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. Pairings: 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: And finally a monster chapter to tie up all the loose ends that I left. I apologize that it took awhile, but my son has a tummy bug.
Epilogue
Yuko pushed open the doors to the Abes Building with such enthusiastic force that they crashed against the walls. She flinched at the sound but then shrugged. Well, she wanted him to know she was here, and this was as good a way as any.
Stepping further into the spacious lobby, she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "Vincent! You still here?"
"I really doubt he is, blondie," Zell commented as he wandered into the building after her. He looked around at the displays of uniforms, balls, and equipment. "Didn't you say he was coming here first? He's probably moved on."
"Probably," Yuko returned, turning to him. "But I don't have a better idea of where to start looking for him. Do you?"
He shook his head, conceding her point, and walked over to examine some top-of-the-line keeper's gloves. The advertisement next to it promised improved grip and extreme comfort. Zell considered the glass surrounding the product for a moment and then smashed it with his fist. He carefully picked the shards off the gloves before lifting them up to inspect them in more detail.
"Zell!" Yuko reprimanded.
"What?" he asked innocently. "The Heartless did it."
She shook her head disapprovingly at him and then lifted her hands to call out again. But as she took a breath, she heard the rustling of air, the soft thump of feet hitting the ground behind her, and the sharp click of a gun being cocked somewhere behind her head.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" a low voice asked her.
She turned around and met the cold eyes of his double-barreled gun, but she quickly moved her gaze and her smile to his stern face instead. "Vincent, it's me! I've come to get you, just like I said."
His eyes widened as he recognized her face. "Yuko …" he whispered. "You … you're back …"
"… to normal, I know," she finished for him. With one hand, she pushed his gun down, and with the other, she pulled him closer so she could hug him.
"Apparently, her new boyfriend is one heckuva kisser," Zell laughed, putting down the gloves to turn to them. When Vincent's gun clattered to the ground, the blond grinned widely. "Heya, Vinnie. How ya been?"
Vincent stood there in utter shock, halfway into a hug with Yuko, staring at Zell with wide, disbelieving eyes. After several silent seconds, Zell laughed and commented, "Geez, Vinnie, you look like I could just poke you and you'd fall over. What? You thought I was dead or something? Pffft." He waved one hand slightly to indicate how foolish he thought the idea was.
Finally, Vincent regained his ability to function. "Zell!" he hollered, shocking both of his old friends with his uncharacteristic outburst. Dropping Yuko, he flew across the room and tackle-hugged the other boy, stunning his friends even further.
"Whoa!" Zell cried. "Watch it. Don't crush me!"
Vincent pulled back, giving Zell room to breathe, and said, "You're okay. I can't believe you're okay. Yuko and I … we thought …"
"Yeah, I know," Zell replied easily. He picked up a lock of Vincent's long hair and grimaced. "Man, Vinnie, you need a haircut. And what is it with you and Yukes and messing with your eyes? I seriously don't like it." He ran his eyes up and down Vincent's tall frame, taking in his clothes. "Don't like the wardrobe change either." Zell crossed his arms over his broad chest and shook his head.
The light in Vincent's face dimmed, and he swallowed with difficulty. "Yuko didn't tell you?"
"No, I did," she answered for Zell. She walked up to stand beside both of them. "He's just choosing to forget for the moment." After giving Zell a playful punch on the arm, she looked up at Vincent and asked gently, "So, you ready to come back?"
He looked away and refused to meet her eyes. "I … I don't know. I've learned how to control the creatures inside me -- all four of them --" Yuko drew in a hissing breath at the new knowledge. "-- but I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back to my old life." His voice dropped even lower. "I'm not sure if I ever will be."
Out of nowhere, Zell laughed, and Vincent visibly jumped. "Old life?" Zell asked with a dramatic wave of his hand. "Who wants an old life? Time for a new life, Vinnie. For all of us." He cocked his head and examined his old friend again. "So you've changed. So what? So have I." He pointed at the claw mark still emblazoned on his face. "Check it out. My badge of honor. And I have leader experience now. Can you believe it? Me!"
A small smirk worked its way into Vincent's lips. "You, Zell? A leader?"
"Darn straight!" he answered, grinning widely. "I've got a fan group and everything."
Yuko laughed at him. "Zell, I hardly think Kain and Kel constitute a fan group."
"It's a start," he protested, frowning briefly at her before returning his smile to Vincent. "And Yukes has changed, too, although she's got her old looks back -- ow!" He rubbed the back of his head and shot Yuko an angry glare.
Yuko resisted the urge to massage her stinging palm; she didn't remember Zell's head being so hard. "I told you not to call me 'Yukes'."
To their joint surprise, Vincent began to laugh. "You two are such kids," he said with a smile. "I guess some things never change."
Laughing herself, Yuko slipped one arm around Vincent's elbow and claimed Zell's with the other. She easily led them out the double doors and into the streets of Midgar.
The Gummi Ship had barely landed before the door burst open and a short black-haired blur cannoned out and slammed into Riku who had been waiting patiently nearby.
"Hiya!" the offending girl-shaped creature chirped. She stepped back to look at him, easing the pressure on the bone-crushing hug she had inflicted upon him. "You must be Riku! I'm Yuffie. Nice ta meetcha!" She grinned from ear to ear, showing off two rows of impossibly white teeth. "Heeeeey, Sora never told us how cute you were." She raised a hand as if to ruffle his hair, but he managed to wriggle out of her grasp before she could.
"Yuffie," a deep voice scolded from the ship, "leave him alone."
Riku looked past a pouting Yuffie to see a tall brunette descending the exit ramp. The stranger fixed his cool grey eyes on Riku and nodded. "Leon," he introduced himself, not bothering to offer his hand. "Sorry about Yuffie. She insisted on coming."
"Because I'm useful and have a go-get-em attitude!" Yuffie said brightly. Riku noticed that she actually bounced in place.
"That first one is up for debate," Leon commented in a low voice. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the ship's hull. Riku suppressed a smile. He had decided he liked Leon quite a bit.
"And we have tons of experience rebuilding stuff," Yuffie continued, ignoring Leon entirely. "Radiant Garden was a total mess before we came along, and now it's a really nice place to live again with lots of new --" A crash from inside the ship cut her off and grabbed her attention. A muffled string of curses followed it. "Oh, and we brought Cid, too! He's a pain in the butt, but really good at fixing things."
"Well thank you, all of you, for coming," Riku said quickly before Yuffie could go off again. "Everyone truly appreciates it." He focused his attention on Leon and explained, "There isn't much physical that needs to be rebuilt, but both Midgar and Balamb are going to need a lot of help getting their daily lives back on track. And we need supplies desperately. I asked the King for anything he could spare …"
Leon answered his unspoken question with a nod and a small wave of his hand. "We brought a large amount of food and medical supplies with us. Plus some of our tech just in case this world doesn't have it, and …" He smirked gently. "… as Yuffie said, Cid."
"Whatcha talkin' about me like I'm some sort of tool for, eh?" A tall, skinny, and extremely scruffy-looking blond man appeared in the doorway of the ship. He glared pointedly at all of them before disappearing with a mumble of "Darn kids. No respect for their elders." They soon heard more crashing -- and cursing -- from inside.
Yuffie tipped her head to the side like a small bird. "Well, I guess I should go see if he needs help." She skipped up the ramp but stopped and turned to Riku in the doorway. "Oh yeah. Sora told us all about your new guuuurlfriend. I can't wait to meet her!" She winked knowingly and disappeared. Seconds later, the cursing tripled in volume.
Leon lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose as if in pain. "I tried to get her to stay home," he apologized to Riku. "I swear I did."
"It's okay," Riku assured him, walking up to stand next to him. "I'll take any help right now. Even the annoying kind."
From under his palm, Leon gazed at Riku for a moment as if evaluating him. Then, with a small but friendly smile he stood up straight and motioned to the ship with his head. "C'mon then. We have work to do."
"Honestly, Reno, I have no idea why you brought me here."
"Because you're supposed to help me decide! You're a girl. You should know about these things."
Yuko placed her elbows on top of the glass case and rested her head on her hands. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. For some reason she had agreed to come to the most expensive jewelry store on Luca with the most clueless guy in all of creation. Reno had said that he came to this store often, that they knew him there, and that they should have no trouble getting just what he wanted. The problem was he didn't know what he wanted.
She didn't doubt his claim of coming there often though. As soon as they had walked through the door, the employees had fallen over themselves to get out of the way, and once Reno had explained what they were looking for, the poor girl who hadn't run fast enough had pulled out several display cases for them to examine and then had shrunk back into a corner. Apparently Reno had a temper to match his hair.
"Why are there so many?" he moaned, clutching the fiery locks on either side of his head. "Why can't they just make one kind?"
"Well, think about it," Yuko replied, swallowing her exasperated sigh. "Is Cera just like every other girl out there?"
He spun to stare at her. "Of course not! She's one in a million!"
"Exactly. Completely unique. Just like everyone else. We're all unique, Reno, which is why the people who make stuff for us to buy make lots of different kinds. Now will you just pick one please?"
"But it has to be perfect!" he whined, turning back to the cases. "And you're supposed to be helping me. Which one do you like?"
This time she did sigh. "Why does it matter which one I like? It's for Cera, not me." She stood up straight and pushed his shoulder until he turned away from the sparkling gems and looked at her instead. "Okay, look. We're not getting anywhere like this. Shut your eyes."
"Why?"
"Do it!" she growled, and he complied quickly. She felt slightly guilty at the fear in his face, but forty minutes of dithering had reduced her patience to scraps. "Now, picture Cera in your head." She waited patiently for the smirk to appear before slapping him upside the head. He yelped, but before he could protest, she continued, "Now picture her without including you and your tongue half-way down her throat." Again, she waited, and this time his smile was genuine and loving. She turned his body gently to the cases again. "Okay, now slowly open your eyes, look down at the rings, and pick up Cera's."
He opened his eyes as instructed and, after a small pause, reached down and picked up a ring. The gold band had a large round diamond in the center and two smaller pear-shaped diamonds on either side, turned sideways to look like petals. When he lifted his head to look at her, Yuko could see that the confidence had returned to his face.
"Good," she said with a smile. "Now buy it and let's get out of here."
"Okay," he smiled back. But then a new thought struck him, and his eyes widened in panic. "But how do I give it to her? Candle-lit dinner? Walk in the park?" He chewed his lip, fretting over the details of the proposal. Finally he turned to her and uttered the five words she was dreading with everything she possessed. "What do you think, Yuko?"
With a loud groan, Yuko dropped her head back on the glass. This was going to be the longest day of her life.
Sora flopped backwards into the sand with a long, drawn-out sigh. Why did girls like shopping so much? And why oh why did they insist on bringing their boyfriends with them? Kairi had taken two hours -- two hours -- to find a dress to wear to Reno and Cera's wedding. He was completely and totally exhausted, and all he had done was sit there and try to come up with new and original things to say about the various outfits that she modeled for him.
He draped an arm over his eyes and let the sun fill him up with warmth. It felt so good to be back here on the beach, listening to the waves and the small sounds of the birds as they flew overhead. Of course if he stayed here long enough, Riku would punish him somehow for being so lazy. By dropping something heavy on him, or scooping up some water in a bucket and dousing him, or kicking sand all over him until he moved, or …
A sad smile crept over Sora's face. That wouldn't happen now. He was safe from Riku's verbal and physical reprimands. And it still hurt a little.
It had been a full year. One whole year since he had left Riku behind on Luca. They wrote constantly, filling each other in on everything in their lives from the monumental to the mundane, but Sora still missed his best friend. Missed his smirk and his light laugh, his friendly teasing, the way his eyebrows would draw together when he was angry. And Sora missed Yuko, too. Her sparkling smile, her fiery, determined eyes, the way she walked with confidence liked she owned the world but was more than happy to share it with everyone. He really wanted to see how they acted together now. When he had left, they had still been a bit awkward and careful around each other. They must be really comfortable with each other now, and downright adorable I bet.
Patience, Sora. You'll get to see them soon. The invitation to the wedding had arrived with Riku's last letter. Kairi had been so excited although she had immediately declared that she had nothing suitable to wear; Sora had wisely decided not to mention the dress she had worn to her cousin's wedding just a few months ago. He had been very excited, too. It would be so great to see everyone again. He had wondered how Reno had convinced his father to let him marry Cera, but he guessed the old man wasn't as bad as Reno had said. Either that or Cera had threatened him with her rifle.
And Vincent had come back to Luca, so he'd get to see him again. And meet Luci finally. Oh, and Zell's new girlfriend whose name Riku had completely forgotten to mention. She apparently worked in Luca's Public Library, and Riku said she and Zell were complete opposites and yet somehow perfect for each other. Sora smiled to himself at the thought of all those couples and how domestic they were all getting. Before he knew it, they'd all be planning weddings, buying houses, having kids …
Wait a minute.
Kids? With Kairi? Sora's face suddenly got very warm, and it wasn't from the sun.
"Sooooora …" her voice drifted to him over the sand. "Where are you?"
"Here," he answered, lifted a hand and waving lazily. He forced his voice to remain steady and worked to get the blush out of his cheeks. He really didn't want to have to explain the embarrassment in his face. He didn't think she'd appreciate the pictures of her that his brain had been giving him.
Still with one arm over his eyes, he listened to her feet crunch over to him. Eventually, a shadow fell on his face as she leaned over him and blocked out the sun. "You lazy bum," she chided him. "Get up. Someone's here to see you."
"Great," he answered, deciding to tease her. "There's plenty of space here next to me. Now will you move, please? You're blocking the warmth."
She laughed at him. No, Kairi had sighed at him. Someone else had laughed. Another girl. And then a third, very familiar voice said, "Some welcome we get after being gone so long. Guess we'll just go back since you aren't interested in seeing us."
Sora bolted upright and spun so fast that the sand sprayed. "Riku!" he cried to the smiling figure standing a few feet back from Kairi. He scrambled to his feet and launched himself at the other boy who only barely managed to avoid toppling over. After hugging him fiercely for several seconds, Sora pulled back and took a good look at his best friend. His eyes narrowed. "You cut your hair!" he accused.
Riku lifted a hand to the silver locks that now barely reached his shoulders. "Yeah, well, I didn't have much choice."
Yuko appeared next to them, still laughing a bit. "There was an accident involving an ice-cream stand, Yuffie, and a very enraged Leon. Poor Riku got caught in the crossfire and got burned. Literally." She ran her fingers through his hair. "But it'll grow back. And I think he looks cute." She, Sora noticed, had abandoned the ponytail and allowed her golden hair to flow freely down her back. Turning to him, she asked, "Do I get a hug?"
"Yeah!" he answered, released Riku, and promptly tackled her instead. "I'm so glad to see both of you!" He pulled back to look at them both. "What are you doing here?"
Riku shrugged. "We've been working non-stop for so long that we decided we needed a vacation."
"Yeah," Yuko added. "And Riku said he knew this great beach that would be just perfect." She smiled at him with a gentle humor in her face.
"Plus," he finished, "this way we can all go back for the wedding together."
"Sounds great!" Sora told them. He released Yuko and took a step back to be with Kairi. Instinctively, he took her hand, and he noticed that Riku and Yuko had done the same. Smiling broadly, he asked Yuko, "So, wanna have a tour of the islands?"
"Absolutely!"
"All right! Follow me." He quickly dusted the sand off of his pants, and then the four friends walked away from the water and back towards the waiting town.
A/N:
First of all, the thank yous! Thank you for reading my massive epic-like fic. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. A special thank you to all my reviewers:
Already Stated aka Number II -- Amaya -- Angel of 513 -- blugirl468 -- Creix -- CSOmega -- Darkmoon Fleur -- Death's Mercenary -- dusk -- fuzzynavaljewelry -- Hikari -- J.F.C. -- Katnoelle -- kelia.ukima -- Keruri17 -- Lily Silver -- Miss Nox -- Moonshine's Guide -- NightRoze -- ParisWriter -- phoenixral -- riku-roxas-twilight -- RikuNeo -- sanzo-reload -- Sarah the Slayer -- SK-Seeker -- Sora's Kairi -- Tiphen -- Warp Ligia Obscura -- weixuan18 -- Wingless-Fairy
You guys are just awesome! You make doing this so much more fun.
Now, as to when I'll appear next. I know I promised a FF:AC Kadaj/Yazoo/Loz thing, and I will do it eventually. However, Christmas is going to be at my house this year. One word: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! I will be cleaning from now up until Christmas Eve most likely, especially since my little ones really like to make messes. So don't expect the AC story until next year. If I have time and can surprise you, great, but I really doubt it.
My best holiday wishes to all of you! Thanks again for coming 'round, and I hope to see you again.
-- Karai