A/N: Yeah I know so the leather pants made me a bit weird too…
Anyway, if you want you can request what you want me to put in the next chapter, and I WILL try my best to make everything meet.
Thanks, reviewers you keep me going!
Chapter THREE: The King's Seal and Snow
The sun was slowly starting to set as the night was finally going to pop up. Everyone said their goodbyes, and the two groups of people went their own separate way. Riku went as far as to leave Selma at her house, and Sora probably did the same thing to Kairi. The night was starting to pave the way into darkness, and a new day would come up… It had been two weeks since the leather pants were worn…
The afternoon sun was hitting Kairi's back as she was running up a hill. She ignored the fact that some people were calling her. 'I can't give up now…' she thought holding on tight to a clear bottle.
Going up the hill was the hard part, but it was running down the hill that was a bit harder for her. She had to control her speed so she wouldn't end up tripping over her feet. She breathed in and out trying to run as fast as she could.
Kairi had found the bottle washed up on shore on the other side of island where they use to play as kids. The green seal was the only thing that caught her eye, if it wasn't for that then there would've been no point in running.
She rushed past the small field of wildflowers and with each step she made she was getting closer to her friends, but farther away from home. Her blue eyes scanned the clearing where the paopu fruit was growing.
Meanwhile, while Kairi was running her little heart out, Riku and Sora were both talking about, well guy stuff.
"Hey have you given her a paopu fruit yet?" Sora said looking at the tree for a moment.
"I don't… Have you given Kairi a paopu fruit?" Riku asked avoiding his question.
"I'll do it, but I mean she wasn't everything to be romantic so…"
"Then do it when she's least expecting it."
"What?"
"You know what I mean…" he was going to say something else but he stopped.
In the distance the teen with the pink outfit finally made it to the area, she was panting and gasping, like if she had ran away from a lion or something. Sora took no time grabbing the bottle, as it clearly bore some kind of message of urgency.
He wrapped his fingers around the little cork and with a slight pop out came the long awaited news. His blue eyes held some kind of happiness as he held the paper under his trembling fingers. 'It was going to happen sooner or later,' Sora thought reading the paper.
Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,
It's been a while hasn't it? Of course we all knew this day would come sooner or later. The realm of light is safe, but for how long no one really knows. It can only be said that the darkness is the last thing to be taken care of. I've sent a Gummi Ship in advance to arrive on the island, it should take at least two days.
I'm asking you to go ahead of me and try and restore some of the other worlds that haven't been cleansed of the darkness. It shouldn't be too much, just a couple of worlds in this galaxy, but that shouldn't be a problem for the three of you.
Also I've been informed that somewhere in this world, somebody can provide some details on the past of the Keyblade. You will treat her with respect, as well as her brethren, and sister.
In addition if you hear about the 'Chasers' please notify me immediately and whatever you do take caution if you should face on of them. If you can't reach me tell the person I mentioned of earlier. By then I'm sure you'll have met her..
Please take care.
Signed by,
King Mickey
"Another mission…" the expression on Sora's face was one with pure happiness. "And some clues as to the Keyblade… But where are we going to find this person?" he didn't think to long about it.
Kairi held an expression of worry, she didn't really want to believe that they were going to have to fight again. They've only had a couple of months rest, but when you're a Keybearer what could you expect? Kairi looked at the letter that Sora held within his grasp. The moment of peace seemed to shatter right before her eyes.
Riku looked at the piece of parchment with some wonder and disbelief. He had just gotten use to the whole routine, but he never dreamed of being asked again to help. Riku thought that Sora would be the only one to go. Then he remembered his life on the island, the only person he could think of was Selma. His little personal counselor, she had helped him for a couple of weeks, but they had a bond that couldn't be broken. 'What about Mom?' he thought.
Sora thought for a moment and his mother popped into his mind. 'What do I say to her? What is she going to say?' he thought. What would he say to his family? The brunette's mother was in a state of depression for the first couple of months when he left. He couldn't really end up breaking his mother's heart like that. His father though believed in his son's ability, but he still worried, whether he showed it or not.
For Kairi her adopted family, they would react the same way anyone of their family's would act. They understood the situation, but they also took into grave consideration the risk of losing her. They didn't want anything bad happening to her, but they believed that she could take care of herself.
It was on that day the each of them went their own separate way, they walked the road they had to take in order to go home. The ocean breeze, and the warm sun comforted them. They each felt the warmth from the sun creep over from their backs, while the ocean breeze brushed past them leading the way.
Kairi was the first one to arrive home, and there her explanation was the first to be heard.
The young princess of heart walked up the steps of her white painted home. She found her mother and father in the kitchen as she tip-toed down the hall so as not to make so much noise.
Her parents heard the door from the house close slowly, as it had a bad case of creaking. They both knew she was home.
"Mom, Dad…" Kairi's body was shaking with the embarrassment and nervousness of the whole thing.
Her mother and father watched their little girl take a hold of her feelings. Her voice was becoming less and less shaky.
"I…I have something to tell you," she confessed, sitting next to both of her parents. They each listened, "I received a letter from King Mickey," she saw the face of her mother, "and in two days I'm… I'm going to leave…" she said gripping the fabric by her legs. She could hear her mother start to sob, and Kairi's eyes were starting to get hot. "I… I'll be all right, I promise…" she choked and the tears began to fall.
Kairi's mother took off the necklace she wore and placed it on her daughter. It was a religious artifact, and her mother believed that it would guide her on her journey. Kairi's father held on tight to her and told her how much he loved her.
Sora's path came to an end as he was already inside the living room of his own home. He asked his mother and father to sit down as he stood up.
"You're leaving, aren't you?" his mother dared to ask, tears were forming around her eyes. She was afraid of the response.
Sora nodded as he stared at the beige carpet, he felt the tears start to slide down his cheeks and his face was getting red from embarrassment. He walked towards his mother and just hugged her.
"I'm leaving in two days, but I won't go alone, Kairi, and Riku are going too." He said trying to fight back the tears.
Sora's father looked away, his emotions were ones of sadness, but he couldn't get them out. At that small moment though he got his son and held him tight.
"You take good care of Kairi, you hear?" he said to Sora.
"Yeah, I will…" he said whispering.
Riku had two paths to take, and he chose his mother first. He was in her room speaking in a low voice. The first thing one could hear were the sobs of a depressed mother, she clung to her little boy as if he was melting away.
"Mom, please don't cry…" he said holding his mother tight.
"How can I? I just…" she sobbed for a moment. "I just found out my little boy is leaving me again… How can I stop crying?!" she said letting the tears slide down. Her makeup was smearing, but she didn't care.
"I don't want to go either but…"
"Then why are you going?" she asked.
"It's my job… My duty to the King." He said looking down, his eyes were feeling warm. "I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, Riku." She said in a very tender voice as she held her son for one last time. "I suppose you're going to tell Selma?"
"I… I don't know how to tell her…" he said feeling afraid now. "I'm afraid of what she'll say…"
"If she's as good a friend as you describe her, then I'm sure she won't be mad. But she'll be a bit worried about you." His mother said wiping her tears away now. "Are you going to tell her here?"
"I think it'd be best if I go over to her house…" Riku said feeling something vibrate in his pant pocket. The words 'SoRa' flashed on the screen. "Sorry buddy…" he said clicking on him.
He dialed Selma's home number, and he felt a bit nervous. Riku's mother had left him alone so that they could talk for a while. For a moment he thought that no one was going to answer the phone…
At Selma's house…
"I got it!" she was wearing a navy colored shirt with some long black pants, and a black hooded sweatshirt. The teen grabbed the phone and flopped to the couch. "Hello?" she answered.
'Is Selma there?' a familiar voice asked.
"This is her… Riku?" she asked, the voice sounded a bit different. "Riku, are you sick or something?"
'No, no… Listen I have something to tell you, but I want to tell it to you in person.' He said.
"Hold on, have you been crying?" she asked noting the change in his voice.
'Just a little…' he admitted to her. 'But forget about it, just meet me outside.'
"Why…?" her voice turned into a tone of concern.
'Please… Just wait for me outside, Selma.'
"All right, I will Riku, talk to you later." She said saying her goodbye and hanging up the phone.
She told her older sister and brother that she was going outside. They in return didn't ask why, but told her to be careful. Selma agreed and then noticed that the black notebook she was guarding was plainly seen on the little night stand out in the open.
"You thought you could hide that from us?" Monica called out from the living room.
"We believe in what he says, so don't worry. But don't hide things like that from us, we're family." She heard Yomigami voice.
"I know that'd you'd all understand, but what if strangers got into our house…" Selma explained.
"They couldn't even get past the front door, heck one of us would be there at a moments notice. But anyway, listen go… You're friend is waiting for you." Yuki said. "I had to eavesdrop, Monica made me…" he said laughing.
Selma nodded to her older siblings and then opened the door. She waited in the dark watching the people move around, finding their way home. The street lights suddenly turned on, and then the little moths started to gather by one street light. She watched the street for a sign of her silver haired friend. Her dog was sound asleep inside, and they wouldn't be disturbed for the remainder of the time.
In the distance her heart flipped as she saw her friend walking down her side of the street. He was wearing black clothing, she noted that he was wearing something around his neck too, but she couldn't make out what was on the pendant. He waited by the steps, and she in turn walked down the steps of her home and greeted her friend.
"Riku." She said in a soft tone.
" Selma, listen I don't have much time but…" Selma had placed a finger over her lips to tell Riku to be silent for a moment.
"Would it be better if you sat down?" she asked looking at him for a moment.
"Yeah… No wait, better yet let's go to the park." He said.
"Okay." She said nodding her head.
The two of them walked side by side to the park, and the night air was beginning to get the better of the two of them. Riku didn't expect for it to get so cold, so early, but considering they went to place with no buildings the air was moving about freely.
Selma picked out a place that was right underneath the tree Kairi and Sora were at. The two of them just sat there. Selma could tell that Riku was nervous about something. She didn't pressure him into saying it, but waited for when he was ready to speak. For a couple of minutes there was silence, and the girl could tell the teen was shaking a bit, either from the cold or of nervousness.
"Here…" she offered her friend her little electronic device. In her palm was a small blue mp3 player. Riku looked at it, he was confused by her action. "Play a song, it'll ease you up a bit."
He took her little blue device and searched through the songs she had on there. One of the songs was something familiar. He had heard her sing this song a couple of days ago by one of her favorite bands, FAKE? It was titled Snow it was a bit more on the mellow side for his taste, but that was the only song he could remember the words to.
Selma had the other ear piece and listened to his selection. She laughed for a moment, but then cleared her throat.
"You drilled that song into my head." Riku said messing up Selma's hair.
"I didn't know I had that impact." She said sticking her tongue out, she was joking or course.
She makes me want to stay
I've never felt this way
Love is here all around me
I'd rather feel her pain
Than ever see her go away
They sat next to each other looking out into the sky, it was being blanketed by the stars of the night sky. Each twinkling as it came to life in the darkened sky. Riku was starting to relax for a moment, but when he thought of what he was going to say he panicked again.
" Selma…" Riku started. "No matter what happens we're always going to be best friends, right?"
"Of course, you're my buddy." She said looking at his turquoise eyes. "Now… what's the matter?" she asked in her patient tone.
Riku was still trying to figure out how he was going to say it, and he had two days to tell her. But on the last day he wanted to spend the whole day with her. He figured that telling her goodbye today would give them time to hang out more on the second day.
I could never see, I could never know
The place she's taken me, I could never own
I'm choking everyday, drowning slowly with
Everything that is inside of her life
"I'm going to be leaving…" he finally said. He looked into her eyes. "I'm getting picked up in two days."
"It's funny… But for some reason I thought it'd happen." She said looking down at the single blade of grass. "When I read what you wrote in the notebook I knew that something like that would one day happen to you." She said trying to smile. "Remember when you said not to be depressed?"
Riku looked at the expression on her face, he didn't know whether to hold her, or let her continue to talk. As a friend he let the teen continue her talk. She breathed in, and gripped on the sleeve of her sweatshirt.
"You did figure me out that day, and I was sort of surprised, but I didn't even think of that for about 3 years… It's funny, but I mean I'm still feeling like that…" she said pulling her knees up and holding them tight.
Riku placed a hand on her head and stroked her hair back, feeling the softness of it. She cracked a smile and placed her hand on top of his where it rested on her head.
"But, so you're leaving…" she said the tone in her voice was still soft, but it held some sadness.
"Yeah… I am, with Sora and Kairi," he said holding her hand and putting near his lap.
It's glowing around me right now, and I feel it...
And I can't even breathe, can't even see when I'm inside her
"I came here to say goodbye." He said hugging her tightly. Riku took in the smell of Herbal Essence that was forever to cling to his memory. The ear piece came off now. "I want to say thank you, for everything." Riku said closing his eyes feeling his own heartbeat thump in his chest.
Selma held on tight to him and sighed, if she spoke right now she felt her voice was going to crack, or that she might just start to cry at that point. The music was still playing in the background, a tune for their emotions right now as the ear piece fell to the cold grass.
Riku just held on for a bit longer trying to figure out his next move. He wanted to plan the last day for the two of them, with no distraction, just two good friends on their last hang out.
"I don't really want you to leave…" she whispered in his ear, still trying not to let him go.
"I don't want to go either, Selma." He said in a low voice. "But you know why I have to."
"I know why, but I mean it's only human to be selfish."
"I'm going to miss our talks." He said laughing under his breath.
But I realize it...
I kinda feel that I'm breaking in my room
On a ground that I can't feel
They finally let go of each other and sighed. Riku sat closer to her, but he felt some stress come up on him giving him a headache. Selma offered her shoulder for a good resting place and he didn't refuse it.
"It's not good getting worked up about it." She said pinching his cheek for a moment.
"Let's plan something the day after tomorrow, just the two of us, no distractions."
"All right, that's a good way to relax, before you leave."
"Really early in the morning, bring something warm." He said kissing her on the cheek.
Dead flowers come alive when
I inhale every word she gives to me
One touch of her skin and
I heal without medication in me
She scrunched up her face when she felt his lips touch her cheek. The teenage girl stuck out her tongue and shook her head. Her brown eyes looked at the turquoise ones and just smiled, the two of them smiled at one another.
"So then something warm… where are we going, buddy?" she said.
"A surprise, I can't tell you." He said waving a finger at her.
"So… How did your mom take it?" she asked concerned about the woman.
"We cried about it for a while," he would only say it to her. "so that's why I sounded a bit weird."
"You gonna cry when it's your last day?" she asked punching him in the arm.
"I might…" he said sneering, "but you're gonna have to stay through the whole day if you want to see me cry."
"I think I'll pass, seeing a guy cry is worse than anything I've seen." She said, saying serious, but then she changed. "Of course it's nice to see a guy get in touch with his emotions. Crying doesn't show a sign of weakness; remember that, it means you're strong because you have the guts to cry."
"I'll keep that in mind…" he said closing his eyes, he was resting his head on her shoulder. "I almost forgot…" he shifted himself for a moment and took off the necklace he wore.
It was a small friendship pendant that was crafted in half. It was a heart painted in black with one side holding yellow writing and the other side in red writing. It read 'to the grave best…' and the other side '…friend till the end'. Riku gave her the side with the final part that was written in red.
It's glowing around me right now, and I feel it...
And I can't even breathe, can't even see when I'm inside her
It calls me, it burns me sometimes, when I'm near
And I can't even talk, can't even walk when I'm beside her
But I realize it
And it's warm like snow...
Oh baby, you separate me
From the side that pulls me into pain
I can't explain it, can't contain it
I'm overloading with all the love that you've designed
Selma carefully placed it over her head and put it on. She smiled and swore to cherish it till the ends of the earth. She hugged him for a moment and told him again how lucky she was to have a friend like him.
For Riku those words were more than enough for him, yet for sometime now he felt that he wanted something more, but for now he wouldn't dare let this ruin the moment him and his best buddy were having. For right now Riku didn't give in to the emotion he was feeling other than happiness.
He would wait till the last day to find out what he was trying to make sense out of…
It's glowing around me right now, and I feel it...
And I can't even breathe, can't even see when I'm inside her
It calls me and burns me sometimes, when I'm near
And I can't even talk, can't even walk when I'm beside her
It's glowing around me right now, and I feel it
And I can't even breathe, can't even see when I'm inside her
It calls me and burns me sometimes, 'cause I'm weird
I can't even talk, can't even walk when I'm beside her
...And it's warm like snow