dinner!" a voice rang out, and Selphie grinned.
"Oh yeah! Coming!" To Riku, she waved. "See ya!"
"Later."
- - - -
That evening, the three watched the sun dip below the horizon, turning the ocean into a river of gold. A gentle breeze ruffled Riku's hair, carrying with it the scent of the ocean - fish, salt, seaweed...
"So..." Sora started, breaking the companionable silence, "Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" He gazed out across the ocean, idly swinging his legs as they dangled over the sideways-bent tree that he and Kairi shared. Riku leaned against its base, his arms folded.
"Could be," Riku replied. "We'll never know by staying here."
"But how far could a raft take us?" Sora wondered, leaning forward past Kairi to watch Riku.
Riku didn't look up, but shrugged. "Who knows? If we have to... we'll think of something else."
"So suppose you get to another world," Kairi mused, laughing. "What would you do there?"
"Hm. Well, I..." Riku paused, repeating the question to himself. What would he do? "...Haven't really thought about it. It's just... I've always wondered... why we're here... on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds. Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So, we could have easily ended up somewhere else, right?" He glanced up at Sora and Kairi.
Sora flipped over to lie on his back, his gangly legs dangling to either side of him on the tree trunk. "I dunno."
"Exactly. That's why we need to go out there and find out," Riku finished, straightening and taking a step towards the surf. "Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff," he continued, more to himself than to his friends, staring out across the waves. "So let's go."
"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi asked.
"Thanks to you," Riku said, turning his back on the sea. "If you hadn't come here, I probably wouldn't have thought of any of this. Kairi... thanks."
"You're welcome."
Silence fell once again, and after a while, Kairi stretched. "We should be getting back."
"Yeah, okay," Sora agreed, sliding off the branch and crouching to diminish his fall. "Hey, Riku, you coming or what?"
Riku grinned. "Sure."
Riku followed a little ways behind, suddenly glancing up. A yellow fruit hung from a low-hanging branch, and leaping up, he snagged it, hastening to catch up.
"Sora!" he called, and as the boy turned, he tossed the star-shaped fruit to him. "You wanted one, didn't you?"
"A paopu fruit?"
"If two people share one," Riku explained, walking past the puzzled Sora, "their destinies become intertwined. They'll become a part of each other's lives... no matter what." He paused, then decided to rib the boy a little. "Come on, I know you wanna try it."
"What are you tal-" Sora's question was cut off by Riku's laughter. Tossing it aside, he chased after Riku, who took off running.
- - - -
That night found Riku leaning against the railing, staring out to the ocean. His thoughts had grown... more and more restless, lately. He couldn't sleep...
"There's a huge monster in there, I tell you!"
He wasn't sure what caused him to make his way to the 'secret spot', the one that Sora had discovered, long ago. By the wan, shivering light of the half moon, he retraced the same steps he and the others had taken so many times before. It was pitch black inside, but Riku knew the stones by heart, and he climbed down easily, making the final leap onto solid ground without hesitation.
But this time, unlike so many others, there was a sinister whisper in the air, a heaviness that was not there before. The air was thick, and still...
"Listen! There! Can you hear it growling?"
Riku glanced about, adopting a more defensive stance, and slowly edging out into the darkness. "Who's there? Show yourself!"
--The door... will open soon.--
Riku's eyes narrowed. The door...?
"Hold on! What's that over there?"
"A window, or maybe a door? It won't open."
As Riku glanced over to where he knew it lay, the voice - if something he wasn't even sure he heard aloud counted as a voice - hummed its approval. --The door to this world now has a place in another.--
For a moment, Riku considered this. "Where does it lead?"
--The heart of this world... of all worlds. Everlasting darkness.--
"That's all?"
--Darkness is all there ever will be. All that is real is born from darkness, and fades to darkness. You will come to understand... soon...--
"... Hey, wait-"
And he was alone.
- - - -
They completed the raft the next day, but Riku's heart wasn't into his work. Kairi bit the bottom of her lip, but didn't inquire what was wrong, and Riku didn't offer anything.
When they dragged it out to the dock, Sora gave a jubilant cry. "We did it, guys!" Kairi leapt up with him, happily dancing on the beach, while Riku looked on, only partially hearing them.
The door... leads to darkness? 'Darkness is all there ever will be...' there's gotta be something more than that. Does he mean that across this ocean there's only darkness?
...But that door...
"Come on, Riku!" Sora cried, taking hold of Riku's wrist and breaking him out of his reverie. "I'll race you!"
"Haha."
"I'll judge!" Kairi ran off, climbing onto a ledge.
"Okay. If I win... I'm captain. And if you win-"
"I get to share a paopu with Kairi," Riku interrupted.
"Huh?"
"Winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi."
"W-wait a minute-"
"Okay, on my count!"
- - - - -
Riku returned to the cavern that night, too, only this time, he brought a torch. The presence was there, waiting for him. Riku waited for a moment, but when the voice said nothing more, he stepped forward.
--You do not need to see where your heart will take you,-- the voice admonished. --The darkness will guide you...--
There was a slight swish, and the light went out. Riku started to yell back, but instead sighed, and took a step forward. I'm not afraid of the dark.
He knew where the door was...
- - - - -
The once gentle breeze turned into a fierce gale. The palms bent under the ferocity of the storm, an angry swirl of amethyst and obsidian glaring balefully at the small island. Riku stood on the beach, seemingly above the storm, his eyes closed in concentration.
"Where's Kairi?" Sora demanded, running up. "I thought she was with you!"
"The door... is open..."
"What?"
Riku turned, the uncertainty in his voice melting away. "The door is open, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!"
"What are you talking about?!" Sora yelled, trying to make his voice heard over the tempestuous winds. "We gotta find Kairi!"
"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku replied. Sora's look of surprise faded into a glare as Riku looked to the ball of shadow, and continued. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"
He could feel the heaviness to the air, and reached out to Sora, holding out his hand.
"Riku..."
A circle of violet shadow expanded beneath Riku's feet, and still he stood strong, his stance powerful, his eyes inviting, and his hand outstretched. Tendrils of shadows, hesitant at first, then growing in multitude, reached up to surround him, spiraling up his body. And still Riku didn't move.
Sora leapt forward, trying to reach his friend, but couldn't break from the shadows as they twined about him. In desperation, he reached out, struggling to reach Riku.
Riku watched him, his face a mask of dead calm, his mind an impenetrable barrier of determination and resolve. I'm not afraid.
Through the swirl, Sora fought, trying to grab Riku's hand...
...and then...
...darkness.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A/N: ...That was really annoying to write. I am so glad that I'm not following Sora, or I'd have to transcribe the whole game.
I know I wanted to avoid author's notes, but apparently I can't seem to. This is not going to be the average chapter length, as I'm going to try to keep them in sizable chunks, but let's face it, I have one hell of a long cutscene to get through, and I wanted to get to MY plot as soon as I could. (Find the scenes that I actually wrote...)
Kingdom Hearts is cutscene happy, and KH2 is pretty much one long cinematic. In KH3, do we just get a fifteen-day long movie...?
I can't believe I got a reviewer on the explanation of what I was doing, (so thrilled for that) and thanks to bennyjr123 on Youtube, for his Kingdom Hearts: The series. If you want to see the cinematics I describe, feel free to look him up.
To ChibiFrubaGirl: One, you utterly rock for replying on the disclaimer/'we'll see how this goes'. Yes, there will be much lemony bondage goodness, but I had to stick to the storyline, and since I wasn't willing to just jump in somewhere and NOT show the happiness of torturing and misleading Riku as he spirals down into 'darkness', I started where I could, which meant writing out things... verbatim. Where the cutscenes end, or fade to another scene, I can add... this chapter, as most first chapters are, is safe. Next one? No promises. ;-)
NEXT CHAPTER: Elder Force
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Sora's voice acting would be better.