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: This one turned out just as long as Ten. Oh well. At any rate, here we have Step 3: Boy falls for girl ... literally.
For the "if you care" category, I based Braig's outfit on Rubedo/Jr. from Xenosaga II and Dilan's on Cao Cao from the Dynasty Warrior series.
Eleven
Yuko had decided she hated Soldiers. The drunken way they moved like they were doing some sick dance. Of course, she hated Shadows, too. Just when she would catch up to one, it would stick its head back under the ground where she couldn't reach it. And she despised anything that flew around and spit magic at her. And you didn't want to get her started on those huge fat ones.
"Yuko! Pay attention!"
"Ahh!" She lifted her Keyblade and only barely managed to avoid being sliced by the Soldier as it flew past her. "Blast!"
Behind her, Sora sighed dramatically. "You can't just space out like that. You missed a perfect opportunity to practice the Cyclone move I'm trying to teach you."
"C'mon, Sora," Riku interjected from his spot leaning against a building. "Not everyone has reflexes as fast as yours. I can't even do that move."
"That sounds like a challenge," Yuko stated, jumping away from two Shadows that had risen from beneath her.
Sora laughed. "Uh-oh. Now you've done it, Riku." His friend just shrugged.
"Aren't either of you going to help me at any point?" she demanded, swinging at a black head that had poked up.
"Nope. You need the practice. Now watch that Soldier and try again."
She growled in frustration. How had she gone from being the best soldier in the army to being a pathetic amateur that others laughed at? Okay, Sora had laughed at Riku, not her, and Riku wasn't laughing at all, but she just knew that inside they were both sniggering at her inexperience and awkwardness. A small voice rose from the back of her head saying that they were doing no such thing, but at the moment, she was far too annoyed to listen to it.
Sick of all of this, she crouched down and spun, taking out both of the Shadows at once. That just left the Soldier. It bobbed its head at her as she glared at it. Then, just as she had lifted her Keyblade to strike it, she noticed it preparing for another flying attack. She quickly sought the air currents it gathered around itself the way Sora had taught her. Once she had found them, she used them to launch herself at the small Heartless, spinning her blade in the process. It should have completely destroyed the obnoxious monster. Unfortunately, she missed. She landed on her backside several feet away, bruised and disheartened.
"All right!" Sora called. "That was much better. You almost got it."
"When this is all over," Yuko grumbled to herself, "I'm going to slice his tongue off and shove it down his throat. We'll see how cheerful he can be then." She gingerly rubbed a sore spot on her hip as the Soldier did a little mocking jig around her. Her anger grew as she watched it. Anger at the Soldier, at Sora for his good-natured encouragement, at Riku for just standing there, but mostly at herself for continuing to be useless and unable to help anyone.
"Ohhh, forget it!" she exploded. Without even standing up, she hurled her Keyblade at the Soldier. It pierced its chest and sent it flying backwards until it hit the wall. The little Heartless blinked at her in what seemed to be surprise before fading away into black mist and leaving her blade to vibrate like a plucked string, its end stuck several inches into the rock.
Sora scratched the back of his head with one hand. "Well, okay, that works too."
Riku laughed quietly under his breath for a moment. Then, he commented, "Y'know, Sora, you should stop trying to make her fight like you and help her find a style that fits her own talents. Her aim is fantastic."
Sora crossed his arms, leaned back a bit, and tapped one foot in thought. "Yeah, and while disarming yourself is a bad idea usually, it could work really well as a finishing move." He brightened as a new insight came to him. "Like at the end of a combo or something. That could be devastating!"
Yuko blinked at them. Talents? Devastating? Were they praising her? She rose to her feet slowly.
"Too bad we didn't pick up any knives or shuriken or something before we left," Riku said, continuing the conversation with Sora. "She could use those as a long range and then slide in after knocking the enemies off-balance."
"Yeah, but even with Donald, Goofy, and Kairi, the front is going to need all the supplies it has, at least until we can relieve some of the pressure on them."
"The Midgar Garden has a ton of supplies," Yuko interrupted. She retrieved her Keyblade from the wall and then quickly crossed the distance to them. "We could go there and pick some up." When they looked at her in confusion, she added, "The Garden is where the SeeDs trained."
Sora nodded. "Okay, that sounds good. Where is it?"
"In the center of the city," she answered eagerly. "We'll have to stop skirting the edge and go directly in, but it should be worth it." It had been so long since she had held the small weapons she preferred. Devalin had insisted she use the larger blade for purposes of morale. If she could somehow incorporate her favored knives into her new fighting style …
"Well, the plan was to stay away from the center," Sora interrupted her thoughts, "but I guess since we don't know where their base is anyway, we might as well take the chance." He shrugged and looked to Riku for confirmation.
The older boy nodded. "Sure." He stood up straight and lifted his green eyes to the building next to him. "If you don't mind, Sora, I'd like to go up and take a look around. That balcony there should give me a good view of the area." He pointed to an overhanging about seven stories up.
"Okay, that's a good idea. You can check out the path to the center and see if there are any Heartless along it."
Riku nodded, clearly having thought of this as well, and approached the door. It was locked, but a simple kick knocked it open. He disappeared inside without looking back.
Left alone with Sora, Yuko at first felt uncomfortable, but she soon realized Riku's absence gave her the perfect opportunity to ask questions. Sora had such a talkative nature that he would provide answers without making her feel like she was prying into something private. Her late-night conversation with Riku had eased so many of her worries and given her hope, but it had also given her a strange desire to learn more about the quiet boy who had smiled at her with such genuine care.
"Hey, Sora, how did you and Riku meet anyway?"
"Huh?" He turned his head to look at her. "Why?"
She rearranged her face so that it looked only mildly interested instead of deeply curious. "No reason. You two just seem really close, that's all. I was wondering how long you've been friends."
Sora shifted his weight to stand more comfortably and leaned his head back to think. "We've been friends for ages," he told her. "Since we were little kids. I can't even remember anymore how we met exactly."
To Yuko's private delight, he launched into a series of stories of his shared childhood with Riku and the island where they had grown up together. When he reached the point of Kairi's arrival, she noticed his eyes light up a little more than usual. She could not resist a small smile at the sight. His love for Kairi was so obvious and so sweet. It almost made Yuko feel jealous.
Riku's personality had kept their talk serious and somber, but Sora touched on some of the same subjects with a light-hearted humor that made Yuko laugh. Her decision to maim him quickly melted away. As she listened to his voice and heard within it the kindness and generosity of his heart, she began to understand why Kairi loved him so and why Riku would sacrifice himself so readily in order to help him.
He had just begun to explain some of the tactics he had used to avoid having to help Riku with the raft when it all came to an abrupt end.
"Such a pretty picture. What a shame I have to destroy it."
Yuko and Sora both whipped around to face the direction of the voice. The area around them remained empty, but Yuko had recognized the speaker. How could she ever forget the sound of that voice? Like smooth dark chocolate laced with arsenic.
Sora apparently recognized it, too. "Show yourself, Dilan!" he cried.
"If you insist."
A dark portal appeared on the roof of the building across from them, and Dilan stepped through. The last time Yuko had seen him, he wore only a flowing white shirt and simple blue pants, but since then he had added a dark blue battle robe embroidered with red and gold and clasped at the waist with a white belt. The color of the robe brought out the deep blue in his dark hair, styled as usual in long dreadlocks.
Seeing him sent a spark of fury shuddering through Yuko. Because of him, Markul and Vincent …
He smirked down at them. "How foolish of Braig to be worried about such small children. Come, boy. Show me how you fight."
"Gladly!' Sora shouted. He called his Keyblade, expecting Dilan to descend and fight him, but popping noises sounded all around them instead. Yuko took several steps backwards as a group of Heartless she had never seen appeared: two metallic creatures with long lances and a host of small bats.
"Yuko," Sora ordered calmly, "you take the Hook Bats. If you can catch one by its hook, you can swing it around and knock out the others. I'll take the Lance Soldiers." He ran straight toward the yellow Heartless, not waiting for her to respond.
After several attempts to catch a hook and failing, Yuko decided simply to swipe at the silly bats instead. She found them to be easy to kill even with their tendency to fly up beyond her reach. Just as she cut the last one in half, she heard Sora cry out to her to watch out. She looked up in time to see him flying towards her, his hands wrapped around a lance that had seemingly gone haywire. She jumped out of the way as it crashed into the ground. Concerned for Sora, she started towards him, but he jumped up easily and sliced into the dazed Lance Soldier, which had apparently taken the wild ride with him. It evaporated into dark dust. Sora flashed her a confident grin.
Another pop took his attention away. A huge green ball with frightening spikes had appeared. "Morning Star," he muttered. "Stay back!"
Yuko gladly complied, watching as the younger boy slid right up to the enormous Heartless. He slammed his Keyblade into it several times, dodging its punches expertly as he did so. After a few seconds of this abuse, it pulled back and launched itself into the air. Instead of moving away, Sora positioned himself underneath it and lifted his blade. As it came down, Sora pushed back, causing the Morning Star to bounce and flail wildly. Then, Sora jumped up into the air with it and proceeded to dribble it against the ground until it cracked and splintered into pieces. He landed comfortably on his feet again.
"Wow," Yuko whispered, thoroughly impressed. She started to open her mouth to call out to him, but a hand clamped down over her lips and pulled her backwards. Another knocked the Keyblade from her slackened grip and wrenched her arms behind her back. She found herself pressed up against Dilan's chest; he smelled faintly of damp soil and wood smoke.
Sora had turned at her surprised squeak. He sighed at the apprentice, not overly concerned. "What is it with you, always trying to kidnap girls?" A smirk began to tug at his lips. "Somehow I think you'll have even less luck with her than you did with Belle."
Yuko struggled madly against him. He was so strong! If she could open her mouth just a bit more, she could bite his hand …
"Your skill is impressive, boy," Dilan began, "but I … ugh …" He stopped in his attempt to intimidate Sora as Yuko continued to flail against his body. "Stop fighting, girl," he hissed in her ear. "Or I'll slit your throat."
Fine by me, she wanted to say, but it came out as a muffled snarl. She had almost managed to wriggle one wrist out of his grip. If she could manage to get her Keyblade back, considering their close proximity, she could personally introduce him to a whole new lifestyle.
Sora was actually laughing at them now. "If you could see the look on your face …" he taunted Dilan.
"Silence!" the apprentice thundered. "I'll show you my true power, you -- !"
But they never got to hear Dilan's epithet of choice. Yuko heard the gentle thuds of feet hitting the ground behind her, and then Dilan's entire body spasmed. He dropped her immediately and staggered to the side. Whirling around to face him, she instead met the frantically worried eyes of Riku.
He lowered his blade and reached out to take her by the upper arm. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
A portal sprang into life a few feet away, but Sora ran in front of it before Dilan could escape. He lifted his blade in challenge. "Oh, no. You picked this fight. Now fight it! You've done nothing but talk big and send flunkeys at us. Show me this 'true power' of yours."
Dilan glared at Sora, pure hatred shining in his deep blue eyes. He drew himself up to his full impressive height. "As you wish," he rumbled. A great wind swept up around them, creating two tall tornados from which enormous, fiery-red lances appeared. Dilan reached out casually and grasped one in each hand. He sneered.
Sora blinked. "Well, that's different." He ducked the blade of the lance that had spun towards his head.
"Sora!" Yuko cried.
"Yuko, stay back!" Riku ordered her. He charged Dilan, palm outstretched. Sora had begun a slashing combination, and, as he finished, Riku unleashed several blasts of light from his hand that nearly made Yuko fall backwards in surprise. Where had that come from? What other tricks did these boys have that she didn't know about yet?
Dilan had staggered from the double attack, but he recovered quickly and blocked Sora's next set of blows with his lances. Then, he dropped low and spun with one blade on either side. Sora managed to jump over the rotating threat, but one of the lances caught Riku. He fell back with a hiss of pain, clutching a spot on his leg. Dilan rose and clamped the two weapons together, creating a long cannon that spit a ball of flame at Riku. The boy succeeded in rolling away in spite of his injury, and Sora forced the lances apart, somersaulting over them and wedging his blade between them as he passed.
Snarling angrily, Dilan turned on Sora and began to slash him with both blades, whirling them in fast circles. Unable to block, Sora thrashed beneath the onslaught, crying out in pain each time a lance struck him. With a guttural yell, Riku launched himself at Dilan, stopping the blades with his own just long enough for Sora to roll out of the way. After dealing and receiving several hits, Riku hurried out of the way as well, falling to one knee and breathing heavily. The injuries on both boys filled Yuko with fear, and she dug quickly through her pockets for something to help. Finding two Hi-Potions, she threw one on each. Sora caught her eye just long enough to thank her with a nod.
Dilan stood waiting with a sneer on his face, one lance pointed at each boy. He had taken a significant amount of damage, but he still stood with confidence. The look on his face suggested that he believed he had seen the worst the boys could do and did not consider their attacks to be worth much. Yuko swallowed hard, wondering if he was right.
Then, Sora looked across at his friend and smiled. "Riku?"
Riku grinned, understanding. "Yeah."
Together, they flew at the apprentice from both sides. They slashed with such amazing skill and speed that Dilan had no opportunity even to defend himself much less fight back. After a few seconds of this, they suddenly came together, back to back, and began to spin, their two blades creating a whirlwind of destruction that pushed Dilan backwards until he hit a building. His screams raked at Yuko's ears as they continued to assault him. She just stared in amazement.
Then, just as she thought she would faint from the dizziness brought on by watching them, they pulled apart. Sora knocked Dilan up into the air, and they both jumped up as well, one on either side. They pointed their Keyblades at each other, with Dilan in between, and together unleashed a bright light that pierced him from both sides. He howled in pain as the light enveloped him.
As she watched, Sora's comments about her own fighting style returned to her. While disarming yourself is a bad idea usually, it could work really well as a finishing move. She lifted up her own Keyblade and stared at it as the idea formed in her mind. Slowly, a grin spread over her entire face.
"I think I'll give you a new name," she whispered to the starry weapon. "Moonlight Arrow."
She drew her arm back and, with a great cry of triumph, flung it at Dilan. It lodged itself in the center of his chest.
Sora and Riku landed gently on the ground just as Dilan, shaking and screaming like the end of the world, began to disappear. Within moments, Yuko's blade clattered to the ground with finality.
For a moment, no one spoke. Then, Sora said, "One down, four to go."
One down. Yuko could barely believe her ears. One down.
Out of nowhere, Riku rounded on Sora, his normally cool eyes blazing. "What were you thinking?" he yelled. "Why didn't you help Yuko?"
Sora blinked at him and stepped backwards in shock. "What? What do you -- ? She was fine! She had it under control. She very nearly shook him off herself."
"She could have been killed!"
"Well, what did you want me to do? Hack at him through her? What are you so steamed about anyway?"
Yuko gaped in astonishment. Riku was mad. At Sora. For not protecting her.
"You could have done something other than just stand there laughing!"
"I'm telling you he could barely stand straight from trying to hold her still!"
"Stop it," Yuko said quietly. "Both of you." The serene tone of her voice grabbed their attention, and they turned to look at her. She wandered up to them, smiling. "It's done," she told them. "I'm fine. We're all fine. Let's just …"
She stopped, ready to burst from the joy she felt. One of the monsters was gone, and for the first time she believed they could get rid of the rest. True, she had done little to help, but she knew she could get better. She had found her talent and named her Keyblade. And she was no longer alone. Sora and Riku cared about her, supported her, and wanted to help her, and she cared about them, too, cared about them deeply. She had thought she would never feel that way again.
Shyly, she took each boy by the hand. "Let's just be friends."
A/N: I'm not a big fan of the limit attacks, but I do like the Sora/Riku one. ("Riku!" "Time's up!" fist bump) And now everyone (except Warp Ligia Obscura) is happy. Dilan, you may have noticed, continues my trend of Heartless being slightly different from their Nobodies in appearance and weapons. It seems logical that way to me -- and allows for a bit more creativity.
I await the reviews declaring how wonderful it is now that he's gone. (Poor, poor guy ...)