Woot! Onto chapter four! Awesomeness, it's like I'm on an almost once a week roll or something. ;P Things are finally sort of getting started. Patience, dear reader dudes, the plot will really get going soon enough, but introductions must be made. ^^' Looking around at the number of reviews I've been getting though has made me consider a possible theory. fantasy genre stories don't get many reviews. So sad, because some of them are really good. The goal I set for you then (I know I have at least 22 people reading this story, I can see you in the "story alert" tab ^^) is to review for at least one fantasy story that you like, just to get these numbers up a bit more. Doesn't have to be my story, any one of them will do. If you review for more than one fantasy story then you are my hero.

Anyway, speaking of reviews and heroic acts of wonderfullness, I'd like to thank: ramen-is-my-goddess, PirataNoctis, A-chan, XfallenXshadowX, Ivy J., kurumaotokoiscarmen. You people are my Muses and inspiration. Pat yourselves on the back for being awesome. ^^

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Chapter 4


Riku leaned back, his hands digging into the warm sand behind him as they supported his weight. This view, looking out into the brilliant aquamarine ocean, the sky a brilliant pinkish orange from the setting sun; it was what people paid for when they traveled to Destiny Islands. And he got it every day of his life. Smirking, Riku stared out at the ocean waves. No one could say that he didn't try to appreciate the beauty every once in a while.

The sound of sand crunching underneath footsteps caught his ears and Riku tilted his head back to see Axel picking his way down the beach. The redhead looked almost comical with his punk boots clutched in his hands and his pants rolled up to mid-calf, his pale bare feet kicking up bits of sand as he made his way over. Seeing Riku's aqua gaze on him, Axel smirked casually, putting his hand on his hip. "Hey, fancy meeting you here."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Axel shrugged lazily. "I just never took Riku Jenovan to be the romantic type. Watching the sunset, who'd have thought?"

"I thought I might as well." Tossing his silver hair back, Riku glanced over his shoulder at Axel. "There must be something to it after all, if so many people want to see it."

Chuckling, Axel dropped down next to the younger teen, his eyes drifting off to the sunset on the sea's horizon. He was quiet for a moment then reached into his pockets, quickly pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up. After a long exhale of smoke, he spoke up. "So, how was your day after school ended?"

"As expected. I finished up homework, hung out at home, played some games, then came out here."

"Sounds good and relaxing." Axel blew out another puff of smoke. "Hey, Riku?" Riku looked over then shifted his body so that he was facing Axel a bit more. Right now what Axel had to say was sure to be more interesting than the sunset anyway. Axel glanced over then smirked. "Do you believe in myths and legends?"

Riku raised an eyebrow. "What, you mean like fairy tales and shit like that?" When Axel nodded, Riku snorted. "Hell no. I didn't even believe in that stuff when I was a kid. Father wouldn't let it into the house. Why?"

Shrugging, Axel's acidic green eyes turned back to the sunset. "Just asking."

Riku shook his head with a sigh. "I would ask if you believe in that shit but I'm afraid of the answer. It's bad enough with Namine in the house. She's always leaving her sketches around filled with things like fairies and these fantastical worlds. It's like she wants to piss Father off. I don't need you living off in dreamland along with her."

Axel laughed, the sound quick and harsh. "That sounds like Namine. I'm surprised you haven't talked to her about it though."

"Why would I talk to her about it? I don't care what she draws. Now, did you just come here to talk about Namine's drawings or do you actually have something to say?"

"Nah. I don't really have anything to talk about. We could just hang out and watch the sunset before heading out to dinner." Getting a nod from Riku, Axel grinned and settled back down, both of them falling quiet as they looked out into the ocean. As Axel smoked, Riku sighed and rested more weight back onto his arms. This was nice. It seemed like he was only able to have these moments of comfortable quiet when he was with Axel. Sure, Namine was quiet, but she was so inclined to silence that the quiet was empty and awkward. And being with Kairi certainly wasn't a calm experience; he made sure of that.

After a few minutes, Axel's quiet drawl cut through the tropical evening air, a stream of cigarette smoke floating up from between his lips. "Sunset sure is pretty though."

"You only like it because it looks like fire."

Axel smirked, glancing over at Riku, his voice lowering to a thoughtful murmur. "Hey, we're luckier than you know being able to see this. Personally, I prefer sunrise, but sunset is just as pretty. And yeah, it looks like fire, but then again maybe its fire that tries to match the beauty of a sunset." Riku sent him a look and Axel blinked then laughed. "Sorry that I'm waxing poetic right now. I might be a little bit high."

Rolling his eyes, Riku shook his head. "Whatever. I'll let you finish watching your 'beautiful' sunset and then we can get to dinner."

Trekking through the dark forest of the spirit world, Riku couldn't help but feel wistful for Destiny Islands, where, you know, the sun rose. Perpetual darkness was messing with his sense of time. As well as he could figure, he had been in the spirit world for at least two days now. And for the last few hours, he had been subjected to following a silent, dangerous blond through said tangle of black trees and bushes.

Cloud had his sword clutched loosely in his right hand, almost casually swinging at any underbrush or Heartless that were in his path. He didn't show any change in emotion between the two things. He also seemed to be impervious to fatigue. He just kept on walking at a pace that Riku could barely keep up with, never hesitating a step. Riku on the other hand was tripping over every other damn protruding rock or root. Twice he had put his hand down against a tree trunk to stabilize himself only to get it covered in sap. Worst of all, Heartless had been figuring out that if they attacked him, from behind, they could get in a few scratches before Cloud would bother to turn around and kill them.

Nursing the last scratch to his arm, it wasn't deep but it still stung like hell, Riku glared at Cloud's back. It didn't help that the spirit was wearing all black. The only thing he could really see in the dark was Cloud's blond spiky hair.

And Riku had to admit, he could still sense the hatred rippling from Cloud. The blond never turned back to check that he was still following unless Riku cried out from being attacked. It was humiliating. Not to mention Riku had a suspicion that Cloud was deliberately trying to lose him with his fast pace. The humiliation was turning to exasperated rage.

The forest setting slowly thinned out again until they were walking into what looked to be a bare meadow. Riku was fairly sure it must have been filled with flowers once, like Aerith's glen was. But the darkness had once again left any of the more sensitive plants dead, so now it was just filled with rocks and clods of dirt. Not exactly picturesque. Tired, slightly bloody, and now angry, Riku finally stopped walking in the middle of the field. "Alright," he growled. "Stop. I'm sick of this."

Much to his surprise, Cloud stopped. Maybe he was just looking forward to confronting the silver-haired youth. Instead of turning fully around though, Cloud simply looked back at him over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Scowling, Riku went to run a hand through his hair then thought better of it, wiping his hands on his pants instead, anger fueled when he saw that they had several rips and stains on them already. These pants had been specifically bought from the top designer on Destiny Islands, tailored exactly to his measurements. "Look. Cloud. I don't know what your issue is, and I don't really care. But you can't take your problems out on me. I've got nothing to do with it!"

Cloud's visible blue eye narrowed and Riku's face darkened.

Throwing out his hand, Riku raised his voice. "Whoever hurt you before, I'm not him. I don't even know who that person is. I've never been here before, so give me a damn break! Stop being so dark and angsty, you're not proving anything by pushing me to my limits, so cut it out, bastard!"

Cloud twitched as Riku's voice rose to a shout before his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. Twisting around fully, Cloud tightened his grip on his sword and let the tip fall from his shoulder to the ground. "Fool. Don't pick a fight against an opponent you've no hope of beating."

"I'll pick a fight with you if I want. I've only spent a few hours with you and I'm already tired of you!"

Within the blink of an eye Cloud had knocked him to the ground. It was like he had been attacked by Kadaj, but ten times worse. Much faster. He was already tired, but the ground's blow to his back actually caused him to black out for a few seconds. And now there was a sword at his throat again. Cloud was glaring down at him, his neon eyes blazing, nearly glowing, the shine reflecting along the length of the sword. "You're right." He growled. "I shouldn't be comparing the two of you if you can't even block a simple strike. Absolutely pathetic." He paused, staring down at Riku for a moment before he sniffed and straightened up, his sword falling to his side. "Don't move."

Riku stared as Cloud stalked off, back toward the forest they had just left. As soon as he thought the blond-haired man was out of hearing range, he let out a low groan and sat up, a pounding already coming from his head where it had smacked against the hard dirt ground. That tackle had hurt. He probably had whiplash from how fast Cloud had sprung on him.

Speaking of Cloud, that damn wolf had been gone for a few good minutes now. With a grunt, Riku tottered back up onto his feet, patting the visible dirt off of his pants and shirt. He didn't even want to touch his hair. It was probably disgusting by now since he hadn't showered for days. Sighing, Riku looked back for any sign of Cloud. The bastard had probably left him alone to be eaten by a horde of Heartless. Riku was still pissed though; he hadn't done anything to Cloud. He didn't deserve Cloud's idiotic anger. Damn, his head was still spinning from the tackle.

Something suddenly struck the back of his head, sending him stumbling a few steps forward. Cursing, he clutched his head, nasty hair or not, as the pain swelled to an entirely new level. His eyes narrowed with rage as he whipped around to see Cloud smirking almost smugly behind him.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"If I'm being forced to babysit you, you're learning how to defend yourself. Pick it up."

Riku looked down at his feet to see a large stick, like the one he had tried to fight the Heartless with earlier. Before he reached down, he glanced over at Cloud to see that he was also holding a stick in his left hand, the man's right still clutching onto his massive sword. "What is this?"

"This is your break. We're not moving a step forward until you can block me properly. I'll even spare you my sword arm. Now, defend yourself."

Riku shouted as Cloud suddenly sprang forward. Even with that sword weighing him down, he moved like lightening and struck Riku on the side of his arm, undoubtedly leaving a welt. With a hiss, Riku grabbed the arm then scrambled for the stick on the ground as Cloud turned around to strike again. Before he could even wrap his fingers around it, the spirit swung at Riku again, this time landing a sharp rap on the hand reaching for the stick. Yelping, Riku shook out his stinging hand, glaring up at Cloud before he snatched the stick. He fell back a few steps to re-orientate himself and lifted the makeshift weapon up into a defensive position.

"Good." Cloud growled. "Now block me!"

Gritting his teeth, Riku tightened his grip on the stick, holding it as Cloud was wielding his. Even though his grip was good though, when Cloud's blow made contact, it threw him back a good few steps. What he didn't expect though, was to Cloud immediately to shift his weight and direct another strike down at his legs, pulling his feet out from underneath him.

As Riku fell once again to the ground, Cloud sighed and straightened up. "You would have lost your legs if I was using a real sword. But you protected your chest, although it was an obvious attack on my part. Catch your breath, we will continue once you can move."

Letting out a moan of exasperation, Riku let his head fall back into the dirt.

He hated this world. With a passion.

After that first impromptu training session, Cloud developed a painfully consistent pattern. He would force a march for hours until Riku could barely stay on his feet, chopping through whatever Heartless had the misfortune of attacking them. Then without warning, he would suddenly turn around and attack Riku right when he wasn't expecting it. Every single time.

Riku thought that he would be at least able to ready himself in time once, but no. It was as if Cloud had a sixth sense for when his mind started to wander and it got to the point where Riku didn't dare to let go of that stupid stick that was supposed to be a training weapon. Hell, maybe Cloud did have a sixth sense. In any case, after the quick and often pathetic fight, Cloud would then set up a small camp of sorts. Cloud would start a fire with a word of magic then go out to hunt while Riku stoked up the blaze in an attempt to warm up. Then they would eat and then Cloud would stomp out the fire and force them into another march. One out of three times he actually allowed a short nap, but those seemed few and far between to Riku who had always had the luxury of sleeping, as long as he wanted, with a full stomach.

After one particularly brutal lesson from Cloud on "how to strike," Riku found himself once again crouched over a fire, grumbling to himself as he rubbed his hands together, trying to create as much friction heat as he could. Ever since they had left Aerith's glen he had been getting colder and colder. It was almost as if the darkness was pressing in on him, seeping into his clothes even. Shivering as a cold wind brushed across his back, Riku scowled and buried his hands into his jacket. Once again, the tragedy of having clothes meant for a tropical climate was hitting him full force. It had to be near freezing in this freakish world, and the fact that the wind had picked up a bit was helping neither the chill nor the small fire.

Luckily, fire wood was readily available. With the pace Cloud had been keeping, they had long since left the dirt-bare fields and had returned into another forested area. The change in scenery seemed to be a relief to both of them. Riku was happy because there was now more than scraggly brush to try and keep a fire going. He had also noticed that as soon as they had returned to the trees Cloud had relaxed slightly. At least he was no longer scanning their surroundings with such paranoid diligence. Now his scans had been reduced to a somewhat cautious diligence. Maybe it was because they were no longer so completely out in the open.

The quiet crunch of dead leaves brought Riku's attention back to the present, and to his complaining stomach. Tilting his head around, he scowled at Cloud as the blond man entered their current campsite. "What took you so long?"

Snorting, Cloud held out two dead rabbits. At least, they looked like rabbits. Riku really couldn't be too sure about anything in this world. "Food's scare."

Riku winced, thanks to morbid fascination unable to look away as Cloud deftly skinned, gutted, and skewered the small animals. As soon as the most gruesome aspects of the meal were over and the raw meat was now hanging over the fire, Riku found his voice again. "Yeah, I noticed that everything's kind of empty here. Is that kind of low population normal?"

Cloud shook his head, blue eyes looking down at his lap as he toyed with a stray, dead leaf. For a few moments, he was silent, as if thinking things over. Seconds before Riku was about to question him again, Cloud spoke up, his low voice quieter than usual, forcing Riku to lean forward if he wanted to hear properly. "Once there were many more animals, and many more spirits. But because of the darkness, the animals have died and all spirits with the ability have gone into hiding or have left for the human world."

Riku frowned, eyes searching Cloud's face for any sign of emotion as the blond stopped speaking. Cloud was a wolf spirit, so according to what Luxord had told him, and inferring from what Aerith had said, he should have the ability to go into the human world himself. Because animal spirits could do that while elementals couldn't. Leaning back, Riku tilted his head to the side, shaking his silver bangs away from his eyes. "Why haven't you left? This place isn't doing you any good."

"I would die before abandoning those I cherish."

Riku blinked at the low reply then shrugged, his gaze drifting away from the glow of the fire to the darkness of the woods around them. "You're nothing but a romantic then. I couldn't live in a place like this. It feels like everything's rotting away." He looked back at Cloud, a frown making his way back onto his lips. "It's depressing as hell."

Cloud locked gazes with him, his eyes glowing intensely. "As long as others have hope, we stay here in this world. I don't like it, but we stay."

One of Riku's eyebrows rose at hearing this. Of course, Cloud had already shown an almost subservient loyalty to Aerith. Riku supposed it must aggravate the sprit then, that they were stuck in such dismal conditions. It would be hard to take care of others when just trying to survive yourself. But Cloud looked as if he could handle the environment. His lean, almost thin, frame was clearly meant for survival. And his clothes, the black turtleneck, pants, and accessories; it was as if they had been made specifically to blend into a land of endless night. Thinking back to Aerith though, and her bright pink dress, it seemed almost as if Cloud had given into the environment, that he was fighting it only for her sake.

They fell into a kind of silence after Cloud's words. After eating, despite Riku's fervent protests, Cloud got back onto his feet, his hand reaching out seemingly automatically for his weapon. Knowing that he would be left alone if he were to try to protest and stay behind, Riku grudgingly stood up as well, though not without his fill of protests. He didn't really care if it annoyed Cloud; he wasn't used to this kind of treatment, he'd complain if he wanted to.

After another half hour of walking, Riku realized with some surprise that the trees were getting greener. They actually had leaves, dark and draped with moss as they were. They actually looked alive. And they had grown larger as well, their roots bowing underneath the ground cover of leaves, their trunks so wide that Riku doubted if three men could reach around them and touch fingers. It was as if they had entered a night-time Jurassic scene.

"Watch your step here."

Riku glanced up just in time to have his foot fall through a cover of dead leaves and into a pool of water. Cold water. Hissing, Riku pulled his leg up, glaring up at a smug-looking Cloud. "What the hell? You couldn't have warned me sooner?!"

"I didn't think you were that blind."

Fuming, Riku attempted to shake out his leg. His pants were sticking to his skin and were now freezing. He didn't even want to think about the water in his sock and shoe. With a mutter of disgust, Riku poked at the pool with his training stick, his eyes widening when the small wave rippled out under the leaves, carrying out for yards. They were surrounded by water! "Where the hell are we?" He muttered.

"The marshes."

"Marshes?" Riku watched as Cloud sniffed the air, apparently searching for something then bent down to get a better look at the so-called marsh. He pushed away some of the dead leaves and saw in fact, that the water below was a marshy murky green, though just clean enough to allow a wavering reflection. And Riku did not like what he saw. His hair was an absolute mess, hanging around his face as if he was some sort of homeless man, tangled and unkempt. And even from the reflection he could tell that his face was dirty, he didn't even want to take a good look at his clothes. He knew that they would be disgusting. Groaning, Riku dipped his hand into the water, trying to wash off his face at least a bit. He had never allowed himself to be so dirty. It was so wrong.

"Get up, we're moving."

Mourning the state of his appearance, Riku nonetheless straightened up, crossing his arms as he watched Cloud tentatively begin to pick his way across the ground. "And where are we even going? This place is full of land mine water pools, Cloud. I'm not taking a step forward unless I know this is actually going to lead somewhere."

Cloud ignored him.

With a quiet huff, Riku looked around at their surroundings then reluctantly began to follow after Cloud. As it turned out, he was right to have paid attention to exactly where the wolf spirit was stepping. With a layer of fallen leaves covering everything like a blanket, it was near impossible for him to tell what was solid ground and what was water. Cloud though nimbly leapt from dry patch to dry patch as if on a memorized path, all the time with his head perked up toward the direction ahead. He was barely looking at where he was going. In contrast, Riku had his eyes trained on the ground, and even still he managed to slip into the water several times, soaking both legs well up to the knee.

After a while and one particularly nasty fall, he finally threw his arms up into the air. "Alright. Where the hell are we going and how are you managing to stay dry?!"

"I stay dry because I can smell the water. And I'm only following the sound of the music."

Riku paused, frowning. He couldn't hear any music. In fact, so far their little adventure had been strangely quiet except for the odd Heartless attack. Which reminded him, "Where are all the Heartless?"

"They don't dare come within the territory of a god."

Riku was about to ask just what Cloud was talking about when he suddenly caught the faint sound of a melody. Lifting his head as Cloud turned in the direction of the sound, Riku strained to hear more. It sounded like a string instrument, vaguely. The tune was playful too, skillfully played certainly. With peaked interest now that he wasn't completely out of the loop, Riku began to follow Cloud with renewed curiosity.

As they picked their way through the marsh, always in the direction of the music, it became clearer and clearer, until Riku found himself actually being able to enjoy the sound of complete songs. The trees in the area were becoming thicker though, and the water deeper. The water itself was clear now, free of any debris so that it appeared to be crystal pools of indeterminable depth, reflecting the green from the leaves above. If he looked closely, Riku could even make out the occasional flicker of a fish that darted just underneath the surface, their colors bright and eye-catching oranges, reds, and purples.

Slipping around the massive trunk of a tree just two steps behind Cloud, Riku felt his breath escaping as a gasp when he saw the biggest tree yet directly in front of them. It must have been thousands of years old, but what was most breath-taking was not the size of the tree itself, but the fact that it had been turned into a house of sorts. There was a rough stone construction at the base of its trunk forming a thick, sturdy arch, an open door leading into the trunk of the tree which was itself punctured by windows and doors higher up the trunk which led out to jutting balconies. This was all just barely visible from the roaring glow of a campfire in front of the tree, which in itself managed to light up the entire area into an almost cheerful place.

And sitting in front of the tree house next to the fire was a young man strumming away on a sitar. His pant legs were rolled up to mid-thigh, feet dangling into a pool of water. His dirty blond hair was styled up at all angles, more startling at first than even Cloud's hair had been. His eyes were closed but as soon as Cloud and Riku came within speaking range, they flickered open to reveal two dancing blue orbs.

"Hey! I felt you coming." The young man grinned, sending a cheerful wink in Riku's direction. "Someone hit the water more than once, gave me a good head's up. I tried to help you out with a little bit of music to follow. Not that you needed it, Cloud. I know how good your nose is!" Hopping to his feet, the young man walked over to them, still cradling his sitar in his arms. Despite his cheerfulness though, his gaze was on Riku, almost a little guarded. He glanced once over to Cloud with curiosity before his eyes flickered back to Riku. "But who did you bring with you, Cloud? Doesn't look like your regular crowd. Not that I have anything against his type, of course."

Riku's eyebrow rose. What did this guy mean, 'his type'? Did he have something against regular humans? Cloud quickly but rather grudgingly spoke up. "His name is Riku. From the human world. Where's Axel?"

"Getting right to the point as always, eh, Cloud? At least let me introduce myself first!" Thrusting out his hand toward Riku, the young man took another step forward. "Hello! My name is Demyx. It's nice to meet you, Riku. I haven't been to the human world in a long time, haven't got the chance actually. You'll have to tell me about everything that's changed since I last visited!"

Riku cordially shook the blond's hand, as his father had taught him, then asked. "So, Demyx. Are you an elemental or an animal spirit?"

For some reason, Cloud shifted almost uncomfortably and Demyx let out a laugh. "Oh wow, you really aren't from here!" Grinning, he wagged his finger in Riku's direction. "Here in the spirit world it's very rude to ask a spirit that question. An elemental will be insulted that you can't tell and an animal…well, they'd probably also be insulted that you think that they looked as aloof as an elemental."

"He's elemental." Cloud muttered. "And a god. The god of water."

Demyx shook his head, waving his hand dismissively. "I don't like that title, makes me sound all…god-like and mean. It's not my fault I happened to be the best water spirit available when the last god stepped down. Everyone else was just so lazy." He sighed then smiled over at Riku. "But yeah, I'm a water elemental. Hence the marsh." Grinning, he waved around to the water-logged forest. "I might have flooded the place a bit when I took refuge. But hey, the forest likes it and it makes great protection against some kinds of things, like bumbling humans I guess!"

Riku's eyes narrowed and Cloud frowned impatiently as Demyx laughed at his own humor. "Demyx," the blond muttered. "Where's Axel?"

Demyx stopped laughing. His fingers drummed against the side of his sitar before he grinned ruefully. "I never was very good at diverting conversations. Truth is, he arrived a few days ago and told me that he was expected Riku if everything went well. He didn't describe your appearance though, so you can't blame me for being a little surprised to see him behind you, Cloud." Riku was confused but Cloud nodded with apparent understanding. "Anyway, I can get him for you if you want."

Cloud nodded curtly and Riku shifted where he stood. He wasn't sure what he should be feeling right now. Finding out that your only friend was actually a spirit was throwing him for a loop; it wasn't exactly something he had had to deal with before. And why had Axel brought him to this world anyway? Did he actually expect Riku to help out with this whole eternal darkness thing? Riku knew he had a lot of potential, but maybe not enough to accomplish something like that.

Despite his internal battle, Demyx had turned back to the house. Instead of walking forward though, he sent a grin to the two of them over his shoulder then strummed his sitar, building up a fast and energetic rhythm before yelling out, "Dance water, Dance!"

Riku took half a step back as the pool nearest to Demyx suddenly swelled up from its surface, twisting about until three pieces broke off and actually flew toward Demyx, tumbling around him and forming almost humanoid shapes. The water god laughed, clearly entertaining himself as he motioned with his sitar for the water to go to the house, which it did with astonishing speed.

The water flew into the front door of the house and not seconds later the air was disrupted by a shout of rage. A very familiar shout followed by a series of recognizable curses, strung together without pause as the sound of crashing echoed out from the house.

"Damn it, Dem! What the hell have I told you about your damn frickin' water spouts. I hate your damn water! I hate it!"

Demyx was still grinning as Axel himself stopped out of the tree and into view, the redhead drenched from head to toe though drying off quickly. A few steps from the door, Axel stopped short in his rampage as his eyes fell on Cloud and Riku. He was silent for a second then smirked, crossing his arms. "Well what do you know? You found your way here after all."


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