The Night Within My Eyes
Description: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.
A/N: Good morning! (At least it's morning here in the US.) Time for Step 1: Boy meets girl. ... heh heh ...
Four
They had only just exited the Gummi hangar when Kairi stopped suddenly, causing Riku to do some improvisational foot shuffling in order to avoid slamming into her.
"It's beautiful," she breathed, gazing up at the grand castle. The white walls sparkled in the sunlight, and the tops of the towers seemed to touch the clouds in the sky. All around them, the instrument-playing topiaries smiled down, even though a few seemed to be missing vital body parts from the recent damage. Any wreckage that had occurred had already been cleared away, and the birds sang merrily from the trees and rooftops as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened in many a year. "Don't you think so too, Riku?" Kairi asked, turning to him.
Riku shrugged. "Sure," he answered in a tone that implied he was only humoring her, but secretly he was impressed. The darkness within him had prevented him from visiting the castle before although he had often wondered what kind of world his little monarch-friend ruled. This place was a dream land, plucked straight from a storybook.
Sora had not stopped to gaze about, and now he turned to them and called, "Hey, guys! This way." When they followed, he led them to a door in the side wall. His confident steps spoke clearly of previous visits. Riku noticed how Donald and Goofy trailed after his friend, as if they were just visitors instead of residents of this magical world.
"Look at Sora," Riku teased. "Walking around as if he owns the place."
The other boy looked over his shoulder and grinned at him. "Well, I have been here before, you know." He opened the door and led them into a long, carpeted hall. Turning to Donald and Goofy, he asked, "Where do you think the King is? The audience chamber?"
"Probably," Donald responded. Goofy nodded his agreement.
"Okay, this way then." Sora continued down the hall. Kairi hurried up to walk beside him, but Riku kept his place in the back, content to watch the others in quiet.
About halfway down the hall, they stopped in front of an enormous pair of purple doors that stretched almost to the ceiling. When Kairi leaned back to try to see the top, Sora had to place a hand on her back to keep her from falling over. Then, as if revealing the secret to some amazing magic trick, he stepped forward and opened a much smaller door hidden within one of the large ones. Kairi stared at it for a minute and then burst into laughter. Sora joined her. Riku merely shook his head at them.
"C'mon," Sora said, taking Kairi's hand and leading her through the door. Riku let Donald and Goofy go through before following as well.
They emerged into a giant room, all white, light blue, and lilac except for a red and gold carpet that stretched down the center of the room. Far off at the other end sat an empty throne on a slightly-raised, blue platform. A large red and gold banner with the royal emblem hung from the ceiling above it, and against the far wall, large statues of an armored dog and a magic-wielding duck regally greeted all visitors. A little bit removed from all this pomp and circumstance, the King and Queen of Disney Castle stopped their conversation and turned their heads to see who had entered. Recognition lit up their friendly faces with bright smiles, and together they approached their guests.
"Sora, Riku, Kairi!" King Mickey greeted them. "It's wonderful to see you again! Thank you for coming like I asked."
"Of course, Your Majesty," Sora answered for the three of them. "We're always happy to help in any way we can."
The King nodded and turned to the Queen. "Minnie, would you please go ask Yuko if she feels well enough for visitors?"
"Of course," Queen Minnie answered. She excused herself from the group with a small curtsey and exited the room.
"Your Majesty," Sora said, reclaiming the King's attention, "your letter mentioned bad news. Can you tell us what it is now?"
The King shook his head as he replied, "I'm sorry, Sora, but I'd like you to hear it from Yuko herself. It's her story, and she should tell it. Please be patient for just a bit more."
Sora's shoulders sagged slightly, but he answered, "Okay."
Kairi, sensing Sora's disappointment, seized the conversation and hurled it in a different direction. "Your Majesty," she smiled, "your castle is so beautiful. I'd love to hear some of its history. When was it built?"
The three locals in the group eagerly took up this task, and the conversation grew steadily. Even Sora joined in, easily releasing his dark mood and returning to his normal happy self. Only Riku did not participate, preferring in his own way just to listen and wait for the return of the Queen.
The sudden sound of the small door flying open abruptly stopped all talking. The entire group turned as a unit to find out what had happened. Riku blinked in surprise when he saw a girl about his age or perhaps a bit older striding down the hall with strong, purposeful steps. The Queen scurried after her, hopping slightly as she tried to keep up and protesting in her gentle voice.
"Oh, Miss Yuko!" King Mickey cried. He took off at a run and joined his Queen in her futile attempt to get the young woman to stop. Yuko barely paid either mouse any attention, her eyes fixed solidly on the two boys.
As she approached, Riku noticed that she wore a kind of uniform. It was torn and stained, but she carried it with an unmistakable dignity and authority. The fabric of the garment was mostly black although thin bands of gold circled the wrists and golden stitchwork shone from the neck and lapels. Even her long hair, which she wore in a ponytail, was black and gold, the dark color brightened by one lighter lock that started at her right temple and disappeared around the back of her head.
She stormed straight up to them and then stood with folded arms, assessing them with an air of critical displeasure. When her eyes rested on him, Riku had to resist the urge to jump backwards. Her irises were completely black, as if the pupils had swallowed all the color within them. He instantly understood Goofy's apprehension regarding her.
"So you're Sora and Riku," she stated in a flat tone. "Which is which?"
"I'm Sora," the boy in question answered, trying to smile while under the scrutiny of those empty eyes. "And this is my friend, Riku."
"King Mickey said you've both had a lot of experience fighting Heartless."
"Yes, that's right," Sora said. Riku nodded in agreement.
Yuko exhaled sharply through her nose. "You don't look like much," she commented. "But," she continued before Sora could protest, "I'm not foolish enough to judge people based on looks."
"Excuse me?" Kairi ventured, taking a few steps closer to the other girl.
Yuko's head swiveled around to regard her. She seemed to have just become aware of her presence. "And who are you?"
"I'm Kairi," she replied as if that answered all. She succeeded in smiling, unfazed by the cold glare that pierced her. Her hand lifted to Yuko's forehead. "Did you know that you're bleeding?" Her fingers withdrew; dark red covered their tips.
"Oh my!" squeaked Queen Minnie as King Mickey said, "Miss Yuko, you must rest! You're still hurt."
"I'm fine," she snapped, but the action of turning her head to him caused her to stagger. Instinctively, Riku jumped forward and caught her before she could fall. "I don't need help," she growled at him, but she did not pull away, understanding that with her current muddled sense of balance, she would have instantly collapsed. Instead she contented herself with running him through with her sharp gaze.
Riku looked into Yuko's eyes and realized she was a kindred spirit. He could see it embedded in her expression and hear it in the undertones of her voice. The need to be strong no matter what, to do everything alone without help from anyone, to never admit weakness, fatigue, or injury. To carry all burdens and punishments upon her own shoulders. He had been just the same, was still the same in some ways.
He leaned in a little closer and said in a low voice, "If you don't sit down, you'll fall down, and then the King and Queen won't stop harassing you for weeks. Is that what you want?" She narrowed her eyes at him, but then she looked away in silent surrender. Riku turned his attention to the King. "Is it okay if she sits on the throne?"
"Of course."
Riku moved to take her there, but Yuko pushed herself out of his arms. Her look told him without words that she would not submit to that much assistance. Carefully, she walked to the royal chair and sat down, the two monarchs following close behind in worried attentiveness.
"See?" Goofy said to the three teenagers. "I told ya she was spooky."
"Aw, come on, ya big palooka," Donald responded. He whacked Goofy on the back of the leg with his staff before stalking off towards the throne. Goofy hopped along after him.
Kairi appeared at Riku's elbow. "Yikes," she commented, although her face showed more concern than fear. "She's intense. And her eyes are really weird."
"I dunno," Sora said vaguely from behind them. "They kinda remind me of Riku's."
"What?" Riku cried, turning to his friend in immense surprise. "How so?"
Sora's face continued to look distant and distracted as he answered, "Back when you were so obsessed with saving Kairi. They kinda looked like that. Focused. Determined. A little bit desperate even … oh!" His eyes snapped back to the present, and he realized what he had been saying. He ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment. "… eh … heh heh … sorry."
Riku managed a smile in order to ease Sora's discomfort. "It's okay," he said, but his mind tumbled. Did I really look like that?
"Well anyway," Kairi said, effectively ending the boys' awkward moment, "let's go after her and hear her story." She took each of them by a hand and led them to where the others had gone.
A/N: I had a friend back in high school (the dark ages, I know) who had lovely chestnut hair ... and one platinum streak about a finger-width wide. She grew so amazingly tired of people asking her if she dyed it. It was just one of those genetic hiccups that sometimes happen. When I was deciding on how Yuko should look, I remembered her and decided to model Yuko's hair after hers. Yuko's isn't natural though ...