#riku *✧･ﾟI want to touch the heart of the world and make it smile ･ﾟ✧* | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rainisawriter · 1 year ago

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I’ll Always Find You (Riku)

Genre: Angst, dark, mafia, romance, fluff

Word Count: 11,979

Pairing: OC (Ana) x Riku

World: The Rampage

Prompts: Listed at the bottom because there’s so many lol (@whumptober)

A/N: This was written for @thistaleisabloodyone as a thank you for supplying me with the Yamasho/Ryu gifs I need in order to survive ♡ I hope you enjoy this! Also, writing in the second person is so engrained in my DNA at this point that I kept writing “you” instead of “she/her” lmao I think I caught them all, though.

Warnings: Blood, violence, murder

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Riku clenched his teeth, eyes narrowed as his fists made contact with the punching bag repeatedly. Rather than feeling better, each hit left him feeling more frustrated and tired. It had been days since he last slept because every time he closed his eyes, he could see his face.

“Damn it!” He scowled, punching the bag so hard that it dislodged from the ceiling, flopping pitifully to the ground. He was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness, making him sway where he stood, hand coming up to cover his eyes.

“Riku-san, are you okay?” Warm hands rested against his back to steady him.

A small smile came to his lips as he turned to face her. “I’m fine, Ana-chan.”

She frowned as her eyes scanned him, taking in how he was covered in sweat. Dark bags sat beneath tired eyes and his hair was a mess because he had run his hand through it several times in frustration. He felt exhausted, both mentally and physically.

She had known him long enough to know when he was lying. For the past few days, he’s been acting distracted, frustrated and even a bit worried. This concerned her, mostly because he was the type to keep things bottled up until they were ready to explode.

“You look awful.”

He chuckled softly. “Do you insult every guy like that?”

Her cheeks warmed up as she pouted at him. “You know what I meant. You look like you haven’t slept in weeks… Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Her concern warmed his heart and he nodded, a loving smile on his lips. “Don’t worry, love, I know my limits.”

“It’s getting pretty late, though.” She glanced at the clock as if to emphasize her point. It read 11:45. “You have a packed day tomorrow, you should really get some rest…”

His hands found her waist, pulling her close. “Are you going to make sure I get home safely?”

Her lips twitched upward, hand resting against his chest to keep some distance between them. His shirt was soaked, making her nose wrinkle. “Only if you take a shower first.”

He chuckled, pecking her on the forehead before heading into the locker room to take a shower. She waited for him patiently and he didn’t take too long, coming out in clean clothes and smelling faintly of strawberries.

“Ready to go?” he questioned, holding his hand out to her.

She smiled, slipping her hand into his with a nod. As the two of them headed out into the cool autumn night, she kept throwing glances at him. She wanted to ask again what was on his mind, not just because she wanted to try and help, but also because she wanted to feel like he trusted her.

The two of them had been dating in secret for several months now and yet, she knew he was keeping a part of himself hidden from her. To be fair, he kept it hidden from the other Rampage members, as well.

Riku wasn’t dumb. He saw the way she watched him with a furrowed brow and frown on her lips. He knew that she questioned his trust in her. It’s not like he didn’t want to tell her the truth, he truly did, yet he couldn’t bring himself to. It was such a dark, intimate part of his past that he was still struggling to come to terms with.

The thought of her finding out made his heart ache painfully within his chest. Would she look at him differently? Would she break up with him? Would she hate him? He released a shaky breath at the thought, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Ana reached over, resting her hand atop his. Some of the tension left his body at her touch and he sent her a tired smile, slipping his hand into hers so he could lace their fingers together.

“When we get home, do you want to watch a movie?”

The answer was yes, of course, though she wanted to tell him he should go to sleep instead. She felt confident that he wouldn’t make it through the movie and she didn’t want him to fall asleep on the couch. Granted, it was a comfortable couch, but he had earned a nice, long sleep in his own bed.

“I’m actually feeling pretty sleepy. Can we just head to bed?” she asked, softly, hoping he wouldn’t catch on to what she was doing.

Whether he did or not, he didn’t show it. “That sounds good, love.”

When the two of them finally made it back to his apartment, she took a quick shower before joining him in the bedroom. He was barely keeping himself away, eyes half-lidded as he waited on her. She chuckled softly as she slid under the comforter, brushing the hair from his eyes.

Riku pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly. “I love you, Ana-chan,” he mumbled tiredly.

“I love you, too,” she replied softly, nuzzling into his warm chest. A sudden feeling of anxiety overcame her and she had no idea why. “You’re my world, you know?” she whispered, believing him to be asleep already but he wasn’t, chuckling softly.

“And you’re mine.”

“Promise you’ll never leave?” She wasn’t quite sure why she asked this. He had become the single most important person in her life, though, and the thought of losing him had her on edge.

“I promise,” he breathed out, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Though the feeling of dread didn’t disappear completely, it did lessen with his words, allowing her to follow him to dreamland.

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Riku’s brow furrowed as he looked around, finding himself surrounded by darkness. “Hello? Ana-chan?” His voice echoed several times, though he received no response. His footsteps echoed as he started to walk in a random direction.

His breathing quickened as he broke out into a run, trying to find his way out of the inky blackness that was weighing down on him. A small white light appeared in the distance, growing bigger as he ran until it was so bright that he had to close his eyes.

The brightness faded and he was now standing in a familiar basement.

His eyes widened, heart racing within his chest as he took in the scene before him.

A young boy, no older than nineteen, was tied to a metal chair, his face bloody and bruised. He was sobbing, tears and snot running down his face as he begged for mercy. Standing to the right of him was an older man wearing a suit, his greying hair slicked back away from his eyes. He was frowning, deep wrinkles forming across his face.

His name was Hide and he was the current boss of the Gentride family.

This wasn’t the most shocking part to Riku, though.

Standing in front of the boy was a younger version of Riku, only nineteen years of age, with blood dripping from his clenched fist.

The man leaned toward the boy, narrowing his eyes. “We need the information, boy. Tell us where your father is hiding and we will let you go.”

The younger Riku grunted, folding his arms over his chest. “Mikaru won’t be happy to hear that, boss. He’s been waiting a long time to get his hands on this kid.”

“I know,” sighed the older man as he straightened his back. “He’s getting out of control. He’s lost sight of what our family is about and I fear…” He stopped himself, glancing at the young boy before deciding that now wasn’t the time to discuss this. “Where is your father, Matsuda?”

“I-I don’t know!” he sobbed, shaking his head.

“Hit him again, Riku.”

He did so without hesitation, making the boy cry out.

“Where?”

“Go to hell!”

“Hit him harder.”

Clenching his fist tightly, the younger Riku cocked his fist back.

The older Riku stepped forward, his lips parting to stop him but no sound escaped. He winced when the fist made contact again, making the chair, and the boy, topple over onto the floor.

He wanted to scream, but he couldn’t make a sound.

He wanted to cry, but they refused to fall.

Boss sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Release him, Riku.”

“What?” His head snapped toward the man in surprise. “Are you sure? We haven’t gotten anything out of him.”

“A loyal man will take the secrets of those he’s loyal to to the grave. No matter what you do to him, he will never give up what he knows.”

With a nod, the younger Riku did as he was ordered to do, cutting the robe that held Matsuda to the chair. “Get out of here.”

Matsuda looked at him suspiciously, one eye swollen shut. Without wasting another moment, he struggled to his feet and rushed from the room, his feet pounding on the wooden steps. He let out a sudden cry as he was pushed down the stairs, landing hard on the ground.

Both men’s attention snapped toward the door, eyes narrowed.

The older Riku knew what was about to happen and he shook his head, swallowing hard as he stepped back until he hit the wall.

Mikaru appeared at the bottom of the steps, a maniacal grin on his lips. “Oi, oi. You’re losin’ your touch, Riku, lettin’ this kid get away from you.” His eyes flickered to the knife in the male’s hand and then to the rope on the ground, clearly cut. The grin fell, darkness clouding his eyes. “Oi, don’t tell me… you let him go.”

The two men exchanged a look, knowing what was coming.

Hide stepped forward. “I’ve decided to release him. We’ll gain more from -“

“Shut it, old man,” snapped Mikaru, eyes flashing with anger. “You’ve been losin’ your touch for years, now look at you! Lettin’ people go free like we’re a goddamn charity case! The other families’re gonna think we’re weak!”

Riku stepped forward, his eyes filled with anger as he clutched the knife. “Watch your tongue, Mikaru. He is our boss -“

“Oh shut it, you fuckin’ ass kisser.”

Matsuda used the distraction to his advantage, slowly crawling toward the stairs. In the blink of an eye, the blonde pulled a gun from the back of his jeans, putting a bullet in the side of the young boy’s head. He dropped against the floor, blood pooling beneath him.

The older Riku closed his eyes, hand covering his mouth as he tried to stop his body from shaking. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare.

“Mikaru, what are you -“

He raised the gun toward his boss and pulled the trigger. The older man tried to dodge but he wasn’t fast enough to avoid it completely, the bullet lodging into his shoulder. He stumbled back against the wall, teeth gritted.

“Boss!” Riku rushed over with wide eyes.

Mikaru pulled the trigger again but the gun jammed, making him curse as he hurriedly tried to fix it.

Hide pulled the gun from his hip, holding it out toward Riku.

He shook his head with wide eyes, knowing what the man wanted. “No, I… I can’t…”

“You must! You know the law of this family – whoever kills the boss, becomes the boss. You mustn’t let Mikaru take over! Promise me, Riku!”

He lifted a shaking hand, fingers curling around the metal. Making sure the safety was off, he lifted the gun and his thumb pulled the hammer back. “Boss, I…” his voice was trembling just like his hand.

“Do it!”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, pulling the trigger and planting a bullet between his eyes.

“Son of a bitch!” cried Mikaru, finally getting his gun unjammed.

Riku was faster, though, shooting his hand.

He cried out, the gun clattering to the ground. “I’ll kill you -“

Riku pulled the trigger again, planting a bullet between his eyes. Falling to his knees, his shoulders trembled as he tried to shove down everything he was feeling. He had just murdered his boss, the man who had saved his life and took him under his wing. Hide protected him, taught him everything he knew and, most importantly, he showed him love.

The older Riku sank to his knees, tears sliding down his cheeks. His eyes were screwed shut, hands over his ears despite the silence that now permeated the room. After all these years, why was he dreaming about him now?

He felt like a scared little boy and he hated it, yet he had no idea how to make everything go away. All he wanted was everything to stop. He wanted to stop feeling all this regret and pain. He wanted to feel like he could breathe properly again.

More than anything, Riku wished he could change the past.

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Ana was startled awake by Riku thrashing in his sleep, whimpering and begging for it all to stop. The sight knocked all sleepiness from her body and she quickly reached over, shaking his shoulder.

“Riku-kun, wake up.”

His fists clenched around the sheets so tightly that his knuckles turned pure white.

She frowned, resting her hand on his flushed cheek. “Baby, please wake up.”

Riku’s eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, covered in sweat and gasping for air. His eyes were wide, wild, and unfocused as if part of him was still within his nightmare.

“Hey, are you -” she rested her hand on his shoulder but he slapped it away, eyes snapping to her. She swallowed hard, having never seen him in such a state. “It’s okay, it’s me. It was just a bad dream. You’re okay, Riku-kun.”

When she reached for his hand, he flinched away from her, slipping off the bed and tugging at the collar of his shirt because he felt like he couldn’t breathe. It felt as if a knot had formed within his chest, a lump in his throat that he couldn’t seem to swallow.

Ana was equal parts confused and concerned, not sure how to feel about how he was acting. “Do you… want to talk about it or do you want to be alone?”

“Alone,” he choked out, voice trembling as he placed his palms atop the dresser, lowering his head. He was losing control of the emotions he had been carefully keeping under lock and key for years and that’s not something he wanted her to see. “Please… just leave me alone.”

Her heart ached at his words but she tried to ignore the pain she was feeling. He was more important right now and if he wanted to be left alone, she would comply with the request. Sliding out of bed, she quickly got changed with the spare clothes she kept at his apartment before heading for the door.

Pausing, she bit her lip in consideration. Should she tell him she was leaving? Ask him if he was okay? No, she shook her head with a sigh, turning and leaving his apartment.

Glancing at her phone, she frowned at the time – 2:23 in the morning. Not exactly the best time to be walking home alone, but what choice did she have? She considered calling a taxi to come and pick her up only to realize she had left her wallet in Riku’s apartment. For a moment, she had an internal debate about whether or not she should go back only to decide that she didn’t want to bother him.

Taking a deep breath, she started down the street, hugging herself tightly when the wind picked up. It was cold out, the wind like ice against her exposed skin.

Fifteen minutes passed by without issue and she was getting close to her home now. Suddenly, she felt a chill go down her spine. It felt like someone was staring at her and she slowly glanced around, looking for the source. She saw no one around, the street eerily silent.

‘It’s probably just my imagination…’ Ana shook her head, exhaling nervously as she continued down the street. She increased her speed, trying to ignore the feeling of being watched. It only got worse, though, and she kept glancing over her shoulder.

The street was nearly pitch black, the moon covered by clouds. The street lamps were spaced far apart, their bulbs dull and doing little to pierce the darkness around her.

Within these shadows lurked a monster. Not one of fairy tales or legend, but a monster of flesh and bone. A monster with ill intent, willing to do anything to achieve its goal.

“Who’s there?” she called out before cursing herself. She had just done the very same thing she often scolded people for in movies. Asking who was there never worked out well for the person asking.

Honestly, she wasn’t sure what would be more unsettling – if someone actually answered or the dead silence she was currently experiencing.

Ana picked up her pace once more, nearly running now. Her heart was racing within her chest, alarm bells screaming at her to run away so she did. She ran as fast as she could, suddenly aware of boots slapping the pavement behind her. She was sure someone was chasing her but she was far too afraid to look behind her to confirm her fears.

She fumbled to pull her keys from her pocket, nearly dropping them in her haste. Her front door was in sight, so close now that she could touch the cold metal of the doorknob. As soon as the key slid into the lock, she felt something hard strike the back of her head.

Her body stilled, pain blooming from her skull as her vision blurred.

A male voice chuckled in amusement as she fell to the concrete below. Through blurred eyes, she managed to get a look at her attacker. His dark eyes glinted dangerously in the low light from above the door. A jagged scar ran from the center of his forehead, curving down to the side of his nose before stopping beside his chin. The hood of his jacket cloaked his face in shadow and she realized he was dressed in all black.

This wasn’t a crime of opportunity. He hadn’t seen her walking alone at night and decided to attack. No, he had been waiting, stalking from the shadows.

With a grin, he squatted down, reaching out to poke her in the forehead with his index finger. She noticed the fact that he was missing his pinkie and ring finger. “I’ve been waitin’ for ya, little bird.”

Her lips parted but the words died on her tongue. It was taking everything she had just to remain conscious, scared of what would come if she passed out.

“Don’t worry, girlie. We’re gonna have lots of fun together~” he laughed before cooking his fist back and slamming it against her face, the force great enough to finally knock the consciousness from her.

She fell limp against the cold ground and he grunted in satisfaction, grabbing her before tossing her over his shoulder as if she was nothing more than a bag of cat food. A black van pulled up beside him and he grabbed the handle, sliding the back door open before tossing her inside.

“Let’s go,” he ordered the driver as she hopped inside, pulling the door closed.

“Yes, boss!”

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“Hey, you in there?”

Shockwaves of pain shot through Ana’s body, jolting her from unconsciousness as a cry left her lips. She tried to jerk away, but her body was tied to a metal chair, the thick rope digging into her arms and legs. Her entire body ached, the side of her face throbbing.

The sound of a cattle prod sparking made her tense up, eyes snapping forward. The man that had kidnapped her was standing over her, an enhanced cattle prod in hand and a malicious grin on his lips.

“Sleepin’ beauty finally woke up! Didn’t even need a kiss,” he snickered, making the prod spark again.

She swallowed hard, eyes flickering around the room. It was a dingy little basement, plastic sheets covering the walls and floor. Floodlights had been set up near the door, shining brightly on her. A second, older man was leaning against the wall, his arms folded over his chest as he glared at her.

“What…” She swallowed again, her mouth dry. “What do you want from me?”

“Oh darlin’,” soothed the man mockingly as he patted her cheek. Danger was clearly written there within his eyes and it was unsettling. “We don’t want you, we want your cute lil boyfriend. We want that bastard, Riku.”

Her eyes widened, the breath leaving her lungs. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t understand why they wanted him, she could only assume they wanted money. He was one of three faces of a very popular music group and the company would pay a lot of money for him.

Riku was no pushover, though. He was strong, filled with muscles after years of bouncing between boxing, martial arts and kickboxing. Of the three singers, he was the last person someone should attempt to kidnap for a ransom, so why had they chosen him?

‘Is it… my fault?’ The thought made her want to cry.

Hokuto and Kazuma were weaker than Riku, easier to take, but Riku had one weakness that they did not. Even not knowing that she and Riku were dating, it was clear that he cared deeply for her and would do anything for her.

While she had become a source of strength and comfort for him, she had also become his biggest weakness. She could only hope and pray that he wasn’t dumb enough to come for her.

“Aww, is the lil princess gonna cry?” asked the man with a mocking laugh. “Go on, it’ll make the call sound better!”

Her eyes fell to the cell phone he was holding, realizing it was her phone with Riku’s contact info pulled up. She struggled harder against her binds, throwing her body back and forth as she tried to loosen the ropes but they only seemed to tighten, digging roughly into her skin.

“Don’t move too much or ya might hurt yourself before I get to,” he snickered, pressing the call button. It rang and rang and rang.

With every moment that passed, his expression fell. She prayed to every God and deity she could think of that he wouldn’t answer the phone and, to her relief, it finally went to voice-mail.

The older man pushed away from the wall, anger flashing through his eyes. “Did you grab the wrong girl, you idiot?!”

The young male’s eyes darkened as he turned toward him, the cattle prod sparking menacingly. “Don’t forget your place, Madaira. I am in charge here, not you, and if you ever speak to me like that again, I will fuckin’ kill you. You can finally be reunited with your precious boy.”

Madaira narrowed his eyes, fists clenched at his sides. “Don’t bring my son into this, Mikaru.”

Before he could reply, Ana’s phone started to ring. She shook her head, eyes wide as her body trembled against the ropes. Mikaru just grinned, showing her the called ID – it was Riku.

“Please don’t…” her pleas fell on deaf ears as he answered the call, Riku’s voice filling the basement.

“Hey, Ana-chan.” His voice was soft, though she couldn’t tell if he was tired or still recovering from his nightmare. “I’m sorry, I… I was really rude to you last night. Can you forgive me?“

Mikaru made his voice higher pitched, trying to imitate Ana. “Oh, sweetie, of course I can!”

There was silence on the line for a moment. When he spoke again, his tone was darker and more alert. “Who the fuck is this? Why do you have Ana’s phone?“

“Karma’s come to collect what’s due, Riku.” He used his normal voice now, a grin on his lips. “I have your cute lil girlfriend. Why don’t you say hi, Ana-chan?”

Hearing her name spoken by him made her feel sick to her stomach. She pursed her lips, eyes narrowed at him in defiance. Perhaps if she remained silent, Riku wouldn’t believe him and would remain safe. She didn’t care what happened to her so long as he was okay.

Mikaru scowled in annoyance. “You really know how to pick ’em, don’t you? She’s just as stubborn as you!” The cattle prod was thrust against her stomach, electricity sparking against her shirt.

She tried hard to remain quiet but a cry of pain left her lips and she started to struggle again, trying to put distance between herself and the object causing her pain.

“Ana-chan!” cried Riku in alarm. “Who the fuck are you? I swear to God if you hurt her, I’ll kill you!“

“Ooo, the idol is starting to show his true self, hm?” snickered Mikaru, a glint in his dark eyes. “If you want your girl back, then I suggest you get your ass over to the place where you became the boss of the Gentride family.”

Riku sucked in a breath, voice trembling. “What –“

The call was ended before Mikaru threw the phone against the wall, smashing it into pieces. He grabbed a metal folding chair, setting it in front of her before relaxing in it as if he hadn’t just kidnapped someone.

“Tell me, girlie, just how much do you know about your lil boyfriend, hm?”

She glared at him through teary eyes, left over from the previous shock.

“My guess is – nothin’. Knowing that idiot, he bottled it all up inside so he could live a ‘normal’ life,” he spat, acting as if it was the most disgusting thing he had ever heard. “Want me to tell ya?”

She scoffed, turning her head away from him.

He just chuckled, leaning forward on his elbows. “Your precious lil boyfriend is part of the Yakuza.”

Her eyes widened in shock, body tensing. ‘No way, Riku would never…’

“He’s a murderer.”

“You’re a liar!” she snapped angrily, eyes flashing with anger as she glared at him. “Riku is not a murderer!”

“He murdered my son!” snapped Madaira, taking a step toward her. “They wanted me, but I was hiding. I… I never thought they’d kill my boy… they were supposed to be better than that… they… they…” His shoulders shook, tears gathering in his eyes behind his glasses.

Mikaru sent him a fake sympathetic look before nodding. “It’s true. I was there. How do you think I lost my fingers?” He held up his hand, giving her a better look at the two missing digits. “He shot them off before plantin’ one in my skull. Doctors said it was a miracle I survived.” His voice darkened as he tilted his head. “A miracle indeed.”

“You expect me to believe this nonsense?” she scoffed, though even she could hear the lack of confidence in her tone.

Without a word, the male stood up from the chair, disappearing behind her.

She turned her head, body tense as she tried to see what he was doing but she could only just see him from the corner of her eye. A moment later, he returned, pushing a cart with a small TV on top of it.

“I didn’t figure you’d believe me, so I prepared a lil somethin’ for you.”

The TV flickered on, showing a still image of the very same room Ana was being held in. At first, she thought it was a security feed but then she realized she wasn’t seeing herself or Mikaru, she was seeing Riku standing over an older man.

“Watch closely, girlie.” Mikaru sent her a grin before pressing play on the remote.

Ana watched on in horror as Riku lifted the gun, shooting the man in the forehead. The video was rewound, showing the scene again and again. Tears pooled in her eyes, sliding down her cheeks. She wanted desperately to look away but she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from the screen.

“See, there’s a law within the Gentride family, one that’s been passed down for hundreds of generations.” Mikaru walked behind the cart, sprawling his body over the TV. “Whoever kills the boss, becomes the boss. Riku was always power-hungry, you know?”

She shook her head in disbelief but her voice failed her, eyes still trained on the screen.

“Boss realized this so he skipped over Riku. He chose me to be the new boss when he retired and Riku lost it. It should have been me, but that bastard killed the boss so he could take over and when I tried to stop ’em…” he held up his hand again, observing it curiously. “Well, you know.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The Riku she knew was kind and loving. He cared about the people in his life and he worked harder than anyone she knew in order to achieve his goals. He wanted to be a singer, to reach people’s hearts with his music. Now, she’s supposed to believe that he’s not only part of the mafia but the boss?

The proof was there, though, right in front of her eyes. Riku murdered that man, that was undeniable, but she refused to believe that he had done so simply to gain power. He just wasn’t that kind of man.

The door was suddenly kicked open, Riku breathing heavily in the doorway. His eyes fell on Ana, multiple emotions flickering through his eyes. He was relieved to see her alive, though he was filled with guilt knowing that she had been taken because of him. Anger was the most powerful emotion he was feeling.

His fists clenched at his sides, brass knuckles in his right hand. His eyes fell on Mikaru and it took him a minute to recognize the younger man. “How are you…”

“Alive?” finished the male, slapping the prod against his palm. “Considering how many people you’ve killed, one would think you’d be better at it, mate. Guess this is proof that I was always meant to be the boss.”

Riku scoffed in disbelief. “You never deserved to lead. Everyone knew that. Boss was willing to die just to make sure you didn’t get your filthy hands on his family.”

Anger flashed through Mikaru’s eyes, teeth clenched. “He ruined us! He went soft and ruined everythin’ we once stood for! We were strong, powerful! People feared us! And then you came along and boss went all soft. You ruined this family, then you killed our boss and ran away like the coward you are.”

Riku’s eyes met hers before softening. “I promise you, Ana-chan, everything will be okay.”

“Don’t you ignore me!” yelled Mikaru as he rushed toward the male, prod sparking.

“Riku, run!” She begged, tears gathering in her eyes again as she fought against her bonds. Adrenaline overshadowed the pain but she wasn’t strong enough to break free, the ropes were just too thick.

Riku didn’t run, though. He met Mikaru head-on, the two beginning to exchange blows. The prod was shoved against Riku’s side and he gritted his teeth against the pain before he grabbed the center of it, yanking it from Mikaru’s grip. It was thrown across the room, skittering across the clear sheet that covered the floor.

“You will regret touching her,” growled Riku, anger flashing through his eyes.

Mikaru wasn’t intimidated as he cried out, “I’m going to kill you!”

His fist shot toward the brunette’s face, Riku dodging it easily before returning the blow, brass knuckles hitting him square in the gut. His eyes were dark, voice filled with malice. “I’ll make sure you’re actually dead this time.” Pulling his fist back, he slammed the brass knuckles against Mikaru’s face.

Ana winced at the sound of his nose breaking, turning away when blood started to gush from his face. He cried out in pain, stumbling backward. His foot got caught on the plastic sheet and he fell onto his back, sliding backward as Riku slowly approached.

His voice was nasily now, a grin on his lips despite the pain. “Go ahead. Show your lil girlfriend the kind of monster you truly are!”

Riku paused at this, suddenly aware of her eyes on him. He never wanted this.

From the moment he first met her, she became his found family. After the death of his boss, he never thought he would ever find peace again, but he found it in her. She was his peace, acting as a shield against all the negative thoughts and feelings that usually plagued his mind.

She was the love of his life, the one person he never wanted to lose and now… now she was hurt because of him. What had Mikaru told her? He didn’t know and he was too afraid to look at her. He knew he would break down if her eyes held fear or disgust toward him.

Mikaru threw his head back, laughter echoing through the basement. “Oh, don’t worry pretty boy, she already knows! I showed her.”

“What?” His brow furrowed and he found himself swallowing hard, his mouth dry. “What are you on about, Mikaru?”

“Did you forget about the security cameras? Boss always did love to revisit his tortures. He got off to ’em, you know.”

Riku’s eyes snapped to the small camera that sat in the corner of the ceiling, pointed right at him. The red light was not on, the lens shattered and wires dangling from the bottom of it. It no longer functioned, but he remembered glancing at it back then to ensure that the red light was on.

Realization flooded him, dread weighing heavily on his shoulders. “No…”

“She watched you put a bullet between the old man’s eyes,” he cackled. “You shoulda seen the look on -“

Something snapped within him and he darted forward, planting his body on top of Mikaru’s so he couldn’t escape. His fists hit him repeatedly in the face, blood splattering across Riku’s face and clothes.

Ana watched on in horror. ‘He… he’s actually going to kill him…’ Her lips parted, wanting desperately to tell him to stop but the words just wouldn’t come.

“Monster…” said Madaira shakily as he took a step back. His eyes flickered to the open door, prepared to flee until he saw a flash of his son’s bloody, bruised face. Fear morphed into anger as he pulled a knife from his pocket.

Her eyes widened. “Riku, watch out!”

Riku was too focused, too angry to hear her cry or to hear his hurried footsteps as he ran toward him. Only when he felt the blade plunge into his shoulder did he snap out of it, wincing in pain. With a scowl, he stood to his full height, pulling the knife from his skin and turning to face the older man.

Madaira gulped fearfully as he stumbled back until he was flush against the support beam. Despite his fear, he spoke up. “Go ahead and kill me. Let me finally be with my boy!” Tears gathered in his eyes from behind his glasses. “You killed him and now you’re going to kill me.”

Riku’s brow furrowed. “Your son?”

He scoffed in disbelief, removing his glasses. “You don’t even remember his name? I’m not surprised, you monster! His name was Matsuda, you bastard!” With a war cry, he ran toward Riku with his fist raised.

Riku was easily stronger than him, shoving the man back against the beam, little pieces of dust falling from the ceiling. “Mikaru lied to you. I didn’t kill your son, he did!”

“Bullshit!” He rushed at him again but the result was the same, more dust floating down on top of him.

“He lied about everything!” snapped Riku, his voice desperate. Though he was looking at Madaira, Ana knew he was talking to her. “Mikaru is the one who killed your son. We were letting Matsuda go and he didn’t like that.”

“You… you’re lying,” breathed Madaira, his glassy eyes flickering between Riku and the fallen man. His eyes suddenly widened and he ducked to the side just as Mikaru tackled Riku from behind.

The force was enough to send him forward, slamming into the beam, the wood beginning to splinter from the abuse. Riku grunted, pushing away from the beam so he could turn and punch the younger male. He managed to dodge the blow but Riku grabbed him, shoving him against the beam before cocking his fist back.

Mikaru slid down at the last second, the brass knuckles making contact with the beam. It easily broke through, the wood cracking and splintering. The ceiling shook, large amounts of dust and dirt falling onto all of them. With a grin, he grabbed the prod off the ground and shoved it hard into another beam.

Riku realized what he was doing and darted toward him. It was too late, the wood creaking pitifully as it started to give way under the weight of the ceiling. He cursed as Mikaru rushed toward the door, his mind telling him to give chase and finally end the man’s life.

His heart, on the other hand, was telling him to save Ana and that’s exactly what he chose to do. As he rushed over to her, a chunk of ceiling gave way directly above her. She cried out, closing her eyes as she waited for the blow to her head. Riku tackled her, both of them hitting the ground.

A cry of pain left her as the concrete fell onto her legs, pinning the lower half of her body and the chair. Her right shoulder had taken the brunt of the fall and she was sure her arm was broken. Her body was filled with so much pain that her brain was struggling to decide which pain to focus on.

Riku covered the upper half of her body with his own until the debris stopped falling and the room fell silent.

He shifted to undo the knot in the rope and when Ana tried to push herself up, she cried out in pain, her arm giving out beneath her. It hurt like a bitch.

“I think it’s broken,” she muttered before turning her attention to the concrete resting over her legs. She tried to push it away but it was heavy and she just didn’t have the strength at that moment.

Riku quickly crawled over so he could remove it, a deep frown on his lips. “Are you okay, Ana-chan?” He mentally slapped himself for asking, knowing that it was a dumb question.

She honestly didn’t know how to answer that because she didn’t know how she was feeling. She was just so overwhelmed by everything and wanted to go home. “I’m fine,” she finally muttered under her breath, carefully cradling her broken arm.

Riku tugged his shirt over his head so he could rip it into strips. Despite everything, she couldn’t help but admire his body. He worked hard to be sculpted like a god and his efforts certainly paid off.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment before slowly moving closer as if worried he was going to scare her. As he carefully put her arm into the makeshift sling, she couldn’t help but admire his body.

He wasn’t a shy man by any means, being one of the top Rampage members who often went shirtless during concerts. Now, though, in a small room alone with his girlfriend, he couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. He could feel her eyes raking over his body, taking in every scar that littered his skin.

Concerts were often dark with lots of flashing lights and those attending were far enough away from the stage that his scars went unnoticed. The basement was rightly lit, though, even with half the roof collapsed, thanks to the bright floodlights. She was also sitting just inches away from him so he couldn’t hide.

Without thinking, her uninjured arm lifted, fingers brushing against a particularly long scar that ran from the bottom of his ribs to the center of his right breast. His body tensed as he sucked in a breath, pausing his ministrations.

Perhaps she should have stopped and apologized, but she felt entranced by them and she couldn’t stop her fingers running across his skin, drawing tiny stars across each one. He swallowed hard, shoving her hand away before sliding backward, trying to hide them with his arms. He hadn’t considered them when he took his shirt off, focused only on helping her, but now he was starting to regret it.

“Riku, let me see them,” she called softly, a frown on her lips. “You don’t have to hide them.”

“They’re ugly,” he muttered, eyes narrowed at the ground.

“They’re not.” Ana closed the distance, using her uninjured arm to tug his own away from his body. “Every scar tells a story. They’re part of who you are, they remind you of how you got here. They’re lessons to not repeat your mistakes and they’re motivation to keep being better.”

Riku slowly turned his head to face her, his eyes meeting hers. She had never seen him look so broken before and it broke her heart. “Do you…” he started softly before biting his lip. She waited patiently for him to find the words. “Do you hate me?”

“No,” she replied without hesitation which surprised him. Her hand cupped his cheek, thumb rubbing across his skin gently. “I’m very confused right now, I’ll admit that, but… I could never hate you. I love you, Riku.”

The breath was stolen from his lungs at her words and he threw his arms around her, careful of her arm as he held her tightly. He didn’t know what to say, though he felt worried that she would change her mind once she had time to reflect on everything that had happened.

Ana hugged him back, comforted by the warmth he offered. Her fingers combed through his hair, hoping she could offer him comfort, as well. Several minutes passed by in silence as the two of them embraced, neither wanting to let go. Both of them knew that everything would change as soon as they did.

Riku wouldn’t just be a member of the Rampage to her anymore, he would be a member of the yakuza with blood on his hands. It was the harsh reality that both of them would have to face, whether they wanted to or not.

━━━━━━༻☔༺━━━━━━

Because of her broken arm, Ana was given a week off from work to rest and recover. This was forced on her by her manager at Riku’s insistence despite her claiming that she was perfectly fine. More than anything, she was afraid of being away from Riku.

That feeling of dread had returned and she couldn’t seem to shake it. She assumed it was just trauma from what had occurred and she had to admit that she was still jumpy after everything. Her body would heal long before her mind would but she was trying her hardest to keep it together.

Her broken arm was a constant reminder, though, and every time she closed her eyes, she would see Mikaru’s grinning face in her mind. She would often dream of Riku shooting his boss, as well.

For all her suffering, Riku was much worse off.

He stopped eating and sleeping, throwing himself into practice to try and escape his shaky reality. As bad as he wanted to be by her side, he couldn’t bring himself to because of the guilt. She had nearly died because of him yet she treated him no differently.

He hated it.

He wanted her to yell at him, to scream at him for what he did to her. He wanted her to demand answers, to demand an apology. It would be so much easier if she just hated him as much as he hated himself. Ana wasn’t like that, though. She preferred to see the good in people rather than the bad.

Personally, he didn’t believe there was any good left in him and if there was, surely it was hidden by the darkness of all the bad he’s done. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. More importantly, he refused to believe that he deserved her.

To some degree, Ana realized this and she wanted to change his mind, to let him know that he was deserving of love. He did deserve to be with her, to be happy and feel loved and supported. How could she, though, when he was avoiding her?

When her phone lit up, she hurriedly grabbed it off the couch in the hopes that Riku had finally responded to her messages. She ended up scowling when she realized it was just a notification for some junk mail. Should she message again? Perhaps he just didn’t hear the notification and messaging once more would get his attention.

She didn’t want to annoy him, though.

Instead, she decided to ring up Zin and subtly ask how everyone was. He didn’t know about the relationship so he wouldn’t be suspicious if she asked about Riku as long as she also asked about the others.

Unlike Riku, he answered fairly quickly. “Ana-chan~ How are you feeling?“

She glanced at her arm and frowned. It was set in a cast and sling, a constant reminder that she could have been killed. “I’m fine, just wanted to check in with everyone.”

He chuckled softly. “You’re the one that’s injured yet you’re worried about us? Don’t worry, we aren’t working too hard.“

“How’s Kazu? I know he wasn’t feeling well.”

“Likiya made him drink some herbal tea and he’s feeling better.“

“That’s good to hear.” She bit her lip, wondering if it was too soon to mention Riku. “What about Ryu? Is he still struggling with the choreo?”

“He’s slowly getting the hang of it. Takahide and Kenta have been running him through it whenever he stumbles.“

“And Riku? He seemed… distracted before I left.”

There was silence on the other end of the line before he spoke again, concern in his tone. “I thought he was with you.“

“Huh?”

“He said he was going to go check on you thirty minutes ago… did he not –“

Without a word, Ana hung up the phone and rushed from the house. Her heart was racing within her chest as she ran down the street toward Riku’s apartment, fear and dread settling in her gut. Zin kept calling and texting, clearly concerned about both her and his bandmate, but she ignored him, far too focused on finding her boyfriend.

“Riku!” Her fist pounded on his apartment door before she paused to listen for any sound of movement. It was dead silent inside which did little to ease her anxiety. Her fingers wrapped around the doorknob, sure that it would be locked.

To her surprise, it clicked as she turned it, allowing her to push the door open. She burst into the apartment, calling out his name only to receive no response. She ran from room to room, checking each one for any sign of him but there was none. Cursing, she started for the front door only to pause when she caught sight of a thick white envelope sitting on the table.

Ana wasn’t usually the type of person to go through other people’s things, but what if it held a clue as to where he had gone? When she got closer, she realized her name had been scrawled onto it in Riku’s beautiful, unmistakable handwriting. He had left this for her.

Her heart pounded in her ears as she opened it and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself before beginning to read.

『My dearest Ana-chan,

I’m sorry for what you went through because of me. I never wanted you to know the truth about me and I was foolish enough to believe that I could live a normal life with you and the Rampage. As if I deserve such a thing after everything I’ve done…

Because of my neglect, my past came back with a vengeance and you’re the one who suffered. I’ve been selfish, putting all of you at risk because I wanted to hide from who I am. My boss used to tell me that, ‘No matter how far you run, your past and your choices will always catch up to you. We must face our mistakes head-on or risk those mistakes coming back to hurt the people we love.’

He’s right. He’s always been right. I have to face who I am, what I am, and I have to take responsibility.

Thank you for loving me, Ana-chan. Words can’t express how happy you’ve made me and I can never apologize enough for ruining your life. Please… please just forget that you ever met me. Move on with your life and find happiness.

I didn’t say it as often as I should have, but I truly do love you. I’ve loved you since the moment we met and I’ll continue loving you until the day I die.

I’ll leave it up to you whether or not you tell the Rampage the truth about me, but I ask that you let them know that I love them. I hold my memories close to my heart and I will never forget any of you, though I hope you all forget me.

I’m sorry, Ana, truly. I know it’s not much, but I transferred my apartment into your name. You can do what you want with it and everything inside. Should you sell my things, you’ll be left with plenty of cash to pay for whatever you desire.

Forever yours, Riku.』

Tears were sliding down her face, heart aching. “Riku, you idiot,” she sobbed, rubbing at her eyes in a failed attempt to stop the tears. “How can you tell me to move on and then tell me how much you love me? You absolute idiot!”

Ana knew what this meant.

Riku was going to do something dumb and she had to find him before he could. She had no idea how she was going to do this, though the details didn’t matter at that moment.

Pain and fear turned to determination as she ran from the apartment, the letter tucked into her hoodie pocket. She was determined to find the man she loved no matter the cost. Whether or not she slapped some sense into him was still up for debate.

━━━━━━༻☔༺━━━━━━

The sun was beginning to sink low on the horizon, the sky fading from blue to a mixture of red and orange. The cold air felt like tiny needles against her face as she ran, though she paid it no mind, far too focused on the task at hand.

It felt as if she had been searching for ages and was no closer to finding the male, something that seriously frustrated her. Where the hell was he? She tried to pull from all the delinquent and yakuza dramas she’d seen in her life, but that list was fairly small.

Just as she was about to call Zin for help, she caught sight of something in the distance. Taking a step closer, she realized it was Mikaru standing at the end of a dead-end street and he wasn’t alone. Though she could only see his back, she was sure it was Riku.

Behind Mikaru was the Sumida River, the surface of the water peaceful as if these two men weren’t about to fight for their lives in front of it. She knew she didn’t have the strength to go against Mikaru, but if she could push him into the river, perhaps that would give her enough time to grab Riku and run away. With any luck, he’ll be eaten by a school of fish.

“So, what now, Riku? Eh?” Mikaru held out his arms in an exasperated motion. “Is our lil cat n mouse game finally gonna end, hm?”

“It should have ended a long time ago,” grunted Riku, eyes narrowed at the male.

“For once, we agree,” he grinned, tugging a large knife from his coat. With a war cry, he ran toward Riku with the knife outstretched.

Riku showed no sign of dodging and Ana cursed, knowing what he was thinking – he was going to atone for his sins by dying. She wasn’t about to let that happen so, without a moment of hesitation, she ran as fast as she could toward them.

She threw herself in front of him just as Mikaru thrust the knife forward. Riku’s eyes widened, his breath leaving his lungs. She felt pressure against her stomach but no pain. Perhaps it was the adrenaline or perhaps she was just too focused on protecting the reckless idiot behind her.

“If you want to kill Riku, you’ll have to go through me first!”

“That can be arranged,” smirked Mikaru, tugging the knife free before raising it again.

Riku finally snapped out of his shock, grabbing her roughly before turning so that the knife went into his side. His jaw clenched in pain, his grip on her shoulders tightening.

“I’ll kill both of you!” he laughed maniacally, pulling the knife free once more.

With Ana there, Riku found his will to keep fighting. More importantly, he needed to get her to the hospital for her wound before she bled out. He knew that, as long as Mikaru was alive, her life would always be in danger.

Cocking his fist back, Riku slammed it against the male’s face, his eyes darkening. Mikaru stumbled back from the blow, broken nose reigniting with pain. Riku took this opportunity to kick the knife from his hand before starting a vicious assault on the male, punching him repeatedly without giving him the chance to recover.

His legs gave out beneath him, body crumbling to the ground. This meant nothing to Riku as he straddled the male, every punch filled with rage and pain – at himself, at Mikaru, at his boss. There were so many things, so many choices and mistakes for him to be angry over. More than anything, he was pissed off about Ana getting hurt twice.

The assault continued until he was out of breath, his vision blurred by the blood loss. He slid off of the unconscious male, falling onto his back against the concrete.

“Riku!” Ana rushed over to him, kneeling at his side. His shirt was soaked with blood, his skin pale.

He looked up at her through half-lidded eyes. “Why are you here?”

“Stop talking,” she muttered, pressing her hand against the wound to try and stop the blood. ‘I have to call an ambulance!’ “Riku, baby, please put your hands over the wound!”

He grunted, doing as she ordered. “Are you okay?”

She scoffed in disbelief. “You were stabbed and you’re asking me if I’m okay?”

“So were you.”

Her brow furrowed. ‘He’s right, I was… why don’t I feel any pain?’ She glanced down, early seeing a hole in her hoodie. There was no blood, though. Reaching into the pocket, she removed his letter and her phone, both of which had a deep cut in the center. The knife had gone through the letter before shattering the phone screen, saving her.

Riku laughed when he realized this, relief flooding him. This quickly turned to a coughing fit, pain flooding his system. He could taste the blood on his tongue, a familiar taste that he would never get used to.

“Be still!” She hissed angrily, shoving the items back into her pocket. With her phone broken, she had no choice but to go off in search of help. Her eyes flickered to Mikaru.

She couldn’t leave Riku on the off chance that Mikaru woke up and finished him off. She considered dragging him off the edge and into the river but decided against it.

“Give me your hand,” she ordered, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet. He grunted in pain, arm over his stomach as his other hand clutched at the wound. She put his arm around her shoulders. “Put your weight on me.”

Despite not wanting to do so, he had no choice because his strength was rapidly fading, vision blurring. “Ana-chan,” he breathed out.

She huffed from the effort it was taking to help him down the street. “Yeah?”

“Just let me go.”

“Absolutely not!” She snapped, hand tightening around his wrist. “I’ll never let you go, Riku!”

He smiled softly. “Thank you… for loving me.”

“Riku!” Ana cried out when his body went limp, unconsciousness slipping from him. She tried to keep him upright but he was just too heavy, his body slumping to the ground. “Shit!” She looked around frantically, spying a taxi in the distance.

She ran toward it so quickly that her body slammed against the side, startling the driver. He looked at her in shock as her bloody hand slammed against the window.

“Please help! Riku’s going to die!”

He glanced behind her, seeing the male lying on the ground, as still as the grave. “Get in!”

She hopped into the passenger seat as he took off down the street toward Riku, both of them jumping out as soon as the car came to a stop. With her help, the two managed to load Riku into the back and she slid in with him, pressing her hand against his wound.

“Please hurry!”

“Please don’t die in my car, man!” he cried, the tires squealing as he took off. “I don’t want a haunted cab!”

She didn’t even hear his comment, too focused on the pale face of her boyfriend. Tears slid down her cheeks, falling onto his own. “Please… please don’t leave me, Riku. You promised, remember?” She leaned down, forehead against his own as she whispered out, “You said you’d never leave…”

When they finally reached the hospital, the ER was overcrowded with people. There had been a large pile up so the staff were running around, trying to assist the people who had the most dangerous injuries.

The cab driver helped her carry Riku into the hospital, his feet dragging across the floor.

“We need help over here!” called the male, trying to get the attention of a nurse who was rushing past.

“Please!” Ana cried, blinking back her tears. “He’s going to bleed out!”

The woman behind the desk picked up the phone, saying something into the receiver before putting it back down and rushing over to them. “Was he in the accident?”

“He was stabbed! He – he -” Tears fell from her eyes, unable to be held back any longer. Panic was beginning to take hold of her, her body trembling. “Please help him!”

He flatlines and they put him on the gurney to take him back. She begs him not to leave her.

She reached forward, pressing two fingers to his neck. “He has no pulse.” With a curse, she rushed over to her desk, grabbing the phone again. “Code blue at the entrance! Code blue!”

“No pulse?” It felt as if her own heart stopped, the words bouncing around her brain but not quite sinking in.

“Lay him down, quick!” ordered the woman as she returned to them, helping them lay him down. She kneeled beside him, beginning chest compressions.

A group of nurses came running from the back, bringing a crash cart with them.

“Riku, please!” Ana sobbed, shaking his shoulder. “Please wake up!”

“Get her back!”

The cab driver did as he was ordered, wrapping his arms around her in order to pull her away from the group. She fought against him, trying to return to his side.

“Please don’t go where I can’t follow, Riku!”

They cut his shirt, placing the paddles against his chest. “Clear!”

His body shifted from the shock but his heart didn’t start.

“Again!”

“Riku please!” She screamed, still fighting against the man’s hold. “I’ll never forgive you if you don’t wake up!”

The other patients in the waiting area were watching on in horror as they worked to resuscitate him, sending Ana pitying looks that only made her feel worse.

“Clear!”

His body was shocked again and the nurse placed her fingers against the side of his neck. “We’ve got a pulse!”

Relief flooded her, her legs giving out beneath her. The cabbie slowly lowered them both to the ground, his hand rubbing her upper arm in a comforting manner as she sobbed.

Riku was lifted onto a gurney before they started to wheel him into the back.

Ana jumped up, shoving the cabbie away and attempting to follow but she was stopped by the woman who had been sitting at the desk. “Please, I need to be with him!”

“You’re not allowed into the surgery room,” she spoke softly, knowing how upset Ana was. “Please have a seat. I promise I’ll let you know his condition as soon as possible.”

She could only stare at the double doors as they closed behind the woman, fear and pain curling around her like a heavy blanket.

━━━━━━༻☔༺━━━━━━

“Got any fours?”

Ana glanced up at Zin who was sitting across from her before glancing at the cards in her hand. “Go fish.”

Clicking his tongue, he grabbed a card from the top of the pile.

It had been nearly two days since Riku was taken into surgery and, though the surgery had been successful, he hadn’t yet woken up. Obviously, she hadn’t been able to tell the doctor the entire truth about the situation, not wanting Riku to get into trouble, but she had made it clear that he had been stabbed by a psychopath.

The doctor was convinced that Riku wasn’t waking up because he didn’t want to. He claimed this was quite common among patients who have gone through a traumatic experience and he told her that the only thing they could do was be patient.

This was not her strong suit, especially not where Riku was involved. She had been losing her mind and had no choice but to call Zin and tell him everything. She had only planned on telling him that Riku had been stabbed but, once she started speaking, she couldn’t stop. She told him everything, unloading all of her fear and stress.

Though mostly confused and shocked, Zin didn’t complain. He listened to her patiently as he rushed over to the hospital to meet her. Honestly, she wasn’t sure what would have happened to her without him there supporting her.

Her eyes fell on the unconscious male, a frown tugging at her lips.

“He just needs time,” said Zin softly. Despite his reassurances, he also felt very worried by the fact that Riku had yet to wake up. He had to be strong for her, though.

“I know,” she sighed, laying her cards down so she could run a hand through her hair. “I just miss him, Zin. I…” Tears gathered in her eyes but she blinked them back, turning her attention to the window.

It was late, the sky navy blue and dotted with tiny stars, barely visible because of the bright city lights. The moon was a waxing gibbous, the bottom half covered by thin clouds. It was a beautiful sight, but it seemed so dull to her. Everything seemed so much more dull without Riku.

“I know, Ana-chan,” Zin smiled sadly, reaching out to pat her hand. His eyes flickered to her arm and then to the bags beneath her eyes. He knew she hadn’t slept since he was brought into the hospital. “How are you feeling? You should really get some rest.”

Her nose wrinkled at the thought. “I’m fine.”

Zin sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I know you’re as stubborn as he is, but you can’t just not sleep.”

“I refuse to sleep until he wakes up.”

He just sighed again, resisting the urge to facepalm. Before he could scold her, he caught movement from the corner of his eye. He figured it was just the nurse coming in to check on them but, when he glanced over, he realized Riku was stirring.

“Ana-chan!”

Since she was looking out the window, she hadn’t yet noticed this. “I’ve made up my mind and nothing you say will change that.”

“He’s waking up!”

Her head snapped toward him so quickly that he worried she might have whiplash. Sure enough, a soft groan passed Riku’s lips as his eyes fluttered open, brow furrowed in pain.

His body felt heavy, as if it were made out of lead, and there was an incessant beeping to his right that made him want to punch something. Confusion was the first thing he felt, his foggy brain trying to fill in the gaps and piece together where he was and what had happened.

Ana swallowed hard, resisting the urge to scream his name and throw herself on top of him. Her legs trembled as she stood up, slowly approaching his bed. “Riku?”

At the sound of her shaky voice, he snapped his head to the side, attempting to push himself up only to hiss in pain and fall back down against the pillow.

“Don’t try to get up!” she scolded softly, glancing at his side to see if the wound had started to bleed. “You’ll reopen your stitches.”

He glanced down, realizing he was wearing a hospital gown and had an IV in his arm. He hated hospitals and had been taught to avoid them no matter how bad the injury was. Inhaling slowly, he pushed himself up, vision blurring and head throbbing.

“Riku!” scolded Ana again, trying to push him back down but he shook his head which certainly didn’t help to clear up his vision.

“I don’t do hospitals,” he muttered. “Take me home.”

Zin hummed, appearing at the end of the bed and holding up his hand. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Huh?” Riku was confused by the sudden question and he shifted, nervous about the male’s presence. How much did he know? The question worried him.

“If you answer correctly, we can leave.”

“Zin,” she stressed in disbelief. “He’s in no condition to leave!”

“I know.” He sent her a reassuring smile before addressing the male once more. “If you answer incorrectly, you have to stay here without complaint until the doctor releases you. Deal?”

Riku pursed his lips, eyes narrowed at Zin’s hand. He tried his hardest to focus his eyes but his brain refused to cooperate. “Four.”

“Wrong!” he grinned, stepping closer so Riku could see the three fingers he was holding up.

Ana breathed a sigh of relief while Riku huffed in annoyance, falling back against his pillow once again.

Zin patted her on the shoulder before grabbing his jacket from the chair. “I need to go check on the others. Don’t give her too much trouble, Riku, she hasn’t slept.” He waved to the two of them before leaving the room, closing the door to give them some privacy.

Riku frowned at the words, his eyes scanning her face. When he noticed just how exhausted she looked, his frown deepened. “Ana-chan -“

Sobs escaped her lips, tears sliding down her cheeks. She didn’t want to break down in front of him like this, but she was far too tired to try and control herself.

“Please don’t cry,” he told her softly, sliding his hand into hers.

“I thought… I thought I l-lost you…” Her eyes met his and he swallowed hard, taken aback by the raw emotion that lingered there. “You promised to – to never leave… you… you’re a dumbass, Riku!”

His fingers curled around her wrist and, with a sharp tug, he pulled her onto the bed with him, arms wrapped tightly around her body. Her fingers curled around his hospital robe, face buried in his chest. She could feel his heart beating beneath her touch and it was comforting to her.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, fighting against his own tears as he pulled her closer. A simple sorry didn’t feel sufficient for everything that had happened and yet… it was all he could say.

He always knew he loved her, from the moment they first met. There was something deep inside him that knew he would love her for the rest of his life, but he never realized the true impact she had on him. He never realized that she had become his happiness, his reason to keep moving forward.

Somewhere along the way, she had become his safety net, the one person that kept him from drowning in his own self-loathing. Alone, the weight of his mistakes and poor choices weighed heavily on him, forcing his head beneath the water until he could no longer breathe.

With Ana, though, it all felt more bearable. For the first time in a long time, he felt hopeful. He felt loved. He felt like he was enough. How could he possibly put that into words? How could he make her realize just how much she meant to him? He thought he was doing what was best by leaving her.

He closed his eyes, tears forming small wet spots on his pillow.

“I love you, Riku,” she whispered, clutching his clothes tighter. “No matter how dangerous it is, I want to follow you on whatever path you take. I don’t want to live without you. I… I can’t live without you.”

Though it was harder for him to admit, he felt the same way. He was perfectly content with Mikaru killing him when he tried to leave Ana’s life. Without her, his world was bleak and his demons threatened to smother him. She was a light in the darkness, though, acting as a protective shield around him that he didn’t feel he deserved.

His hand found the back of her neck and she slowly lifted her head. For several moments, the two just stared at each other. He may not be able to express how he was feeling with words, but she could see it clearly within his glassy eyes.

With a smile, she cupped his face before leaning down to claim his lips. He groaned in appreciation, tilting his head to deepen the kiss, hands on her hips as he attempted to bring her closer but there was already no space between them.

His tongue slid across her bottom lip and she didn’t hesitate to give him access, their tongues dancing. Neither of them had ever felt so overwhelmed by love and warmth before. It was intoxicating, like a drug that they were both addicted to and couldn’t get enough of.

They didn’t pull away until their lungs were screaming for air, the two of them panting softly as they stared at each other again, foreheads touching.

Riku swallowed hard, hands gripping her hips tighter. When he spoke, his voice was a soft whisper meant only for her. “Don’t ever leave me, Ana-chan.”

A smile tugged at her lips as she brushed the hair away from his forehead. “I should be saying that to you.”

“I’m sorry,” he frowned, guilt swirling in his beautiful brown eyes. “I thought I was doing the right thing…”

“That’s all any of us can do,” she hummed softly. “Just know that I will always chase after you. No matter how far away you run, no matter what situation you find yourself in, I’ll find you.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” she whispered, claiming his lips again.

━━━━━━༻☔༺━━━━━━

Prompts (listed in order of appearance):

☆ #26 – “Sometimes I get so tired, I don’t even know myself.” / Seeing Double / Working to Exhaustion / “You look awful.”

☆ #18 – “I tend to deflect when I’m feeling threatened.” / Blindfold (alt 1 – Betrayal) / Tortured for Information / “Hit him harder.”

☆ #17 – “You’re the lump in my throat and the knot in my chest.” / Collar / Touch Aversion / “Leave Me Alone.”

☆ #23 – “It’s gonna get me by the end of the night.” / Shadows / Stalking / “Who’s there?”

☆ #4 – “I see the danger, it’s written there in your eyes.” / Cattle Prod / Shock / “You in there?”

☆ #21 – “See the chains around my feet.” / Vows (alt 10 – Shaking) / Restraints / “Don’t move.”

☆ #6 – “Do or die, you’ll never make me, because the world will never take my heart.” / Recording / Made to Watch / “It should have been me.”

☆ #20 – “People don’t change people, time does.” / Blanket (alt 3 – Brass Knuckles) / Found Family / “You will regret touching them.”

☆ #5 – “You better pray I don’t get up this time around.” / Debris / Pinned Down / “It’s broken.”

☆ #15 – “I don’t need you to help me, I can handle things myself.” / Makeshift Bandages / Suppressed Suffering / “I’m fine.”

☆ #27 – “You drew stars around my scars, but now I’m bleeding.” / Matches (alt 12 – Broken) / Scars / “Let me see.”

☆ #24 – “I’ve got a head full of chemicals, mouth full of ridicule.” / Goodbye Note / Neglect (alt 4 – Decoy) / “I thought they were with you.”

☆ #28 – “We might not make it to the morning, so go on and tell me now.” / Bloody Knife / Sacrifice / “You’ll have to go through me.”

☆ #10 – “Can’t you see that you’re lost without me?” / Broken Phone / Stranded / “You said you’d never leave.”

☆ #8 – “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier.” / Overcrowded ER / Outnumbered (alt 11 – Panic) / “It’s all for nothing.”

☆ #16 – “Would you lie with me and just forget the world?” / Gurney / Flatline / “Don’t go where I can’t follow.”

☆ #1 – “But now this room is spinning while I’m trying just to fill in all the gaps.” / Safety Net / Swooning (alt 6 – Playing Cards) / “How many fingers am I holding up?”

━━━━━━༻☔༺━━━━━━

-> High&Low/Rampage Taglist: @kiraaaeon, @simpforchuchu, @star2fishmeg, @thatpoindexterpixy @manhwabtch

-> General Taglist: @asterhaze, @mrskenpachizaraki

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yzafre · 2 years ago

Text

hole in my parachute (big as your heart) | Ch 1

AO3

<< Previous work

Kairi is born into a world where your heart has wings.

This does not make things better.

She couldn’t really remember learning about wings, not really. From the moment she woke on Destiny Islands, it was just a fact she knew. It didn’t take long till she knew her Flight would consist of Sora and Riku, too, sure as the sun came up each morning, sure as the ground beneath her feet.

Her twin lights, cutting through the darkness and guiding her back to herself, guiding her home.

Sora came first. Bright and cheerful Sora, with eyes bright as the sky. She couldn’t remember much about those early days, memories lost behind a constant fog and the blurriness of time, but she would always remember this:

Fear curdled in her stomach, the screaming of children turning to something much worse in her ears, until a hand slipped into her own, soft and warm. His eyes sparkled as he led her away, away from the noise and the fear and the confusion, to somewhere quiet and cool. He knelt by the cave wall, pressed a rock into her hand, and then he just… drew.

This memory was crystal clear: the cold rock digging into her knees, the scrape of stone, and his smile. A beaming grin, bright as the sun, burning away the fog.

Her heart thawing, waking up, beating again.

Riku was next.

Confident and bold, fearlessly leading them all into every new adventure, and far too prone to going too far. When she pointed it out, he turned, eyes piercing into hers, challenging her, dismissing her –

But she was right.

She challenged him right back, steeling herself, sharpening her edges against his, and when she proved herself something turned in that gaze. Something turned inside her and every breath in her lungs felt fresh and new, stagnation clearing.

Her soul sung, and the world sharpened into focus.

Alive, alive again, she grew. With every day, week, month, she left the shadows in the past behind her. She spiraled closer to those two, wonderful boys, their orbits falling into harmony, and she knew they were her future.

Even as a shadow grew on the horizon.

Even as Riku… changed.

She woke up one night as the world screamed.

She didn’t remember much after that – darkness, and cold, and then wonderful, comforting warmth. Later, she would know that warm, safe refuge was Sora’s heart, but at the time she simply felt like she’d come home.

So, for a long time, she slept. And when she woke…

He was, he was –

“No,” she begged the sky, the universe, anyone that would listen, “He can’t be gone. I won’t let him go!”

But the world didn’t care, and the Darkness creeped closer.

“So, you have awakened at last, Princess,” a Dark voice rumbled, and she seethed, turning to face the towering figure appearing in a swirl of shadows, “The Keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose; but now, it’s over.”

The man advanced slowly, confidently, the stride of a predator closing in on prey. The dog and duck around her – Donald, Goofy, how did she know their names? – tried to hold him off, but it all came to nothing.

Just when he was upon them, he froze.

“Impossible!” the man choked as light began to condense before him, spreading, shaping itself into a familiar form, arms stretched wide as he held the monster back.

“No,” Riku gasped, “You won’t – use me for this!”

“Riku!” she called, and he turned, staring at her with a storm in his eyes, pain-regret-guilt, and it scared her, just like it always did, but for a different reason, her heart breaking, pleading no, no, no.

“You have to run, the Heartless are coming!”

She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to, but already he was fading, just like Sora, and she –

She ran.

The Heartless chased them, but one was different. Staring into its eyes, her heart sung even as it wailed, and she drew it closer, closer, closer.

She saved Sora. She brought him back, heart screaming, dragging him back to her side with brilliant light-mineminemine-won’t touch you won’t lose-I see you I recognize you I’ll always know you-don’t leave me-I love you I love you I love you.

She poured everything she had into him, and his arms wrapped around her once more.

They escaped, and Riku was gone, and everything was awful, and Sora wouldn’t let her come with him. So she waited with Aerith and Yuffie, and when they left she stayed with Merlin and the Fairy Godmother, a cup of tea going cold in her hands, the whole time her heart turning with anxiety, and worry, and fear.

The worlds started reforming, and she saw Sora, one last time. Riku wasn’t with him. She swallowed down that loss, the spike of pain shooting through her, holding on to the one she had left as long as she could while the land beneath them literally tore them apart.

He’d come back to her. He’d promised, they’d both come home. She knew he’d come back to her.

He had to.

So, Kairi waited.

She waited at the beach, staring out at the sky and dreaming of Sora’s ship appearing. She waited with Sora’s mom, curled up on her couch with a cup of poorly made tea, tears in both their eyes. She waited on the pier, sitting silently beside Riku’s dad, unsure what to say, how to explain.

They held a funeral, for Riku.

It took two months before his parents gave in, admitting that there was no way he could have survived the storm – it wasn’t a storm, she wanted to scream, it was the end of the world, but they had to rationalize it somehow, and all they remembered was winds howling, and things breaking, and then waking up. But then, that didn’t change the end result, did it? Riku was still…

So, they went from listing him missing to listing him dead. They held a funeral.

Kairi sat near the front, just a row behind his family, and despite the hole tearing itself through her chest she couldn’t cry.

Why? She thought, Why’d you do it? Were we not enough?

She waited, and she waited, and she waited, until one day, she –

She wasn’t quite sure what she was waiting for.

Miss Ikumi lived in the house down the road. Kairi went and visited her every week, though she wasn’t quite sure why. She just turned up at her door, her feet leading her there without thought. Every time Miss Ikumi would let her in without question, even though Kairi could see in her eyes she wasn’t sure why it kept happening either.

They’d sit down for tea, making small talk for a while before inevitably slipping into silence. There they’d stay, long after the drinks had gone cold. They didn’t have much in common, had no connection at all, and yet, and yet –

“I really should get around to renovating that upstairs room,” Miss Ikumi would sigh, “It’s really not set up to be a proper guest room, right now, with all those children’s toys in it. I don’t even know why I have them. And it would give Emilyn somewhere to sleep when she visits.”

Kairi nodded along, offered to help. They both knew she wouldn’t do it, and they’d have this same conversation next week.

“Dylas is moving in,” Miss Ikumi said one week, “Putting his house up for sale and everything. It only makes sense, he’s my Flightmate, after all. And there’s really too much space in this house for just me.”

That’s a shame, Kairi wanted to say, We always loved playing in the tree house in his backyard. But she wasn’t quite sure who ‘we’ was, so the words stayed locked behind her teeth.

She couldn’t bring herself to return to the play island, no matter how much the other kids asked. Instead, she would sit on the beach of the main island, staring out at the distant horizon. It was quiet, there. The murmur of the town was a distant thing, faded beneath the roar of the waves and the calling of the birds. She ached, because Riku was – dead? Or was he? it was fuzzy, she couldn’t quite remember – gone, and there was a chasm in her chest, and everything was wrong.

She could feel the other kids’ eyes on her, every time they left, every time they came back to find her in the same place. Selphie would come and sit behind her as the day slipped into night, as her knees went numb like the hole where her heart should be, until the other girl urged her to her feet, guiding her home.

When school was back in session, Selphie refused to let Kairi drift away. She dragged her to their table at lunch, goaded her into eating. Kairi followed along, if only because she couldn’t find a reason to protest. Then, at the end of the day, she would turn her feet back towards the beach, resuming her silent vigil.

Three months in, Selphie found her there, only this time, she didn’t drag her up. Instead, she sat with her, long after the moon rose in the sky and the stars appeared on that endless dark blanket.

“Kairi,” she whispered, finally, turning and holding her hand, so, so gently, “Please. I don’t know how to help you.”

Kairi blinked, turning to Selphie, eyes slowly focusing. It was like seeing her for the first time. There were bags under her eyes, and her hands trembled where they held hers. Kairi didn’t remember her eyes looking so sad.

But it wasn’t just that, was it? Sad, yes, and tired, too, but more than that she was scared, Kairi realized, watching as Selphie frantically searched her face for something. She was scared for Kairi.

“I – “ she started, and her voice cracked, eyes burning. Still, still, she couldn’t cry. “I’m so tired. And I’m alone.”

“You’re not,” Selphie whispered, “I’m here for you. You’re my friend.”

The next breath Kairi took shuddered in her chest, and she tipped forward, burying her face in Selphie’s shoulder, shaking in her arms.

“Okay.”

When Selphie dragged her with her for lunch, the next day, Kairi tried, a little bit. Paid attention to the conversation, responded to a quip. The faces around her lit up, beaming at her, and oh. Oh, how could she have forgotten she still had this? So she tried again – she talked to them, and picked up her hobbies, and helped with homework. The little vignettes of life consumed her, carrying her along into a brighter world. And if sometimes she turned to her side, only to get the breath knocked from her lungs by an empty space, there was always someone by her side to pick her back up. She still couldn’t bring herself to go back to the play island and all its ghosts, but…

Slowly, day by day, Kairi became a little bit more alive. Little by little, she healed.

She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve a friend like Selphie.

Even as she got better, as she learned to breathe again, there was always a ghost in the back of her mind. She always felt just a step out of touch. There was something wrong, something she was missing, something she had lost. A second grief, sitting beside Riku’s, eating away at her every night, where she woke from nightmares of flashing lights and fanged shadows and sharpsharpsharp key-swords and bright blue eyes. Every time, she woke up crying – ugly, snotty tears that made her face sticky and her nose stuffy and squeezed her throat till it was hard to breathe. Now she cried, not for Riku, not for the person who was supposed to be her Flight, but for this nothing, this empty space in her heart, her mind.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought, squeezing her pillow to her chest, You’re literally crying over nothing.

But there was nothing she could do about it but wait for the feeling to pass.

Kairi waited, and she waited, and she waited.

Until, one day, she remembered what she was waiting for.

She rushed to the beach, crouched at the water, could feel Selphie watching her worriedly, fearful of old habits, but this was nothing like that. This was pure hope in her chest. A letter in a bottle, written in the dark of the night to Riku-who-was-lost, to the-one-that-was-missing, was pulled from her bag, finally released into the waves, her heart singing.

They weren’t gone, not forever – they would come back to her. He promised.

Isn’t that right, Sora?

Remembering was like waking up, like coming alive – as if she’d been living with only half a heart, half a mind, half a soul. Her past snapped into clarity – Sora and Riku, the Dark and the Light, those fuzzy memories of the world reforming.

Riku was gone, yes, but – not dead.

I’m always with you, too. I’ll save him, and we’ll come back to you, I promise!

They were out there. Her Flight was out there.

She found herself drawn to the beach once more, staring out over the open waves, but this time she wasn’t empty. No, she was filled with a frantic energy, spilling out from beneath her skin, begging go, go, go, go.

Is this what Riku felt, all those years?

Footsteps crunched in the sand.

“Waiting for someone?”

Kairi blinked, coming back to reality. A stranger stood beside her – tall, lanky, with fire-red hair spilling wildly around his shoulders. His eyes burned, much like she thought hers might.

“Yes. Although, I’m starting to think… maybe waiting isn’t good enough.”

“My thoughts exactly! If you have a dream, don’t wait. Act,” the stranger grinned down at her, for a moment his mouth stretching wide wide too wide, a flash of sharp teeth against a bloody expanse. It disappeared in the time it took her to blink, and she almost thought she’d imagined it – only, the façade of friendliness couldn’t hide the hunger in his gaze as he leaned in closer, intent.

“We’ve got something in common, Kairi. You and I both miss someone we care about,” and he laughed, an empty sound, “Hey, I feel like we’re friends already.”

Her stomach dropped, a cold dread creeping up her spine.

“Who are you?”

“Name’s Axel, got it memorized? I happen to be an acquaintance of Sora. Why don’t we go see him?”

Flickering motion caught the corner of her eye, whitest white against the pale sands, but she couldn’t take her gaze off the predator in front of her, his eyes burning-empty-hungry.

“How do you know I’m waiting for Sora? How do you know my name?”

Immediately, all pretense at the friendly stranger fell away, the man’s posture going slack, still, dead as he clicked his tongue. Around him, the white shadows sprung from the earth, wriggling through the air – like heartless in the inverse.

“This could have been so easy. The offer was genuine, you know? I really am going to take you to Sora, no matter what.”

“No!” There was a tearing sound as a blur appeared from behind, jumping between them. A red cloak fluttered in the wind, covering this new stranger as she spread her arms wide, voice breaking, “You can’t!”

“Naminé,” The man drawled, “Interfering again? I thought you, of all people, would understand.”

“But this isn’t right!” the girl cried. She turned, desperate bright blue eyes meeting Kairi’s, who grew dizzy as her heart cried out, youyouyou, I know you, “Please, we have to go!”

Kairi stuttered, trying to think through the chaos in her head, “But – Is Sora – “

“Sora’s fine. He’s with people who are looking after him. But we can’t let people like the Organization use you against him. You’ll see him again, I promise, but please!”

The girl offered her hand, pleading, as the other reached towards the dark tear in reality she appeared out of. From the corner of her eye, the stranger began to move. Heart in her throat, Kairi slipped her hand into a palm as familiar as her own. Fire sparked along the sands; the white shadows leapt towards them –

And they were consumed by Darkness.

Next >

#kh #kingdom hearts #Kairi #fanfiction #wingfic #wrap your wings au #Yza writes a thing

0 notes

citadelredlightdistrict · 1 year ago

Note

Nora giggled as she kneeled down, letting him put the collar around her neck. She tilted her head up proudly as he collared her, signaling to the world that she was in fact one of the faunus breeding sluts. She sighed with excitement as she reached up and touched the pendant that told all who read it who she belonged to. "Hee hee, oh daddy~, of course you're the only one who could hold my leash~. My kitty only accepts big foxy cocks now~." She then licked her lips eagerly as he asks her if she wants to take a few selfies with his cock, she wiggles eagerly in place as she looks up at him, arousal dripping between her legs. "Oh yes please! They'll all be so jealous when they see me with my new collar and your big cock! Oh! We can take even more selfies when I get my cummy pancakes too!" She hesitates as he says that he loves her though, about to agree but at that moment she saw Ren in the other room and just sighs, looking at him with a smile that didn't speak of lust, but of simple honest love. "I-I do really like you too Riku, but you know my heart belongs to one person..." She leans forward and kisses his pants right on his crotch, looking up at him as if for forgiveness. "But I do love you too, as my alpha and my master. But I love Ren as my boyfriend, and one day maybe..." She doesn't elaborate on what the future might hold for them, but her hopeful glance out the door makes it clear what she hopes might one day be. Riku owns her body, especially her pussy, but Ren still owns her heart.

@citadelredlightdistrict

Nora rolled her eyes as she returned home with Ren.

Nora: "Oh Renipoo, you're just paranoid! Riku is just a friend, I'm just trying to help to reformulated the faunus population after all the years of human cruelty. You can't honestly think he's trying to steal me from you."

Ren shakes his head and sighs. He had tried to convince Nora not to sign up for this stupid faunus repopulation program, as a huntress she could have exempted herself.

Ren: "I know you keep saying that but..."

He blushed as he looked at her slightly growing belly, they suspected that she was already pregnant. And yet still...

Nora cut off his train of thought as she saw Riku and ran over to him, her large milk filled breasts bouncing slightly as she did. She wrapped Riku in a massive hug as she made out with him, all but humping him as Ren stood in the open doorway.

Nora: "Daddy! Oh Riku! Mmm, fuck I've been thinking of your cock all day at work~! Please, fill my pussy again daddy~!"

Ren blushed brightly with fury and shame, watching his girlfriend literally throw herself at the smaller man.

Riku hugs Nora his arms warped around her hips his hands squeezed her ass hard as makes out with her his thick tongue rolled around with hers as he gives fox yipping noises “I missed you too babe I was losing my mind waiting for you” his fluffy tail wagging behind him like a puppy “fuck I can’t take it anymore moving with me and get my emblem tattooed on you I want to make you my breeding slut officially I don’t care if you keep Ren as a boyfriend as long as your body belongs to me that’s enough. Oh fuck, you smell good I miss you so much” he then started kiss on the top of her breast before soppily, dragging his tongue across him he didn’t even know, ren was standing 5 feet away from them

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phoenix-downer · 3 years ago

Text

A Steady Wish Chapter 2

~1200 words. Sora/Kairi. Set during KH4. Memory Loss, Angst, Romance, Fluff, Longing, Pining, Hurt/Comfort. Updates Weekly on Fridays.

Summary: Sora doesn’t remember the pretty girl in front of him, but something about her moves his heart all the same.

Sora stared at the girl in front of him. Man, she was pretty. Really, really pretty. Long red hair, these big blue eyes, soft pink lips, cute outfit, nice figure—

But she wasn’t happy. Her eyes were watering like she was about to cry, and her lower lip trembled. Something was making her sad. Was it him? Was he the one making her sad? He couldn’t bear the thought. His heart felt like chains had just wrapped their way around it and squeezed.

“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?” Whatever it was he’d done, he wanted to make things right.

“Sora, this is Kairi,” Riku said as he walked up to them, and his eyes were pained. Riku wasn’t really open with his emotions, so if he was upset too, then man, Sora must’ve really messed up.

“Kairi?” Sora repeated as he turned back to the girl, trying the name out. It slipped off his tongue easily, but other than that, nothing came to mind.

Riku rested a hand on Kairi’s shoulder. “Sorry, Kairi, I wanted to warn you.”

“Warn you?” Sora echoed. “About what?”

Kairi turned away from him and sniffed, and those chains around his heart pulled tighter.

“Do I know you?” he said softly, reaching for her but pulling back at the last moment. “Are you someone important to me?”

He looked helplessly to Riku. “Riku? Who is she?”

Riku hesitated for a moment, then said, “She’s—”

“—an old acquaintance you haven’t seen in a while.” She turned around, a smile plastered on her face that didn’t really reach her eyes. “You… saved my world from the Heartless on one of your journeys. Please excuse my impertinence earlier, I just got excited about seeing you again, that’s all.” She tucked her hands in front of herself like she was about to bow, then switched to a curtsy. “Thank you again for all your help.”

Riku looked stricken, but he said nothing, and Sora’s heart leapt into his throat. Something was very, very wrong.

“How did you end up here?” Sora asked. “Did something terrible happen to you?”

“Oh! Um… You know…” She glanced at Riku. “It just happens, you know? Sometimes you just… die.”

She grimaced, and he worried he’d asked for too many details. For all he knew her death was really traumatic. Strelitzia’s had been, after all. He still shuddered to think about it, and the thought of this girl suffering a similar fate made a lump form in his throat.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said lamely, then wanted to kick himself. What was it about Kairi that made him so flustered? It was like he couldn’t form a coherent thought around her.

“No, it’s alright, it’s… in the past.” She fiddled with her necklace, then looked up into his eyes. “I’m sorry you died, too.”

Her voice choked on the final words, and he felt his heart squeeze. His death… he couldn’t remember it clearly. All he could recall was warmth, warmth and his heart so full of love he couldn’t contain it. But he also felt like he’d been torn in two. A single tear flashed through his mind, then a flood of grief beyond compare washed over him. He couldn’t remember why his heart had felt so wonderful before being torn in two. There was another feeling he couldn’t exactly place, he just knew it was because this kind girl was feeling sorry for him, was apologizing for something far beyond her control, was crying for him even though he didn’t even know her.

Without thinking, he wiped a tear from her face. She froze and stopped crying, and he wondered what had gotten into him, touching her like that when he didn’t even know her.

Or did he?

“You’re someone very important to me, aren’t you?” he said softly. His own voice surprised him, tender and gentle like he was addressing someone very special. “I may not remember you, but I want to.”

For a split second, a tangy taste lingered on his tongue, but then it was over.

“Thank you,” she said, then pulled away and wiped her eyes. “But please, don’t push yourself. Maybe it’s better if you—”

He frowned. “Better if I what?”

She plastered on that fake smile again. “Better if you keep moving forward. You want to get home to your islands, right?”

Sora looked to Riku for guidance, but Riku had an unreadable expression on his face. His lips were pulled into a taut line and his eyes were stony. Was he angry? Oh no, what had Sora done wrong this time?

“Sorry, Sora, will you excuse us?” Riku said. “I need to talk to Kairi about some stuff. Meet you back at your apartment in an hour.”

“Oh, sure thing,” Sora replied, relieved that he didn’t seem to be the target of Riku’s wrath. “I need to pick up dinner from Family Mart or Seven Eleven anyway.”

Riku rubbed his forehead and groaned. “Sora, you have got to eat other stuff, and I’m getting sick of the onigiri and ice cream you always buy. You can’t live on a diet of convenience store food alone.”

He put his hands behind his head and grinned. “Watch me. Besides, there are healthy options!”

“Uh-huh. See you back at your place. And can you at least get us some curry or something? A rice pilaf? Okonomiyaki? Seriously, anything but more onigiri.”

“Sure.” Sora hesitated for a moment. “Um, Kairi? Want anything?”

She fiddled with her necklace. “I’ll just have whatever you guys are having. Some ice cream would be nice too, though maybe we should get fruit instead.”

“Only the best for you, princess.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt his face turning red. Where had that come from? It sounded like some corny pickup line from a movie, and yet it had come so easily to him. Maybe Kairi was a princess on her home world?

Her lips parted, and she flushed and ducked her head. “Um, I’ll pay you back later. When I have…” She turned to Riku, and Sora felt a pang in his chest. “What’s the munny called here again?”

“Money. Sounds the same but different spelling.”

“Right, money.” She fidgeted with her necklace again. “I’ll see you later, Sora.”

With that, she and Riku were walking away, and the pang hit him again and grew into a throb.

“Kairi? What am I to you?” he said softly. She glanced back at him, their eyes meeting for a split second.

“My whole world,” he wanted her to say, but she was silent. She just looked at him sadly and then continued on with Riku. He was left standing there, alone in the alley.

Why did watching her walk away hurt so much? Why did seeing her turn to Riku instead of him for help hurt so much? It shouldn’t. He didn’t know her, and it was obvious Riku did. And yet he felt drawn to her. Wanted to get to know her better. Wanted to see her smile. Not the smiles she’d plastered on to try to make him feel better. No, a real, genuine smile from her heart.

What would it take to see her smile?

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A/N: Thank you for reading!

As I was writing this chapter, I got to wondering how Sora would feel about his own death? And it really made me think because it's not every day you get to write about a character reflecting on that. And then of course I got to have Kairi get to properly grieve his death a little with him present, and the irony of him not knowing she's grieving out of love for him and guilt over his death (because she absolutely would blame herself) made for some interesting material to work with. I debated whether he should comfort her so forwardly, but in the end it felt like such a Sora thing to do that I rolled with it.

Also shoutout to okonomiyaki, my favorite Japanese food. If you haven't tried it before, 10/10 would recommend.

See you all next week!

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embraceyourdestiny · 3 years ago

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💜 💬

💜- top 3 favorite lines (I write a lot and it doesn't make much sense as just three sentences so they're gonna be excerpts instead.)

1). From Fictitious Data (Soriku / Sorepliku Data Battle)

“I failed you, Riku. You got hurt and I didn’t protect you. I’m such a bad friend and you don’t deserve that.”

Dark Riku’s mouth fell open in shock, completely at a loss of what to do. He didn’t want this, for Sora to be sad. He just wanted him to know he was hurting, and it wasn’t even Sora’s fault, not entirely at least. Why was he even mad in the first place? It seemed so important at the time, and now he couldn’t even remember. Was none of the pain he caused, both to others and himself, worth it in the end? Had he made a mistake?

“Sora.” His voice came out grovely, rough from the overuse and the screaming, but he ignored it.

Sora sniffled and his voice broke and shook as he spoke but he didn’t care, he had to get it out. “I’ve gone over it so many times in my head. Those few weeks, months even, before the islands fell. I try to remember as much as I can and I know there’s some stuff I’m missing but nothing I remember was bad. We were happy. You, me, Kairi. We made up stories about far away worlds before we even had our plan for the raft and we played games and had sleepovers. You were so happy, we both were, so I can’t figure out what happened. Was it me? Did I do something wrong? Did I force you to the darkness? Riku, I’m so sorry. Whatever I did to you to make this happen to you, I’m so sorry .”

Sora couldn’t hold it in anymore and he completely crumbled, falling onto his bottom and hiding his face in his knees. He sobbed and cried and choked and all Dark Riku could do was sit there, helpless to his friend.

Sora spoke of these moments as if they were ancient history, so far off in his memory that the pain they caused was no longer immediate but instead had become a part of who he was, shaping his future and life without being able to be fixed or undone, but for Dark RIku these moments were fresh. Recent. What had been over three years for Sora was hardly even a few months ago to him. The disconnect between their experiences was startling to Dark Riku, and yet their level of pain was still the same. Just like how deeply Riku’s hurt carved itself into his heart and gave him a painful, open wound, Sora’s pain had scabbed and scarred and was still tender to the touch and difficult to reel in. Dark Riku, no, Riku , had caused this and the boy could only sit there in horror as he watched his friend weep over the things he had done.

2). From A Chance To Say Goodbye (Sora & Winnie the Pooh)

Pooh looked up at Sora and smiled, his other squishy paw coming up to his chest, right over his heart. “Do you remember what you told me, Sora? It seems so long ago now, but I remember it well.”

Sora sniffled, wiping tears away from his cheeks. “What did I tell you, Pooh?”

“You said that you would always be with me, right here.” The bear looked down at his heart in emphasis before looking at Sora again. “And that’s still true, isn’t it, Sora?”

Sora smiled and leaned into Pooh’s side, resting his head on top of the bear’s head. “Yeah, it is.”

“And I will be right there with you, too, Sora.” Pooh reached up to place his paw over where Sora’s heart was and Sora brought his hand over Pooh’s, holding it close to his chest. “I’d have to be, lest you forget about me.”

“I could never forget about you, Pooh Bear.”

Pooh smiled. “That’s good.” The two stayed with their hands on their hearts and leaning into each other until Sora pulled Pooh into a hug, bringing the little bear as close to him as he could, holding him tight.

“I’m really gonna miss you, Pooh.”

“I’ll miss you too, Sora. I miss you even right now.”

3). From Under the Same Night Sky (Sorikai)

“If you say so, Kairi,” Sora’s slightly haughty voice came. “I’ll remember that the next time you yell at me for eating the last of your cookie blasters.”

An arm came from behind Riku to poke at Sora’s side, making his facade fall as he complained and tried not to laugh.

“All these years and you still don’t know a girl’s cookies are not meant to be messed with? Tsk, tsk, Sora, I thought we raised you better than that.

“Raised?! I’m older than you by four months!”

“Semantics. Don’t touch my cookies, Sora.”

“Just for that I’m going to eat them all before you even get a chance.”

“Gasp! You wouldn’t.”

“Watch me.”

Their mindless jibes pulled laughter out of Riku who failed to conceal it, earning pouts from the both of them.

“Riku, tell Sora not to eat my cookies.”

“Riku, tell Kairi that cookies are meant to be shared with friends and also that I’m the older one here.”

“Oh, look, we’re here,” Riku remarked with an exaggerated, fake tone, slipping past them and into the house. Outside, Sora and Kairi looked at each other in disbelief before crashing in after Riku, making him laugh at them all over again.

Cookies forgotten, cold melted, unpleasant memories in the back of their mind, the trio made themselves cocoa and soon enough piled into Sora’s room, becoming a mess of bodies and blankets as they laid over each other in his bed.

💬- describe one of your completed works in three words

I'll let the summary do it for me: "Riku, truth or dare!"

Writer Ask Game

#thanks for the ask friend :)#og #asks #embraceyourwords #kingdom hearts #kh #sorikai #soriku #sorepliku

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atopearth · 3 years ago

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Olympia Soiree Part 2 - Riku Route

Wow, Riku dancing! He looked beautiful! Sending off the dead with a dance is pretty poetic. I wonder how Byakuya will react when she realises that it's him. Seeing Riku all flustered when Byakuya kept praising the Blue dancer and saying she wanted to be his apprentice was so cute haha! Considering how ominous the Shou Falls (waterfall where the Shou crystals of the dead used to be "dumped" before being sacrificed to the Sun etc) sounded when they first mentioned it, I'm happy to know that it's really beautiful and tranquil. I guess you can say, people who died before the change got the "true peace" after death imo. Honestly, I don't blame Kanan for telling Kaina to not write letters to him again about wanting help to come up to the surface to lay down flowers at the grave of Kaina's lover who was executed. He's the leader of the Orange, he has his own responsibilities to his class, and this is definitely a very serious thing. I actually think it's very nice that he's going to lay down flowers on behalf of Kaina. I wonder how many lovers were like Satsuki and thought that dying together would be better than marrying someone you don't love, and then really went through with a double suicide... I think that's just so saddening. It's already so difficult to find someone you love in this world, but now you're being controlled as to who you can and cannot love? I feel so bad for all these people.

Okay wow, Kanan is so much more of a distasteful guy than I thought. His jokes are crude, he talks crap about the idea that Shura (leader of the Blue) is probably sleeping with Riku because he's next in line to become the leader of the Blue (which is surprising tbh! That's probably why he's so harsh and strict with others and himself), and he even touched Byakuya's chin without permission and wants to publish in the newspaper that he's most likely to become her husband? Get lost, Kanan. LMAO at Daifuku running away because Riku's hamburger was so enticing😂😂😂 Anyway, Riku smiling is the cutest thing ever, like excuse me, he looks so gentle and beautiful. I also didn't realise how small Daifuku actually was! He can ride on Riku's shoulder! Wow, people report hazushi (when a primary/secondary colour trait person is in a relationship with an Otsu or the people in Yomi I guess) and get a monetary reward for it. I can't imagine the idea of reporting these people to their deaths and being happy about it, it's crazy. The military can just execute them without Kotowari or any trial too as long as they suspect them! Which is pretty ridiculous. I guess it was to be expected, but knowing that the other colour traits will never have the chance to get to a higher rank in the military or anything really shows that only people like Akaza, Kuroba and the heroine can really help or I guess, start off the fight for their rights😔 How interesting that Shura can't use Batsu, and that's why Riku does the ritual 🤔 WHAT, to preserve his "purity", Riku can't get married until he's 30?! Ridiculous. He's been restricted his whole life! He was chosen to be the next leader from a young age because of his superior Batsu powers and it really seems like he has no say in anything he does, it honestly sounds terrible. I guess this will be the "colour conflict" for Byakuya and Riku. It should have been easier for her and Riku to be together, but in the end because of how "special" Riku is and how much they would want his children to have superior Batsu like him, it's understandable that the clan would want him to find someone in the future with strong Blue traits. I'm curious how they will overcome this!

Awww it's so cute how Daifuku thought Riku would be the perfect husband candidate for Byakuya! I guess feeding people and pets always gets to people's hearts haha! LMAO at Riku thinking Kuroba is really Byakuya's lover😂😂 Anyway, Riku makes assumptions very fast and doesn't always listen but it's kinda cute, and understandable I guess considering his strict upbringing, so he is strict towards others too. I'm so heartbroken for Byakuya though. She started kinda liking him and he calls her shameless because he thinks she's going around with different men😭😭😭 Nooo, he made her cry😭😭😭 I feel so bad for Byakuya. I'm so glad Akaza tried his best to tell her to find Tsukuyomi to comfort her because she didn't want him to chase after her but he was worried. Wow, how sad that Byakuya's father died because he wanted to settle on Tennyo Island but instead incurred the wrath of Lady Amaterasu because she hates men, so he ended up drowning. I guess that's why the Lunar Ferry exists; it has a white mouse leave a white flower at the door of the men they choose and they go to the ferry to go to Tennyo Island. It's kinda romantic in its own way haha. Fusou (the nice old man lol, Fuchsia leader?) was actually the husband of one of the Tennyo Island women!! Oh okay, most of the men can't remember anything after they leave Tennyo Island...that's kinda creepy lol. Fusou only feels like he remembers because he had haku and I guess that somehow nullified something?🤔 It was really sweet how Byakuya told Fusou she would love to have him as her grandfather, I think that would be really nice. Oh okay, Fusou still has his memories of Tennyo Island because his wife was his soulmate.

I love how Riku apologised to Byakuya in such an honest and genuine way. I really couldn't get mad at him anymore seeing how apologetic he was, and how much he hated himself for treating her like that. Aww, it was so cute how Byakuya asked Riku if he wanted to be a husband candidate and he got so flustered hahahha. I'm so happy they've finally had their first proper conversation! It was so much cuter than I thought, especially since Riku seems to be softening up. I'm really glad that after this experience, Riku has reflected on his actions and decided that he will make his own judgement on things instead of just believing in rumours without seeing or hearing things himself. Riku teaching Byakuya the Tamagome dance is just so soothing. The two of them at Byakuya's secret hideout teaching each other things about each other and their lives just really warms my heart. I think it's really sweet that Riku saved her with words she had spoken to others before. Byakuya always praises and thinks that the different colours in Yomi are much more beautiful than they are taught to believe, and tells them that, and now here we have Riku telling her that her colour is so pure and beautiful too. Omg Riku laughing is the cutest thing ever. I'm also surprised that Riku and Akaza seem to be much better friends than I thought.

Kanan is very pushy and annoying tbh. Nagusa is crap too because he's basically manipulating Byakuya into having lunch with him by saying if she doesn't, her search for a husband is fake and she's just going to marry Akaza. Ugh. Glad Himuka helped her get out of it. I feel so sad for Aohito... He finally had the chance to send a letter to his mother up on the surface but she already passed away.. that's just so heartbreaking. These things always make me want to cry. His reason for being in Yomi is so crap!! He hit a soldier after getting enraged when he was appealing for executions to be abolished and got sent here forever? That is absolutely terrible. He doesn't deserve any of this at all. I think what broke my heart the most was when he realised that of course he wouldn't get the news of his mother's death, just because he's a person in Yomi now. Honestly, the "pure colours" really should be scared that Yomi and the other colours will revolt against them since they're starting to have superior numbers now in comparison to the dwindling numbers of the primary colours. They will also deserve every bit of what's coming to them, because this oppression and tyranny is insane! I can't imagine how many people have been treated so unfairly. Wow, Shura is obstinate about preserving the "purity" of colours but at least she seems to like progression in other ways, such as building a school for girls. Byakuya going to school would be so cute! Byakuya and Riku quarrelling was really cute, it was nice to see that Riku felt the same as Byakuya considering how concerned he was to see another man try and propose to her right in front of him. Too bad they both didn't realise the other's feelings, and too bad that they both have burdens to overcome. Riku can't get married until he's 30 and needs to preserve the purity of the Blue in order to ensure the power of Batsu will continue, but Byakuya needs to find a husband in a year. Sigh...

I felt so sorry for Riku when he had to catch that distraught Hazushi... She was screaming for help and didn't want to die, and he had to be the one to catch her right in front of Byakuya too... Seeing him so reluctantly catch her was so saddening. Shura isn't the nicest person, and is definitely resistant to change when it comes to Hazushi, but it's understandable why she is against it. She is the leader of the Blue and it's her duty to preserve the Batsu power that is imperative for the survival of Tenguu Island itself, so unless Byakuya can find a way to keep Batsu as a power or find another way to supply the Sun with what it needs without the Batsu, Shura would probably never listen to her. I didn't think Sakyo (the doctor guy) would be the one to force Riku and Byakuya to face reality that they can't be together. I also didn't realise Byakuya can only bear children of the White, so it's basically impossible for them to be together because just like her Olympia role, Riku has his role as the next Blue leader with one of the highest aptitudes for Batsu, and discarding that would be as if Byakuya discarded her role too. It's kinda funny that I just realised how precious they both are respectively to their colours. I was so scared when Satsuki was going to get captured by the military. It's crazy how they're capturing people with just info and no evidence now, that's ridiculous. But what hurt the most was seeing how perplexed Riku was about all this. He's trying to convince himself that following the rules of this island is what's right and it's hurting him. It's really difficult though. He's been brought up his whole life like this, his whole life has been surrounded and controlled by rules, and honestly when do you even know whether you should be following the rules or whether you should be fighting against them for what you think is right? No one really knows what is "right" after all... It's sad to think that Kaina never really felt like he fit in with the Yellow and actually feels better in Yomi. The only sad thing is that he'll forever have to carry the death of his girlfriend with him for that "freedom" in Yomi.

I didn't realise the power Riku was channelling to hurt the bandits that attacked Byakuya was actually Batsu. I can't believe he's going to be trialled for it because it's something he should never use on the living, and breaking this vow is really serious. Okay, the trial went in a much more different way than I expected lol! Honestly didn't expect Riku to reveal his feelings for Byakuya, and Douma and Jigen are actually all for it because children of the White can use Batsu, so if Riku and her have children, this power would still exist. I actually found it really sweet that Riku was ready to discard everything and go to Yomi. He's been shackled by his duties so much that he couldn't say anything about his true feelings until now, so I'm really happy he could at least voice that. Riku really is cool. He's decided to willingly live in Yomi. Wow, the garden at the bathhouse is so beautiful!! The backgrounds in this game are so pretty. I can understand why Riku wants to pave away all his doubts and become a man who deserves her before they get together. He's a serious guy, and just as love is something new to him, going against all his duties, all the rules and everything in his whole life must be affecting him quite a bit, so needing more time before jumping into a relationship would be good for the both of them. Awww, Riku saying hamburgers are his favourite while blushing is so adorable!! It's so cute how it became his favourite after Akaza treated him to one, it's kinda sad that even his diet was restrictive, but I'm also glad that it helped him bond with Akaza. I find it hilarious how every time Riku says something super sweet, Byakuya always thinks she must be dead and that it's not real😂 I'm absolutely smitten tbh, because Riku holding her hand and saying this is the happiest he's ever been in his life even though he's been suspended from the military, could potentially be executed and is living in Yomi just makes my heart so touched. I loved how he reassured her that she's not bad luck and that he's not ashamed to be with her. It's also really sweet to see how loved Riku is with the Blue! They believe in him and his reasons for using Batsu, and they wish for his happiness.

I'm so happy Riku apologised to Kaina for what he said about them before. It's so sad that Kaina can't sleep because he keeps dreaming about Sanami. Tamasogi is such a cruel "execution" that forcefully extracts a person's living soul with Batsu... How ironic though. Tenguu Island rules condemn those who use Batsu on the living and yet they do such inhumane things to Hazushi. It breaks my heart to think about all the people like Kaina. It's so terrible that people are condemned to death just for falling in love with someone in the "wrong" colour class, it's so heartbreaking. I...did not expect that Riku's confession would be that he is a child of a Hazushi and that he was actually born down here in Yomi. I'm shocked to say the least. The reason why he was so obstinate about colour classes and associating with classes on the same level as yourself was because he wanted to prove and show that he really was of the Blue, and didn't want to shame Rino (Shura's sister), Shura and Sakyo for raising him and caring for him... I was so proud of Riku for being able to be honest about this and finally finding the resolve to want to change this island so that people like Kaina wouldn't have to suffer anymore. It's really nice that Riku started questioning his "role" after talking with Byakuya and hearing her say that aside from fulfilling the role that was given to her at birth, she also wanted to do something for herself no matter how small of a change it could make. It was so adorable how Riku kept blushing about wanting to kiss her but kept telling her to leave so he won't "dirty" her purity hahaha, he's so innocent, I love him. They were so cuteee! I honestly laughed my ass off when Riku started touching under her blouse and then restrained himself and apologised😂 He's so adorable hahaha. Anyway, considering Riku's origins, it's kinda crazy how obstinate Shura is about purity of the colours when it's obvious that at this rate, the Blue will not be able to survive with the high rate of stillbirths they have.

Seeing Riku do the Tamagome dance for someone in Yomi whilst stating that the people on the surface and in Yomi are the same was really satisfying, he's really come to terms with himself. Extracting a living person's soul produces Shou of the highest purity...and someone on this island is conducting experiments using Shou to regenerate body parts...? I didn't think that Sakyo would be researching women of the White to find a cure for Haku. I wonder why he's so desperate and careless enough to try and abduct Byakuya though? Wouldn't it be better to wait for her to give birth to a child and then he can have more specimens? Is he dying? It's kinda ironic and counterintuitive to think that Sakyo was sacrificing healthy people to save "sick" people with haku. It's like, the Primary and Secondary tiers are already having trouble keeping up their numbers and here we are sacrificing both them and the other Otsu and stuff to try and figure out ways to heal haku instead of cherishing those that are still healthy. I'm so glad Riku was able to get through to both Sakyo and Shura. I'm so happy Riku finallyyyyy got to tell Shura that there's no guarantee that he won't have a stillborn if he married another pure Blue, and that he himself is an example of the possibility of having a pure Blue with a strong Batsu even if you "mix" colours. I think it was really cool how he said Hazushi are not unsightly, and are a possibility for their future. Riku is so cool! I love how he so eloquently worded everything in a way that made it clear how much he loved, respected and cherished Shura and the Blue, and it's exactly because of that, that he wants things to change for the better, so I'm really happy Shura has agreed to their marriage and is letting Byakuya go to her school. Riku is so adorable, I'm dying. He's so happy that Shura approved of their marriage and their dream of becoming husband and wife can become a reality now. Omggg it was so brave and cool of Byakuya to be the one to push Riku on to the bed and tell him that she couldn't wait any longer🥺 Riku is so proper, he would never touch her if she didn't do this haha. I love how Byakuya's hair colour changes to the colour of her "soulmate" when they're in love, the blue is so pretty! Man, Riku's voice was pretty sexy during the sex scene haha! I love the CG of Riku combing Byakuya's hair though, it's so cute. Aww it's the end?! I honestly thought we'd get to see them actually bring about the change! It was still good I guess haha.

Oh wow, that bad ending where Riku kills the attempted kidnapper and then becomes an executioner as retribution for killing someone with Batsu was terrible. That's such a sad way to part...especially since it's obvious that he did it because he loved and cared for her.. I think it's even sadder because in the good ending, Riku mentioned that he's seen the Tamasogi ritual before, and hearing the screams of the people executed were really painful and he didn't want people to experience that like his real father probably did. So he's basically chosen the path that he knew would torment him the most as a form of punishment for doing something unforgivable, that's just so heartbreaking. I knew there was something going on between Shura and Sakyo!! Now I wonder if Shura was so stubborn about Riku marrying another Blue because back in the day she also wasn't allowed to be with Sakyo?🤔 And I guess Sakyo always felt close to the Blue and feels like he's a part of it is because of Shura? It's actually pretty saddening that the only real moment we get to see Byakuya and Shura bond is when both their partners are gone and they can share that bond of pain and deteriorating desire to live.

Overall, I liked Riku's route much more than I thought. I honestly cried seeing so many side characters, especially Kaina have to go through such pain just because they fell in love with someone they weren't supposed to fall in love with. I thought Riku and Byakuya were so cute and innocent as they slowly got to know each other better, and I really loved that Riku's reason for being such a stick up his ass (lol) was quite understandable and saddening in its own way. I loved how honest Riku could be about his feelings, and I liked how Byakuya helped influence Riku into thinking for himself more and facing his past. I think Sakyo was quite an underwhelming character as the "villain" for this route even though his reasons are comprehensible, since they kinda just throw it in at the end and resolve it just as quickly lol. But yeah, I still really enjoyed it because seeing Riku deal with his inner turmoil, and finding the courage to go against the rules he’s been brought up with, whilst coming to terms with “who” he actually is really made it a very heartwrenching but satisfying read. Not only did I really come to love Riku as a person as he grew, but I also really loved how he respected Shura as the Blue’s leader, and also as his parental figure, and convinced her to try to change things on this island without being hostile towards it, and without condemning her for being “wrong”. I just really liked seeing how eloquent Riku was, and how you could see how much he cherished the people precious to him that he would find a peaceful way to solve things, but have the conviction to stick to what he believes in, I honestly really loved him.

#olympia soiree

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vannahfanfics · 4 years ago

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ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ NYOOMS IN hellooo i would really love to request a sokai fic with the lollipop prompt!! personal anecdote: lollipops were the first sweet i ever hand-made for valentine's day because i wanted them to last longer than chocolates, bahaha :D thank you so much for all your wonderful work!!! ♡

Hi, liesles! Thank you for waiting patiently for your request! I thought it would go really well with a prompt from @sokaiweek, “Be Mine,” so I hope you enjoy what I’ve come up with!

Sweet on You

“Ahh, it feels like forever since I’ve been to Twilight Town!” Kairi cried jubilantly as she ran down the forest path, eager to escape the woods where they’d hidden the Gummi ship and reach the town proper. She stopped to spin on her heel in the dirt, flashing Sora a brilliant smile. “Of course, the last time I was here, I was hiding from the Organization,” she joked, twirling a lock of her short auburn hair around her finger. Sora snorted at her cheekiness, amazed at her ability to reconcile with what was probably a pretty harrowing experience. But, that boundless optimism was one of the many things he appreciated about Kairi.

“Well, now we don’t have to worry about them,” he smiled back, leaves crunching under his feet as he followed after her. She waited for him to join her on the path, standing there with her hands clasped behind her back in that adorable way that never failed to make his heart flutter. He was glad to see that even after everything they’d been through, some things still hadn’t changed.

“So? What do you want to do while we’re in town?” he asked when he reached her, sliding his hands in his pockets. Kairi walked along beside him, a spring in her step.

“I want to visit Olette, Pence, and Hayner, of course! Oh— and Xion, Roxas, Isa, and Lea, too. I want to try those pretzels and sea salt they brag about so much!” she giggled. He loved her giggle, he realized dreamily. It was the sweetest of sounds, sweeter than even the bells of Scala ad Caelum ringing in the dawn blush light. “But you know,” she said suddenly, snapping him out of his daze, “I didn’t really get to enjoy the town much last time, since I was hiding away. Before we do that, can we explore a little bit, Sora?”

“Absolutely! Anything you want, Kairi!” he agreed immediately.

Ugh. He could hear Riku laughing now, calling him “whipped.” How was he supposed to refuse, though, when she was asking him so cutely with that excited shine in her eyes and that pretty smile on her lips? Saying no would be downright criminal!

Giggling with delight, she scampered down the path again towards the triangular gap in the brick wall that served as the entrance to the woods. Yeah, Sora reconciled with a soft smile as he watched her skirt swish around her thighs and her hair bounce around her shoulders. He was definitely whipped for Kairi. He’d always been, really. She was his light.

The sunlight enveloped them as they stepped out into the city, warm and welcoming. The tram was trundling by, rocking gently on the tracks with its metal gleaming in the sunset haze. Sora had always liked Twilight Town, not just because Roxas’ heart lay dormant inside of him. It reminded him a bit of Destiny Islands— the warm sun coating his skin, the breeze carrying the scent of trees, the atmosphere of peace and tranquility. He paused at the edge of the ledge to close his eyes and savor the sunbeams playing over his face. He cracked an eye open when he felt Kairi stand next to him.

“I can see why they love this place so much,” she hummed, observing the honeyed skyline with lidded eyes. “It really is beautiful…”

He could sense the “but” lingering on her tongue.

“But… It’s not home?” he guessed, and she looked at him with a wan smirk.

“Yeah. But it’s home to them, so I suppose that’s all that matters,” she shrugged, her look turning cheery, and he couldn’t help but grin. She always found the bright side of things— she always found the light. “But, you could definitely pick a worse home to have.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Kairi took another moment to scan the horizon, watching the golden light play across the oranges and browns of the buildings. Then she cocked her head to the side with a girlish laugh. Her smile was nearly blinding as she declared, “All right, enough sightseeing! I wanna go shopping!”

“Yes ma’am!” he said with a salute, and Kairi laughed again. Gosh, if he could only hear one sound for the rest of his life, it would be Kairi’s laugh, no question. Her giggles floated in the air as she hurried down the steps to the causeway. If Sora tried hard enough, he could see them floating around like bubbles, little iridescent, rainbow films of her beautiful laugh. He reached up to touch them, but they skipped just beyond the edges of his fingertips to float up, up, up into the honey-colored sky and red-tinged clouds. That was okay, though, because there were always more where that came from.

“You know, I’m surprised to see so much green here,” Kairi commented as she looked at all the small planters and flower boxes adorning the city. They perched on windowsills, rested on tables, sat on porch steps, or were positioned along the sidewalk. Flowers, ferns, herbs— everything and more could be found in the myriad of little pots littering the city streets, and their bright green fronds and stalks almost glowed against the background of autumn colors. “It really does make everything a little bit homier,” she hummed in contentment.

“Yeah, and gives Little Chef a lot of ingredients to gather!” he added with a bright grin.

“Oh, right, of course. That’s very important!” she giggled, prompting Sora to raise an eyebrow challengingly.

“What? Are you making fun of me?”

“No, it’s just nice to see that your love for food hasn’t changed,” she chuckled. “You either think with your heart or your stomach!”

Sora opened his mouth to object, then closed it because it was true. It still felt like he was being made fun of, but darn it, she just looked too cute with that teasing smirk and the tip of her tongue sticking out between her teeth! Oh, he was whipped all right, more than Little Chef’s best frosting. He looked out to the road, and a smile played over his lips as he considered just how much Kairi had him wrapped around her finger.

It was then that he spied something resting beside the main shopping complex, and he started thinking with his stomach again.

“Speaking of love for food…”

A cute little cart was parked beside the complex. Pink and white heart-shaped balloons that were tied to the handle bobbed in the breeze, their metallic surfaces gleaming. Red, white, and pink streamers adorned the white cart’s side, and inside, an assortment of candies rested on a soft bed of baby-pink faux grass. Sora’s mouth began to salivate immediately upon clapping eyes on it, and Kairi laughed at him. For the first time that day, he was too absorbed in the promise of sweets to fixate on how much he loved her laugh.

“What’s this? This is new!” he exclaimed as he pranced up to it. The young woman chuckled at his excited approach, flicking her bangs out of her face and primly resting her hands against her chocolate-smeared apron.

“Hi there! This is a special promotion that the local chocolatier is doing for Valentine’s Day.”

“Valentine’s Day?” he echoed. Was it really February? Time sure flew when you were running around saving the world.

“What’s the promotion?” Kairi asked, peering around his shoulder to admire the assortment of candied goods nestled in the plastic stringy faux grass.

“We’re giving away free samples today!” the attendant chirped. “Please, pick whatever you like— for yourself, for someone special.” She gave Sora a playful wink, which made his cheeks turn as pink as the decorations on the cart.

Thankfully, Kairi had become too engrossed in the heart-shaped cake pops to catch the candy seller’s jibe. After carefully studying one for a moment, she plucked it out of the display and promptly took a chomp out of it. She hummed exultantly as she chewed the red velvet and red icing, then opened her eyes to smile at the attendant.

“This is delicious! Oh, we should bring everyone something, don’t you think, Sora?”

“Totally, as long as the attendant doesn’t mind. We don’t want to run off with all her stock.”

“Please do!” she smiled pleasantly. “We want everyone to be able to enjoy these sweet treats. All I ask is that you check out the chocolatier sometime soon to look at our complete stock!”

After promising to follow through, Kairi and Sora began picking out free samples to bring to their friends. They tried to choose a variety while still choosing things they thought they would each enjoy. While Kairi was debating between a mini strawberry shortcake and a chocolate eclair, Sora discreetly stowed a wrapped heart-shaped lollipop in his shorts pocket.

Of course, it didn’t go unnoticed by the candy attendant.

Someone special? She mouthed with a smirk playing over her lips. With a sidelong glance at Kairi that melted into a loving smile, he nodded. Someone special, indeed.

After making their decisions, Sora and Kairi headed off to rendezvous with their friends. They were delighted to find the treats well-received (though comments of pretzels and sea salt ice cream were made… and comments turned into procuration, but Sora was never going to complain about more food!). They watched the sunset from the clock tower, all of them squashed together on the ledge so tightly that poor Pence almost fell off, but it worked out all right and they had a good laugh about it.

Just as the last red rays of the setting sun were spearing across the sky in their last goodbye, they said their farewells and headed back to the Gummi ship. Kairi pranced along the path, cooing at the fireflies flitting through the trees and underbrush to fill the gloomy forest with an earthy green glow. It was a town of sunset and greenery, two things so at odds with each other yet complimented one another so well here. And at the center of all that beautiful color was Kairi.

She danced in a circle, laughing jubilantly as she whirled her arms around to scatter the fireflies like a thousand leaves. Her hair flowed around her face like an autumn breeze, and her skirt swished around her legs like florets on the wind. The green flickering lights and puddles of moonlight illuminated her form, and in that moment, she looked like an angel descended to earth.

“I love you,” he whispered in reverence. He found his throat closed up with emotion, but he kept going in his head. I love you. I love you so much it hurts. I can’t imagine life without you, because I love you, I love you, I love you, and I always have. He wasn’t sure when he started crying, but Kairi saw them gleaming in the moonlight, and that’s when she stopped dancing to look at him in concern.

“Sora? Sora, what’s wrong?” she gasped and ran up to him. He just looked down at her while she raised her hands to his cheeks, sweeping away his tears with soft, gentle brushes of her thumbs. “Talk to me,” she whispered, oh-so-sweetly that his heart broke with happiness.

“Kairi… There was something from the candy cart that I didn’t share with anyone else,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion. She knitted her eyebrows together in confusion as he procured the lollipop from his pocket and held it out to her. She looked up at him, then down at the lollipop. She took it, turning it over to peer through the plastic film at the simple words etched in white icing on the front of the pink lollipop.

BE MINE.

“Sora…” she murmured, looking up at him. He smiled sweetly even through the tears that still spilled from his eyes. She looked beautiful even in the way she kaleidoscoped in his watery vision. He reached up to cup her face in his hands, and he marveled at the way her cheeks nestled so perfectly against his palms, like they were made to be held by him and only him. Her eyelashes fluttered as she stared up at him in bewilderment, surprise, and hope.

“I love you,” he whispered again, but so she could hear this time. “I love you, Kairi. You are the light of my life, you know that?”

“Yeah,” she said, her voice breaking as her own tears broke through the dam to flow down her face. They beaded against his palms, roughened by his years of wielding the Keyblade, but still soft enough for her to cuddle into his touch. “You’re the light of my life, too. I’m yours, Sora, I always have been.”

He smiled at that, a broken smile because his mouth just simply couldn’t display the sheer amount of joy welling up inside of him. He petted her cheeks, wiping away her tears as she hiccuped sobby little giggles that just made her cheeks warm with embarrassment. He leaned forward to press his forehead to hers, unable to stop himself from whispering, “You’re so cute.”

“Stop… You’re gonna embarrass me,” she complained, even though she laughed.

“I can’t help myself. You are.”

“Can… Can you just… Can you kiss me already, please?” she sniffed, her cheeks shining like pink opals in the moonlight.

How could he ever refuse, especially whipped for her as he was?

He immediately rushed in to do as she said, but he let his zeal get the best of him, because his nose collided with hers. Nervous apologies tumbled from his mouth but Kairi just giggled and guided his face back down, nosing his cheek to prompt him to try again. He took it slower this time, easing himself in to experimentally brush his lips over hers. Kairi waited for her to find his rhythm, but he could feel her excitement in the way her mouth trembled. After a few tentative pecks, he smoothed his lips over hers in a full, sweet, passionate kiss, and she melted against him.

Forget the candy cart— Kairi’s lips were the sweetest thing he would ever taste, period.

He kissed her again, and again, and again, until Kairi was fleeing his advances with giddy, bubbly laughter. His lips still fluttered over the places he could reach— her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, her jawline, even her eyelids. He was just drowning in love and he didn’t know how else to get it out besides showering her in affection.

“Sora,” she insisted as she ran from his lips again, and this time, he just pouted at her. She placated him with a little peck to his pursed lips, which did make him feel a little better. “We have all the time in the world now,” she reminded him with a sweet smile. “I would like to go home at some point.”

Right. Home— the home he shared with his friends, with his family, with Kairi. He pulled away to link his hand with hers, while she peeled the plastic off the lollipop to pop it into her mouth. The BE MINE flashed in the moonlight, making Sora’s heart swell with adoration. Kairi didn’t mean for it to be a question, but he answered it in his heart anyway.

Always, Kairi. Always and forever.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

#sokai #sokaiweek #sokaiweek2021 #sora x kairi #kairi x sora #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts iii #kingdom hearts 3

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lightwithinthedarknessu · 4 years ago

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A Crown to Adorn

Starting off #sokaiweek2021 with a fluffy one-shot!

Wrote a little fluffy one-shot for Day 1 of @sokaiweek Prompt: King and Queen. Childhood memories for #sokai and a cute flower date! A time of healing and reminiscence, adorned with flowers fit for a King and Queen.

A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32511775

Fanfiction. net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13918369/1/A-Crown-to-Adorn

A Crown to Adorn

*.*.*.*

“Wear a crown of flowers on your head, let its roots reach your heart.” – Kabir

*.*.*.*

The smell of the grass, the warmth of the sun on their faces, and the slight scent of honeysuckle wafting through the canopy above was the perfect complement to an otherwise ordinary day. Ordinary, that word seemed to slip into her mind with a lithe bump, nestling into her heart but leaving behind a tinge of anxiety. Was it good to cherish something even if you knew it wouldn’t last? Those words danced within her mind as warm rays of light kissed her cheeks.

Living in the moment. Cherishing those small moments of reprieve-sometimes Kairi had to keep reminding herself to do that. Whether it be taking in deep breaths of the salty air or cherishing the soft sensation of sand squished between her toes- those small insignificant moments she needed to hold close. The way the wind hit her face as Sora and Riku rushed past her in one of their many races or the sensation of cold droplets hitting her face during one of their many water fights. Those moments, they would rush back at her all at once during those times she was alone, listless, and longing for their company.

Somehow, Kairi knew that today would be one of those many moments she held close to her heart. She took in a deep breath, savoring the crisp air hitting her lungs.

The Kingdom of Corona was as beautiful as Sora had claimed it would be. Filled with flora and fauna, clean air, and warm bathes in sunshine. Even the few heartless around were, she had to admit, cute in their own way. Made her almost sad to pummel them, but once she found herself attacking in unison alongside Sora- every thought she had just melted away. He always seemed to do that, make her feel as if she could do anything, be anything. It sounded silly but- his light made hers stronger somehow. It radiated within her a warmth that felt so comforting she never wanted it to leave.

After clearing the area, they had decided to take a quick swim in the spring nearby and were now sunning themselves like a couple of lizards on the forest floor. They had taken off their shoes and fully let themselves relax for what felt like an eternity. Peaceful, it was so peaceful that Kairi felt she could fall into a sleep here without a care in the world.

“I’m glad you brought me here. It’s so pretty.” Kairi turned to Sora, her eyes welling with shimmering light. After hours of training, Sora had dropped by unannounced, unattended by the other two little half-pints, to whisk her away for a “well-deserved break” as he put it. At the time he had a shy grin on his face, letting her know that really, he had just wanted to see her. Not that she minded. She wanted to see him too.

“I had to! I mean you love flowers and well the beach back home isn’t as green as this. Heck, I hadn’t even seen some of the plants here before. It’s really something- all those worlds we wanted to see- just there’s always something new.” Sora blurted out, his excitement burgeoning behind an uncontrollable grin. He rubbed the back of his neck and leaned forward. “Sorry, I’m getting a bit too excited. I’ve been wanting to show you all these new things for so long. Every time I see something I think, “Kairi and Riku need to see this!”

Kairi giggled. Sora did seem to be holding in boundless energy every time she saw him. “I want to see it all with you. I mean, we always wanted to travel and learn everything we could. Even just seeing this world makes me want to go to all kinds of places with you- and Riku too…” Kairi tucked a stray piece of hair from her face. She felt almost embarrassed to say anything more- to tell him that really, she wanted to just run away with him right now. Leave it all behind. But that would be selfish, wouldn’t it? They had to face Xehanort. Even if that meant risking their lives. Still, that incredible wanderlust creaked within her bones. Even now her heart began to beat faster at the thought of Sora whisking her away to world after world. She could just picture it-brisk walks on stardust touched beaches, huddling close in frigid snow-kissed air, or dancing on the tips of their toes across warm cobblestones-

Everything. Just experience it all-together- hand in hand in a world all their own.

Kairi felt something lightly fall on her head. A light gasp escaped her lips at the sensation. It tickled her eyelashes as she looked up to greet Sora’s impish grin. Her hand reached up to touch the delicate petals of a ring of flowers he had placed on her head. Her eyes widened. “When did you…”

“Oh just while you were humming to yourself earlier. Did I do a good job? I mean I’m not as good at connecting them together as you…but I did have a good teacher.” Sora winked.

Tears pricked the edges of her eyes. When they were children, Kairi often spent her time near the shore picking small wildflowers and clover. One of the few things she remembered about her grandmother was her love of flowers and the way she used to weave together flower crowns. It used to make her feel like she was almost home again, weaving the flowers together, creating something from nothing. It was cathartic. For hours she would lose herself in the action- maybe that was why piecing shells together also soon became second nature. Once, Sora sat down next to her, and watched intently as she connected each stem of clover flower without asking any questions. When she was done, he told her how pretty it was and how “he wanted one too.”

For a few days after school, they would go down to the shore, make flower crowns, and pretend they were a King and Queen of the flower people. Well, the last part was entirely Sora’s idea. When she thought back on it- Kairi wondered if Sora did that to help her feel better about being homesick. She had missed her grandmother so badly back then. Every day she felt so alone. But then…Sora was there. And Riku…and the three of them found new things to do together.

Back then, Kairi hadn’t paid a second thought to the idea that most boys wouldn’t find what she was doing that interesting. Thinking about it now, Sora probably only said he wanted one too so she wouldn’t feel lonely- after all…she wasn’t the fastest runner or could hold her own at the time in a mock sword fight. What she was good at was making things, connecting flowers, shells, and bits of shattered sea glass into stars shapes or crowns. Her room back home was filled with makeshift stars, unfinished and marred imitations of the charm Sora now held close as an oath to her. Her childish fantasies of an unbreakable connection, made real and whole through a brush of their fingers as she passed the charm to him. Her fingertips warmed as she recalled his touch.

Now, with the newly coronated flower crown atop her reddened locks-Kairi felt that same bubbling joy well up inside her.

Kairi couldn’t believe Sora had still remembered that time or well had even retained his “flower-tying skills” as he used to call it. Sora had remembered a time that even she had pushed back deep into the depths of her heart. “I think that you retained some skill.” Kairi puffed out her chest. “But I think I’m still the master. So, I’m going to work my magic! It’s only fair that you have one to match.”

Sora chuckled and placed both hands behind his head. “Well, I guess we’re off flower picking then huh?” His hips swayed from side to side, his legs acting listless as if they hadn’t moved in hours.

Kairi bounced up on her heels, feeling a renewed vigor in her veins. “Yep! Lead the way, King!”

“King?” Sora’s jaw slacked. “Gosh, when you say it like that it only reminds me of “the King.”

Kairi lightly patted Sora on the shoulder. “Now, now.” Kairi chided. “There can be more than one King and Kings of different things. He may be “the King” but you- you’re my Flower King right?” An impish grin filled her cheeks. Sora blinked a few times before averting his eyes. She could swear a tinge of red was on the tips of his ears.

“Geez flower King? Don’t tell Riku, or Donald or Goofy- I’ll never live that down.”

“But I’m the flower Queen- we have to match!” Kairi pointed an accusatory finger at him. Sora jumped back a beat, his deep blue eyes tinged with uncertainty. Soon, his eyes swirled with glimmering sunshine, his smile so subtle she found herself itching to gently brush her fingers across his lips. Her cheeks heated at the thought.

“Okay, I mean if you are I have to be then.” Sora put a hand over his mouth to muffle a laugh. Though clearly uncomfortable, there was a hint of joy in those words. Poking fun at him like this was almost too nostalgic. With ease, she slid her hand into his and gave it a tight squeeze. He recoiled slightly before sheepishly squeezing her hand back. His eyes wouldn’t meet hers, but she knew- he was just a tad shy still.

Hand in hand they traversed the woods searching for violet, azure, and fuchsia hues. Their still bare feet brushing against rough patches of dirt and slick grass, staining their toes a light green as they went. The morning dew, still kissing the tips of their hair, kept them cool against the ever-rising sun. Every flower they came across seemed more beautiful than the rest- they gathered until they were spilling out onto the ground beneath them. Sora sneezed a few times, sending them flying much more than he would have liked. The air filled with laughter as they collected them all again, each time regretting having over-prepared their bounty.

They returned to the clearing in no time at all-and she set about her work. Connecting the flowers together wasn’t hard- but choosing which flowers suited Sora best- well that took some thinking. Baby’s breath, delicate and kind, hydrangeas as blue and calming as the sea, red carnations brandishing the passionate courage in his heart, and yellow calla lilies to represent his happy disposition. When she was done- it was a crown only befitting him. When she held it up against the light, the shadows cast across her face danced- truly she could think of it as her best work yet. Smirking and a bit too proud, Kairi stood up and delicately laid the crown atop her “King’s” head.

“I, Flower Queen Kairi dub thee- Sora- Flower King.” In a grand bow, Kairi placed a hand over her heart, glancing up at him with mischief and mirth.

Sora’s wide toothy grin greeted her. “It’s an honor!” He paused, searching his mind before snapping his fingers in the realization of something important. “Does it look Kingly?”

“I think it suits you, just as mine suits me.” Kairi spun on her heels, dancing as she delicately brushed the petals she adorned. She gave Sora a taunting wink as she thrust out her hand. “I’d say a dance is in order, sire.”

A deep laugh escaped his chest as Sora jumped up to grab her hand and pull her close. Their eyes connected as if a thread between them became taught, sure, and certain that the entire world around them could just melt away into nothing, and it would all be alright. One step, then two, a sway and a swish, he even threw in a twirl or two as they danced to the bubbling brook and twilling birds. The melody in their hearts flowed and swirled at a tempo that pulled her into a sense of weightlessness. The countless times she dreamed of the two of them, blissfully dancing, suddenly made it real.

It was real, him, her, this moment. It was a sensation, a scent, a feeling she wanted to bottle up and keep close- like an herbarium filled with preserved flowers. Bright, opulent, and ever so warm. As their dance slowed, and her heart settled, Kairi leaned her head on Sora’s shoulder, letting herself melt into his rising chest. It was then Kairi knew that home wasn’t ever far anymore. That homesickness had long flitted away like petals in the wind once she let Sora into her heart. Now, every time she thought of their memories, these moments, the rise and fall of his chest, his heartbeat…Kairi knew somehow she was always closer to home.

Years Before

*.*.*.*

The bluff at the edge of town was filled with clover flowers. Though she had been warned with a stern shake of the mayor’s finger, and a disapproving huff or two from the town elders, Kairi always found herself foraging for flowers here. The wind blowing through her hair, and the misty salt air gently caressing her chubby cheeks made her feel more at home here than anywhere else on the island. In the afternoon quiet, only the rumbling low roar of the waves had been keeping her company. Lightly and carefully, she hummed a melody as she worked, losing herself in knot after knot.

*.*.*.*

“What do you think she’s doing?” Sora muttered in a hushed tone, trying to keep his usually loud voice as quiet as possible. He was huddled on his haunches behind a large hedge, practically wiggling to keep himself from falling over. He and Riku had followed Kairi from a distance like two ducks up the winding hillside. When they had seen her leaving the Mayor’s house she had been stomping and letting out a long-winded sigh or two. Riku had said that she was “probably angry” and that it mostly had to do with her going off alone. Sora, being extremely curious about Kairi ever since she had arrived on the beach, had never not kept watch over her. So, Riku being Riku had suggested they follow her, knowing well that Sora would have found himself trailing after her absentmindedly.

Riku let out a sigh and shook his head. “She’s going to make something again. The last time she came back down from here she had a crown of flowers in her hands. That’s probably what she plans on doing.”

“Hmm, that seems more lonely than fun. She’s all by herself.” Sora pursed his lips, his nose scrunching up. He crossed his arms and readjusted his drooping bum with a light hop. “Seems like it’d be better to do with more people.”

Riku raised a brow, then smirked as he realized something important. “You know, if you want to join her nothing’s stopping you. We can go back to the play island any old time.”

“But it feels like if I go over now, I’d be like- I don’t know- I’d um make her mad…”

“Mad?”

“You always say I talk too much. Kairi seems a bit scared when I do that.” Sora looked down at his fidgeting toes. “Still, I think she’s lonely.”

“She just doesn’t know much about us yet. And well you do talk a lot. My dad says sometimes though that just being near someone without saying anything is enough.” Riku crossed his arms, and nodded, certain his father’s words were true.

“Really Riku?”

“Yeah, Really.” Riku put a hand on Sora’s head and gave his hair a quick ruffle. “Now, no more waiting!” Riku placed both hands on Sora’s back and pushed him forward- not even worried if he would fall over on his face. Usually, he did, and Sora had to brace himself for a fall that didn’t come. Instead, he found himself balancing on one foot and staring into the wide cerulean eyes of a frightened girl.

*.*.*.*

When a rustling bounded behind her Kairi gasped and found herself on her feet, her hands clutched close to her chest. A familiar head of spikes was what first caught her eyes, then the twigs and leaves sticking out every-which-way, followed by the shy grin of a boy caught doing something he shouldn’t.

“Geez, Sora! You scared me!” Kairi tucked her hair behind her ear as if she were suddenly aware of her own messy mop.

“Sorry, Kairi! Me and Riku were just…” Sora paused to look behind him. Not a soul was in sight. “Aw man, where’d he go? We were just talking about…ugh never mind.” Sora stood up straight and puffed out his chest as he shook the stray twigs and leaves from his head. Once he was done, he placed both hands behind his head. “So…what-cha doing?”

“Making flower crowns…” Kairi mumbled under her breath, feeling herself carefully enunciate each word. Sora was nice, after all, he was the one who found her on the beach that day. But a part of her felt scared, nervous, and a bit rumbly in her tummy when she talked to him. He was always so bright, and his grin was wider than his face. Kairi didn’t know how to be around him. Kairi turned her back to him and smoothed the ends of her dress.

“Okay.” Sora uttered. He continued to stare at her, unmoved until she decided to sit back down among her work. As she picked more flowers, she began to take more glances over at Sora. He watched her intently, swaying from side to side on the edges of his sandals. He stayed that way for a beat then promptly plopped down next to her. Kairi’s breath hitched in her throat at the sudden invasion in her little bubble. But Sora didn’t say anything, although his face was twisted into an unnatural frown, alerting her he really did want to say something.

Kairi tried her best to get back to her crown, but she fumbled with shaky fingers as she tied the tiny stems together. Her lips moved into a fine line, her teeth biting down into the corners of her cheeks. Again, soon she became lost in the motions, not even noticing Sora get up and go look around. Moments later he dropped back down next to her, this time, with a handful of clovers.

“It’s really pretty.” Sora blurted out. His eyes were wide, expectant.

A shivering jolt went through her back, and Kairi shyly looked back down at her completed crown. He said it was pretty, what she made. A slight hint of pride wafted through her chest. “Thanks…”

“I-I want one too!” Sora’s voice was louder than he intended, for Kairi almost fell back at the sudden noise. She made sure to quickly put on a smile for the boy looked almost as if he would cry if he knew she was scared.

“Okay, I’ll teach you.” Kairi found a new strength in her voice. She was more confident now. A voice inside her heart, but from where she didn’t know, whispered caressing words.

Whenever you feel lonely, look to the flowers. Surround yourself with them, let them take root in your heart. Every moment may seem small, but you can make them bigger and more beautiful. For those moments when you’re alone, the flowers will remind you of me and of those who love you. That light in your heart will continue to bloom and grow, as long as you let it. Adorn your head with a crown of flowers, my dear. Adorn the head of the one you love. Find that light, never lose sight of it.

Notes:

Thank you for reading! This fic was inspired by the prompt King and Queen for SoKai Week 2021. Visiting Sora and Kairi's childhood and what they meant to each other during that time was pure joy. I hope that this little bundle of fluff reminds you of the wonder of picking flowers as a child, and how even the smallest acts of kindness can mean the world to someone else. I tried to add in some of Sora's flowers from his herbarium by super groupies as well as flowers that spoke to his personality. Fun fact: Clover flowers were something that I would gather when I was a child, and luckily they do grow at least in Hawaii at high elevations, so it's possible they could be on the mainland in Destiny Islands!

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#sokaiweek2021 #sokaiweek #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts fanfiction #sokai #sora and kairi #kairi #sora #kingdomheartsfanfiction #KH #kingdomhearts

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kessielrg · 3 years ago

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[Kingdom Hearts] Commission Please!

Summary: In which concentrated bits of chaos meet a shy artist. Dedicated to @chibi-mushroom, my Namine-sensei and to whom I’m converting in to a bunny child appreciator. xD

Rating: K

Word Count: 2,210 words

If you liked this story, please reblog!

---

There was always something interesting happening in Disney Town. The colors, the sounds, the smells- it was nearly overwhelming as Namine breathed it all in. The atmosphere of the place always seemed to knock Namine slightly off guard every time she set foot in it. Disney Town was a very alive world, and all the experiences with it flowed through effortlessly. She was always so amazed that every day was different than the last- definitely a stark contrast to how she started out in the world. Today, Disney Town offered something new, something no one had seen before and was quite hard to ignore.

“Where on earth did all these bunny kids come from?!” Lea demanded once they entered town square. They were very hard to ignore. Every foot or so, there was at least one of the small, blue bunnies getting into some sort of trouble.

“Not sure,” Kairi said, just as a bunny kid hopped onto her head, bent down to look her in the eye, happily wave, then bound off of her head. She couldn’t hide her little giggle as she went on to add, “But they sure are cute.”

“Ri-ight.” Lea snorted. He looked down to see a bunny child at his feet. It stuck its tongue out at him before laughing rather maniacally. “They look about as cute as a wart on someone’s toe. Just as persistent too.”

“Lea!” Kairi admonished, gently smacking him with the back of her hand. The taller redhead did nothing to defend himself. Instead he gave them a charming little grin that feigned innocence.

Namine let out a little chuckle as well. Lea turned to her with the most hurt expression one could offer.

“Not you too, Namine!” he whined. “I thought we had amnesty once we became Somebodies. We’re good now!”

“Not when you’re still being cruel to innocent children.” Namine teased.

“I didn’t even touch them!”

Namine and Kairi looked at each other before dissolving into a round of giggles. Lea deflated, knowing that he was never going to win this argument. Their moment of fun was broken when a loud drum march started to play. The three looked up to find the source of the noise. Sure enough, there was a small group of bunny children with drums and leading a small parade filled with nothing but other blue bunny children. One of the bunnies in front was holding a banner reading ‘Lunch Time 4 Us!’ and waving it quite happily.

In high, squeaky voices, the leading bunny children started to chant;

“Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me!”

On cue, another round of tiny voices shouted as they joined the parade, “La-de-da la-de-da la-de-da-da-da!”

“Hey there, hi there, ho there! You’re as welcome as can be!”

“La-de-da la-de-da la-de-da-da-da!”

The chant continued as the parade marched their way through the square and into a cafe.

“Well…” Kairi was the first to muse, “Guess we’re not going to eat in there.”

“Must be lunchtime.” Namine noted with a grin.

“Must be something.” Lea decided as he scratched the back of his head. All the while, the bunny children continued with their march.

“Uncle Mick!”

“Papa too!”

“Uncle Mick!”

“Papa too!”

“Forever let us hold our ice creams high!”

“High, high, high!”

“Come along and sing a song, and join the jamboree!”

“La-de-da la-de-da la-de-da-da-da!”

The bunny children holding up the rear, who hadn’t entered the cafe yet, let out a cheer before slamming the cafe door behind them. The square was suddenly rather quiet without them all making a ruckus.

“I, for one, am glad they’re gone for now.” Lea told the girls. “That is not a song I want to have memorized.”

Kairi gave Namine a wicked glance before turning back to Lea. She didn’t give any warning before she opened her mouth to sing, “Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me?”

Lea suddenly went pale. “Kairi, no!”

“Hey there, hi there, ho there!”

“Kairi! I’m warning you!”

“You’re as welcome as can be!”

“This is your last chance!”

“Come along and sing a song, and join the jamboree!”

“That’s it, get over here so I can teach you a lesson!” Lea hollered as he barrelled at Kairi. Kairi herself let out a little yelp before bolting away. She then let out a joyful laughter as Lea chased her around the square, and out to a different area. Namine considered following them, but decided it was best they get their energy out. There certainly wasn’t any shortage of it in this world.

Instead, Namine made herself comfortable at a nearby bench and simply relaxed. After being accustomed to the energy of the world again, she carefully pulled out her drawing pad, some colored pencils, and did one of the most relaxing hobbies she had yet to replace; drawing.

She started with the square itself. The bench she was on was facing a nice gazebo, which in turn was framed rather well by the entrance to Disney Castle behind it. She wondered for a moment if she had enough colors in her palette to capture the atmosphere just right. If not, maybe it was time to experiment with cross hatching. As she got into her familiar, comfortable groove, Namine started to hum a few bars of the bunny kid’s march. It was a pretty catchy tune. She’d have to ask Riku if he was familiar with it- he came around Disney Town often enough to visit the King, he must have heard it at least once.

Quite some time passed as she drew. Namine didn’t even notice when some of the bunny children started to file out of the cafe. A little pack of four started to play in the gazebo. It looked like a rather fun game of hide and seek. Namine didn’t realize that she had started to draw the bunny children playing until she had finished shading the first blue bunny. She blinked at her page with mild bewilderment. She had heard stories about ‘automatic writers’ and how they would write whole letters by hand while supposedly controlled by some outside force. She didn’t personally believe them until she saw the blue bunnies in her drawing. It was like she didn’t even recognize her own ability.

“Hey fellas!” a high pitched voice said from beside her, succeeding in scaring Namine nearly out of her wits. She quickly looked to her left and saw one of the bunny kids standing next to her. Namine flinched when it whistled to get the other two’s attention.

Its siblings (she assumed they were all siblings, at least) immediately stopped what they were doing. They took a glance at Namine, then at the bunny beside her, then started to bounce on over. They stopped at her feet. Namine was so bewildered at the past minute’s events that she had to take another moment to register what was going on.

“Oh! Hello there.” she finally greeted. “Would you like to see what I drew?”

All four bunny children nodded their heads- the one that had surprised Namine had gone down with the rest of its siblings. There was power in numbers, and she had a feeling those blue bunnies were well aware of it. Despite herself, Namine carefully turned her drawing around for them to see. Her work was immediately accepted with a round of ‘oh’s and ‘aww’s. It made her heart flutter with pride. She felt rather selfish when the four bunnies decided to just up and leave without another word. Namine sighed, hoping that they’d come back, before going back to finish up a few bits on the drawing.

Her wish was granted quite a few minutes after. Just as she was finishing up her drawing, the four bunny children from earlier were coming back to her. At least, she assumed they were the same as before- it was hard to tell when those blue bunnies all looked the same. Regardless, Namine greeted them all with a bright smile.

“Hello again,” she said, “How can I help you?”

The bunny children all stared at the one bunny standing in the back. It was bashfully hiding something as it stepped forward. The other bunnies let out a pleased ‘ta-da!’ while the bashful bunny presented Namine with a flower. It wasn’t anything too special, probably plucked from the caste gardens based on its hue.

“O-oh, thank you.” Namine stammered. “But I don’t need-”

She stopped dead in her tracks- the pitiful, pleading faces of the bunnies made it increasingly hard to say no. After a moment of mental wrestling, Namine offered a smile.

“It’s very lovely.” she said as she carefully took the flower. “Thank you. I’ll use it as a commission.”

The bunny children suddenly perked up. A new word had been spoken to them- one that they could already tell held the promise for more lovely drawings. They looked back up at her expectantly. Namine didn’t think herself that good at charades, but she could almost gather what they wanted to ask her.

“A commission is when you give something to someone in return for their goods. In this case, the flower is your commission for me drawing your picture earlier. Do you understand now?”

The bunny children looked at each other for a moment. They seemed to have a moment of revelation before turning back to Namine with a wide grin. In unison, the bunnies happily nodded.

“That’s good.” Namine smiled, giving them a happy nod of her own back to them.

Giving a grin that seemed rather mischievous in hindsight, the blue bunny children bounded off in different directions to do whatever it was they planned on next. Namine wasn’t aware that she was going to be a part of this plan. Not yet. For now, she decided to put her drawing things away to go find Lea and Kairi. She hadn’t seen them since they ran out a good hour ago. Not that she expected anything bad to happen to them, but still. You never knew in their world.

Thankfully, both Kairi and Lea were safe when Namine found them. Apparently they had raced each other to the go-kart track, which then proceeded to be an even more heated race between them. Namine had caught them at the end of their sixth round.

“Who won?” Namine curiously asked.

“I did!” Kairi boasted at the same time Lea mumbled, “She did.”

Namine afforded a small laughter. With the three of them together again, they decided that it was likely time to get something to eat. On their way back to the square, a large hoard to bunny children came bounding to the trio. They bunnies were so packed together that it was just a sea of rippling blue. Not sure of what to do, or where the bunnies were even heading, Lea, Namine, and Kairi simply stopped in their tracks.

“I don’t like how they’re in a stampede.” Lea murmured to the girls. “Who do you think they’re going to terrorize? That’s a terrorizing formation if I’ve ever seen it.”

The girls just shrugged, but they got their answer soon enough. The hoard stopped right at Namine’s feet. A fact that didn’t surprise her nearly as much until a few started to stack on top of each other. They continued to stack until the bunny child on top was at about Namine’s eye level.

“Hi!” the top bunny child happily said, giving a wave so energetic that it made the tower wobble a bit. The bunny didn’t give anyone time to react before pulling out a picture of their own. It was rather crudely done, but it was still easy to depict a black cat with a pink shirt and matching little hat. Putting on a wide grin, the bunny child told Namine, “This is our mama.”

“We want to surprise her!” one of the bunny kids in the stack said.

“Please draw us for Mama.” another bunny said.

“Draw us for Mama! Draw us for Mama!” the rest of the hoard chanted.

For the longest time, Namine was speechless. When she did try to say something, it only came out in a strangled, “I…” as she looked to Kairi and Lea. They seemed just as overwhelmed as she was.

The bunny children must have been expecting this because a few others formed a second stack. This time, the bunny on top was holding a rather large sack that, when shook, sounded like munny twinkling inside.

“We’ll commission you.” the bunny at the top of the second stack grinned.

“It’s all our allowance!” the hoard cheered at once. “63,000 munny!”

Lea let out a low whistle. “That’s a LOT of Mega-Potions…”

Indeed it was, and it only caused more conflict inside Namine. Why was it so hard to say no to troublemakers when they were being so earnest? Maybe it’s because the bunny children were still just that- children. They weren’t perfect, but when they put their heart into something, it was all they desired. It was admirable. It was hard to say no to.

“Sure.” Namine then decided, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to take it back later. “Why not?”

The bunny children cheered.

#kingdom hearts #epic mickey #kingdom hearts fanfiction #kh namine #bunny children #namine #kh kairi #kairi #lea #kh lea #kh fanfiction #fanfiction #kh fan fic #fanfic #fan fiction #fan fic #writers on tumblr #bunny kids

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mimiplaysgames · 4 years ago

Text

Terraqua Week Day 7 (Night Sky)

Summary: They don’t know it’s called love. Terra and Aqua dare a night out in a storm. || Word Count: 4,511

Read on AO3

A/N: @terraquaweek AAAAAAA it’s over!! It’s been a wild ride. This particular fic I feel is my weakest of the collection - I literally ran out of time to make this one special in my eyes. It’s just a soft and tender fic. I’m sorry I couldn’t give a stronger conclusion, but I hope you take something you like out this one regardless!

~~~~~~~~~~*

Wayfinding

The sky over Destiny Islands is beautiful. Like the mountains in the Land of Departure, we’re isolated here, an audience to pinpricks of light blinking down at us with secrets from far away.

Kairi’s been begging us to visit for a couple of nights to stargaze with her and her friends. She says we’ll be blown away. Tonight, storm clouds blot the sky in clumps, leaving us breaks in between to guess constellations. I do believe you could see stars from Destiny Islands you can’t see anywhere else, even though we all share the same sky. It’s special.

Ven points to a nebula, millions of miles away. “Hold on, is that—”

“The star system of Montressor, yep.” Terra takes a swish of water.

“It’s so much closer here.”

“What’s Montressor?” Sora crushes melted marshmallow onto chocolate, his fingers coated.

We’re sharing a fire, camping out on the beach and listening to the waves crashing. The beach overwhelms the senses in a way that grounds you. I can’t see the ocean through the darkness, but I can smell it. I can feel it by the humidity that drapes over my skin. There’s no mistaking where I am. The beach in the Realm of Darkness smelled like nothing.

And yet, if I walked into the water, I’d walk forever. The horizon vanishes at night.

The cloudy weather lately has made it difficult for us to see everything, so Terra has asked if we could stay longer. This is our third night.

“It’s a cluster of its own stars, like a galaxy.” Terra denies chocolate with his s’more. “The people there travel between different planets with their skyships.”

Kairi snorts. “The adults told us that a god sneezed millions of years ago and that’s his celestial booger smear.”

Sora gapes. “That sounds cool, I’ve never been.”

“You’re missing out,” Riku says, smirking as he chews.

“Wait, when did you go?”

Kairi plucks a marshmallow from the basket. “We can schedule a trip together. It will be fun.”

Terra cocks an eyebrow. “If you enjoy getting mugged by sky pirates.”

Sora leans forward, eyes wide at Terra’s nose. “Sky pirates? There’s such a thing? Oh, I’m in.”

They’re lovely kids, self-trained and their technique shows it. I take a sip of water out of a straw from a coconut that Riku had broken in half by smashing it against a boulder.

Terra eyes me from across the fire, holding my gaze as he drinks. We chose not to sit next to each other—no one else needs to know—but I admit that from this angle, I get to enjoy the way he looks at me. It was only last night that he held my hand and brushed his lips against mine, tucked behind a palm tree where no one saw us. I came back to the hut with fire on my cheeks. I still feel it in my stomach.

I can’t help my smile. I want to look at him longer but I don’t, so I cross my legs.

Paopu fruits hang on the trees nearby. Ven has mentioned (in front of everyone else) that Terra and I should share one. I told him to shut up, and he hasn’t brought it up again since.

“If we’re lucky,” Sora says, “we could see a meteor shower.”

I choke on my drink but keep my lips sealed.

Ven opens his mouth to reply but Terra hands him a warning glare.

Every star in the sky is a world. When worlds fall, the sphere that holds them together breaks into pieces, like the glass that shatters when the lantern is dropped. That is a meteor shower, but I wouldn’t want to break anyone’s heart if they believe otherwise.

“Don’t you wish upon them?” I ask, forcing myself to swallow. The thought of wishing upon the harm of others, even unintentionally, churns me. “Is that the tradition?”

“You mean you don’t?” Kairi asks.

I shrug, desperate for an answer. “We… don’t wish upon much. There’s little use for it when you’re training for the Keyblade.”

Terra turns away to hide a smirk.

“That’s so depressing,” Sora says and I frown.

The wind is warm and moist. It’s so peaceful, of course the only stories you’d ever hear about the stars are the good ones.

Ven jumps up, pointing at the sky. “Look, look!”

Two shooting stars fly straight across. May they be blessed.

“Okay.” Sora slaps his hands together. “Wishing time. I wish…” He closes his eyes, and for a second, a solemn smile darkens his face. “I’ve been away for so long. Any minute Donald is going to ring me up and take me somewhere. I just want to stay home for a while, just a few days. You know, take a break, be with you guys, my best friends. I promised my mom I’d help with her gardening and stay one night for dinner.”

Riku nods to himself.

“I’d like the same,” Kairi says, laying on her stomach on her blanket, gazing at the fire.

“You’re not supposed to be wishing on them,” Ven blurts out, covering his mouth too late.

Sora’s eyebrows furrow. This is not a look I like to see on him. “Why?”

If Ven could kick himself without anyone seeing, he would.

Terra holds onto Sora’s shoulder. “A shooting star is someone traveling between worlds. Their heart is reaching out to someone to comfort or protect them. You don’t want to wish for something selfish, you want to wish the best for them.”

The expression Sora gives can only be described as horror. “Oh, well, um, safe travels buddy. I hope you find your friend.”

“Is it too late to take the wish back?” Riku asks. I think he’s asking on purpose considering how much more fraught Sora becomes and how much Riku is enjoying it.

Terra notices. He nods his head to the side. I love the way he does it. He’s beautiful. “Probably.”

“But I really do want them to be safe,” Sora whines, defeated.

The wind picks up, clouds floating across the sky at a speed where they swallow the stars. It smells damp and it feels hotter.

“I don’t like the looks of this,” Riku says, dumping the pail of water next to him onto the fire. He kicks sand over it for good measure. Sora and Kairi don’t hesitate to stack baskets and fold blankets.

“What’s going on?” Ven asks, moving slowly when he folds his chair, as if unsure.

“Monsoon season.” Riku steps on the last embers. “We didn’t expect a storm to come out this soon but you never know.”

“Maybe it wasn’t supposed to come tonight.” Kairi eyes Sora suspiciously.

“No way—” Sora starts.

“Nice job, Sora.” Riku says. “You’ve doomed us all.”

“I didn’t wish for a monsoon!”

“You wished to be locked up here with us. Congratulations.”

I interrupt. “What do you need me to do? Where do we go for shelter?”

Kairi points to their treehouse, which connects through the cavern and which, from my understanding, stood there through their entire childhood. “My dad—the one you’ve met before, Papa—fortified it with extra wood on the walls and the roof. It’s always been safe.”

By the time we have everything packed and are going up the ramps to the treehouse, it’s pouring. At least it’s not the iciness of mountain rain.

The door bangs when Kairi swings it open, the wind throwing it back and forth as if it’s juggling it between two hands. Ven waves his arm in a circular motion—his magic redirects the wind for as long as he can hold it, letting everyone inside before he lets go and the door slams behind us.

Inside, we dry ourselves with rags, our shoes and socks warming up under the lanterns. We have fresh blankets and sacks of food, in case the storm lasts all night.

Except in terms of blankets, we’re one short.

Ven hands Terra the last blanket and (pointedly) says something to him.

The last blanket is the largest, so I’d have to share it with Terra. I adore Ven to pieces (and I won’t protest sharing any space with Terra), but when Ven gets difficult, I sometimes have to suppress myself. Judging by the way Terra wraps it around our shoulders and nudges close to me, he doesn’t care what the others think anymore.

Kairi quickly looks away from us, rolling her lips inward like she’s witnessed a scandal.

Rain beats onto the roof, a million patters like the fingers of thousands of people asking to be let in. Thunder rumbles in quickly, soothing then unsettling. Terra and I sit in front of a window, the water so thick that it blurs the screen. Under the blanket, he rolls a finger over my wrist, stroking my palm. I smile at him.

“We should have brought real fruit,” Ven says, chewing on dried mango. If by real fruit he means paopu, he’s smart for not specifying it.

“You need finer taste,” Kairi says, chewing on the same.

“You need culture,” Sora says, swallowing something I don’t recognize.

The idea of a spontaneous camp-in might have been exciting the first several minutes, but hours later, it becomes agony.

All this time, I can’t talk to Terra about anything too personal, though we’ve snuck a few passing whispers here and there.

He asks me an indistinct question that anyone can misinterpret out of context: When did you know?

My answer is just as vague. I was fourteen.

There’s not much we can do to explore touch. I tend to listen more to the way he takes finger by finger. Terra will intermittently say one sentence with minimal effort, but just enough so that the others know we’re still with them. I worry that if I laugh a certain way, it would expose us.

But no one asks, too busy chatting about building bigger boats for the one dream they’ve never been able to accomplish.

At some point, Terra challenges Riku to a rematch.

“So what you’re telling me,” Riku says, a mock-smirk that fits perfectly on his face, “is that you’re very impressed and you want to be foolish enough to lose to me a second time so that everyone else knows how impressive I am.”

“We all know, Riku,” Sora says.

“But Terra wants to remind you.”

Terra laughs as if he’s not interlacing his fingers with mine. He squeezes my hand.

It’s when everyone’s eyes are closed, drifting away to sleep, that Terra wraps his arm around my waist and I rest on his shoulder. One lantern is still on. The storm has quieted for now, but we’ve been told to expect another onslaught.

Terra cranes his head back, looking out the window. He’s done this twice per hour, but the sky has been black, the clouds smearing everything.

“What are you looking for?” I whisper.

“I have this very,” Terra starts, pausing, “vague memory of looking up to the stars, looking for home but I could never find it.”

So not his memory, but Xehanort’s. Blurs and images that make no sense, as if from a dream. Castle Oblivion never shined, so of course Xehanort couldn’t find it for the last twelve years. Terra is lucky that’s as much as he remembers. I don’t know how he could possibly deal if he woke up with a history of every crime Xehanort has committed in his body.

“And I feel like,” Terra continues, his eyes lost, his voice hushed. “I’ve—or he—tried over and over again.”

“Ah.” I sigh. “You were looking for it these past few nights.”

“The Master told me that home is the brightest star in the multiverse. You could see it through the clouds. It would always guide you back if you were lost.”

“I never heard that story.”

Terra looks at me and holds me closer. “That was before you came.”

“Whether it’s true or not, it’s out there.”

He frowns, leaning his head back against the windowsill again. “The idea that home was gone at some point… that’s the one thing that haunts me still, even though I know it’s just a trip away and I could always go back. But knowing that doesn’t suffice.”

I rub his stomach. “We can find it together.”

He goes quiet, the hand on my waist tensing up. The wheels in his mind turn. “Do you want to find it tonight?”

I look up at him.

“The storm has stopped,” he says.

“For now.”

“Then we come back before it starts again.” He pulls me closer, nearly settling me on top of his leg. I feel his smirk in my hair.

I glance out the window. “But the clouds are too thick.”

“Well, if the story is true—”

“If.”

“Then we’d take some time for ourselves.” He nudges my nose, and I wish he’d kiss me. “We’re Keyblade wielders. A monsoon isn’t impossible to manipulate.”

I stifle a laugh. He has a quick answer for everything, and to any given person, it’d be infuriating. I once found it so when I was younger.

“I am obligated to remind you that it’s dangerous,” I say, wishing I could get away with tasting his lips. I come close to.

“I feel like I’m about to scream,” he says, brushing my hair. “I need to do something loud. Yell. Throw myself into the ocean. Touch you—I don’t know. It’s too suffocating in here. I’ve suffocated for twelve years. I’ve had enough.”

I don’t know why my heart jumps at the idea when it’s so reckless. Terra is not a bad influence, he’s just as responsible as I am, yet I find myself yearning for the thrill.

I haven’t tasted something like this in years, when thrill was something to be avoided in the Darkness.

“Okay. But we come back in no less than twenty minutes.”

We blow out our lantern and Terra takes precious, long seconds to turn the doorknob.

Ven stirs, his bright eyes blinking open in the dark. “You guys are leaving?” he whispers.

“We’re coming back,” Terra says.

“Is this going to happen a lot?”

My heart sinks. It’s usually the three of us, never disconnected except when we’re bickering. I look to Terra for what to say when he replies with, “Do you want to come with us?”

Ven looks at me. “Nah. I’m tired.”

I bend down and pet his head. “You’ll come with us next time.”

“I know.” Ven wiggles in his blanket and gets comfortable. “Just don’t drown.”

Terra gently takes my wrist. As much as I’m compelled to stay with Ven, Terra’s smile is a reminder that there’s little to worry about with him. We leave the shoes and socks behind.

Outside, the wind howls strong, my sashes beaten in fury. The sand is warm when we step off the ramp, loose swirls of dust devils skidding across the beach. It’s dark without the moonlight, the ocean waves crashing onto the shore so hard that all I see are white bubbles. My heart races, but this feeling is nothing like the constant race of fear in the Dark Realm. No, this is familiar yet foreign. The slap of salty air in my face makes me gush with something jittery.

Terra cups his hands close to the ground and jerks them forward near the base of the giant tree where the treehouse stands. The sand buckles—he’s moving earth and boulder against the trunk of the tree, compensating for years of erosion, creating a natural scaffolding to fortify it further.

The river nearby spills out of its bank, small streams skittling towards the ocean. I bring my hands together and wave them back inland, redirecting the water away from the tree so there is less risk of flooding.

I hear Terra calling me. The wind ruins his hair—he looks more charming this way. When he walks, his pants flatten and blow open like balloons. He gathers bunches of my hair in his thick, large fingers, holds it off of my face, and kisses me. He’s firm and pulsing, strong but gentle, the touch of his lips igniting a flame that rides up to my heart. By the way he breathes through me, he’s been wanting to do this for a long time.

A gust of wind bashes against our bodies. Water splashes on our knees and I nearly topple down.

We laugh into each other’s shoulders, my legs caked in wet sand. He’s holding me up by my arms, taking me towards the nearest palm tree.

“This is the most insane thing I’ve ever done,” I say, my voice raised to compete against the roar of the wind.

“I needed this,” he says, nodding.

My heart sighs in agreement.

Terra trembles from adrenaline, his smile glued on his face. He gestures in a way to call something down from above. A palm tree bends over, giving its head to us. “I want you to meet my new best friend, Leafy.”

I snort. “What is this for?”

Terra giggles before grabbing a paopu fruit. “Thank you, my friend,” he says to Leafy, bowing.

“You’re talking to a tree.”

Pointing that out melts him into hysteria. “I don’t know how to describe it. I am so happy right now.” He gestures like he’s about to rip his skin off, something inside about to explode. “And I don’t know what to do with that feeling.” He turns to me, holding out the paopu fruit. “I want to share this with you.”

My cheeks hurt. “We don’t know how it works.”

“Will you accept it anyway?”

No second thoughts.

It has the consistency of an orange, the taste of a grape. The legend of the fruit claims that it binds the destinies of those who share it together, intertwining their hearts and fates so they’re a part of each other’s lives forever. It could be a symbolic gesture—I certainly thought so when I made our Wayfinders, embedding my magic into them to make sure they work that way.

I don’t know what I think of the future—I stopped planning for it the day I fell to Darkness—but I would be okay so long as Terra stays somewhere in my life.

Terra leans forward and bites the other side of the fruit, right out of my mouth. It catches me off guard, shuddering me into a chuckle, and I lean to meet him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He tastes of warmed juice. My heart pounds at the slide of his fingers on my forearms as he pushes my sleeves away. I lose the paopu fruit somewhere when he pulls me in.

I realize now what it is: I’ve been numbed. The Realm of Darkness hushes it all inside, leaving you with nothing but your thoughts. When you can’t take much more, you wish for it to be over. Then, you are soothed, a sick, cold honey that drips over your skin. The numbness makes you keep walking so you keep living, until you can’t take the numbness anymore and you go back to despairing. Only to be soothed yet again. The only real emotion that lasts for more than a moment is the sudden whiplash when Heartless attack and you have to survive. The wrong kind of thrill.

Terra has been cut off from all senses for twelve years.

I’ve been quieted.

So I need him. I need him to brush his fingers on my skin, I need to taste his tongue, I need to run in the rain, laugh at stupid jokes, get scared on purpose, for reasons that don’t truly threaten me. Terra reminds me of the morning when we raced in the ravine as children. He reminds me that there’s more to the way my heart beats than keeping my hands to myself.

Terra sighs into my neck. “I wish I was strong enough to be a shooting star for you,” he says into my ear. “I’m sorry we waited twelve years to do this.”

Does he not remember that he came to me in the Darkness? He told me not to give up.

He told me that I never stopped lighting his way back. I must have flown in the sky too, without knowing, for other children to see. Maybe I’ve done so many times. I hold him tightly.

An unnaturally strong gust targets at us, loose leaves slapping us and nicking my face. Terra looks up and bursts into laughter. “Stars, he’s watching us.”

Ven sits at the window, waving his arms in circles, as if to slap our wrists with rulers for such behavior.

My instinct is to remove myself from all scrutiny, but I bump into Terra’s chest. I laugh. I don’t know what else to do except to take his hand and run to the other side of the beach. I think about how Ven must have been worried, and opened that window to see what we were up to, only to witness what he did, and—

—I cover my mouth and snort. “I can’t believe we were caught.”

“We’re being sloppy.”

I can’t stop laughing. It hurts, but in a good way, better than the victory after a Heartless attack, better than even seeing my friends again after so long, when I couldn’t stop crying.

Water washes over my feet faster than I can step out of it, my toes sinking like I can be erased in a heartbeat. We all could, at the precipice of Darkness. I could laugh right now, I could mourn tomorrow. The thought chokes me.

“Aqua, are you okay?”

Storm clouds have suffocated everything, dark paint dabbed with a sponge layer after layer so that everything under is hidden. I lean back, but I don’t step away. It’s dark but not Dark, I tell myself. We’re alone, but I’m not. We’re nowhere close to home, but with him, I am. Small reminders for large steps forward.

“It looks like it goes on forever.”

Terra squeezes my hand, and it says so much. He understands. “We’re facing west. Home would be this direction.”

I’ve faced the darkest enemy and survived. I’ve been running—it’s my instinct to—but I don’t have to run anymore.

Yet I don’t know what else I could do with all this energy. I face the black ocean now. I want to do something crazy.

“We could try to find it,” I say.

Terra jerks like he’s about to torpedo himself into the sky. “We’ll fly.”

I swallow. “The ocean looks bottomless.”

“It’s not.”

“I know it isn’t.” I look again. The star isn’t there. “But that doesn’t make sense to me. Dark is dark, kind is kind, and the things that hurt me hide.”

“There’s nothing out there that can hurt you, only whales. And I know for a fact that you’re stronger than any shark I know.”

I pause, a mix of childish giddiness and sudden tears wrestling with each other and I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel. “We don’t fight sharks.”

“We don’t.”

“You don’t know any sharks.”

“You’re right.”

My body gives up and I laugh and cry at the same time. “That was the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.”

Terra wraps his hand on my waist, leaning against my forehead. “I’ve got you. I’m not going to let you fall. Ever again.”

“I know.” I place my hand on the center of his chest. Sometimes lessons are learned too late. Sometimes the consequences are more than what we’ve prepared for. “Let’s fly.”

He summons his Keyblade and commands it to transform into his glider, helping me on with the guidance of his hand. Neither of us want to break contact. His glider isn’t designed to carry two people, the curve of its engine forcing me forward so I lean onto him. His back muscles are well-formed, sturdy under my weight, his waist so thick that I have to grip his shirt to hold on.

When Ven sees us take off, he makes frantic arm movements, grabbing fistfuls of air. It calms the fury of the wind around us, giving Terra a smoother path ahead with mild turbulence. We leave the beach behind, and ride into a world of nothing.

I grip harder into his stomach and contain a meep. Terra slows to a stop. We haven’t gone far.

“I’m okay,” I say onto his neck. It’s quieter out here, without the waves and the trees.

Terra palms a hand over mine, gliding it up to his chest like he wants to feel his heartbeat through both of our hands. It’s hammers, like he’s running away, or towards something.

Or nowhere, really. We’re running just to run, just to remember what it feels like. I kiss the back of his neck, where it meets his shoulder.

“Look,” he says softly. His grip tightens on the handlebar, and he shudders under me. He’s about to cry.

There is one star through the clouds, brushed over in fog. Terra reaches up as if to grab it, measuring our home in the pinch of his fingers.

“To think our beds are small enough to fit,” I say, smiling into him.

Terra takes my hand from his chest and kisses it.

A gust of wind knocks his glider, and he revs it up to stabilize us, holding a solid kick onto the pedals. Ven is either too far away or too tired to keep helping us.

Rain prickles onto us, and starts to build. I tremble. For some reason, I don’t want to go back into the treehouse and sleep it off. I feel cut off, trapped in a bottle where I can’t move.

I look behind me. There are now four heads on that window, four worried faces gawking at the scandal. “The others are awake.”

“Let them have a show.” He turns over and holds me close, taking my lips with his. Again, again, again.

I shiver. He tastes like springwater. I don’t know why I don’t find our predicament threatening. We’re hovering over darkness—but I’ve won against the Darkness. We’ve hovering in a dangerous storm, and yet it seems miniscule. I’m grateful.

“I can make the water dance,” I say.

“I know. That’s why I’m not scared.” He smiles. It’s like he’s asking permission.

I nod. “We wouldn’t be falling.”

“We’d be flying.”

He dismisses his Keyblade. He falls first, relaxed, his arms open like he doesn’t mind landing into the turret of waters, like he’s about to fall on a feather bed.

I call for my Keyblade and let it shine. The rain around us swirls, bursting into bright pellets. Terra catches me with one arm, hooking it around my waist and keeping me close. We twirl like we’re caught in a tornado. We kiss. We laugh, our legs wrapping over each other. The light spreads, tiny pinpricks of asteroids and firecrackers that shower Destiny Islands.

I can’t be crazy. I can’t fall. I’m safe and sound with the earth beneath my feet.

#terraqua #aqua #terra #ventus #kingdom hearts fanfiction #OMG we're finally done #i'm finally done #this has been my life for an entire month i did nothing else haha #my fic

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kingdomhearts-and-soriku-trash · 3 years ago

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Hi!! I'm finally writing another Soriku fic and this is for everyone and @whyarewecalledtheshipname I hope you enjoy this sleeping beauty sort of fic! A lot of effort went into the ending, and it's probably not too good, but I hope you like it! I love your blog, so I thought you would like this so yeah! Enjoy!

Author notes are at the end and kinda long but yeah. And I'd like feedback since I like getting it to improve my writing or know what you thought about it at least!

"Momma, will you read this one?" Sora asks.

He and Riku were both laying in their own pillow fort. They were laying on their stomachs next to each other, both in their pajamas, and looking towards Sora's mother. She was laying outside the entrance to their pillow fort with a smile. She was on her stomach, propped up by her forearms, and had a book between them.

"Do you know if Riku likes it? Will he even like to hear it again." She tilts her head and looks over at Riku.

Riku's eyes widen slightly before he nods with a small smile. "Yeah, I like Sleeping Beauty. It's a nice story," he says shyly.

Sora's mother sighs fondly. "Alright, then I'll read it." She picks up the book and shows the front to the boys. "Well, I guess we're reading Sleeping Beauty again!" She opens the book and begins to read. "In a far away land long ago lived a King and his fair Queen. Many years had they longed for a child and finally their wish was granted." She turns the book around to show the boys the picture.

"It's so beautiful," Sora whispers. No matter how many times he sees the pictures or reads the story, he finds it amazing each time.

She smiles and turns the book back to her and flips the page. "A daughter was born. They called her Aurora. Yes they named her after the dawn for she filled their lives with sunshine."

"So, Aurora means dawn? Do other names have meaning?" Riku asks with curiosity.

Sora's mother looks up at him and smiles. "Why yes it does. Isn't it beautiful? And some names do have meaning, but that meaning doesn't make you." She turns the book around so they could see the story being told in pictures.

"They look so happy!" Sora says with a big smile.

"Of course they would be. They just had their first kid!" Riku says with excitement. He wouldn't admit it, but he loves this story.

"Then, a great holiday was proclaimed throughout the kingdom so that all of high or low estate might pay homage to the infant princess. And our story begins on that most joyful day." She turns the book around for the boys to see again.

"That's a lot of people," Sora says with awe.

Sora's mother turns the book back to her and continues to read. "All sorts of people attended, including another king and his son, Prince Phillip. Celebrating Aurora's birth wasn't the only thing being done that day, it was also announced that Phillip was betrothed to the princess."

"He was going to get married to her, right?" Sora asks.

"Yes, he was. It was a common thing for many kingdoms to do."

"It's still weird," Riku says quietly. He's young and doesn't understand love, but he still finds it weird how people were forced to marry someone and didn't have a say in it.

She smiles and continues. "After the prince set eyes on his future bride, horns once again rang throughout the room as three fairies floated down to the king and queen. They, too, wanted to celebrate the princess's birth. They all floated over to her in a rush, crowding each other as they looked down at her crib. However, they weren't there just to see her, they were there to bless her. The first fairy, Flora, gave her the gift of beauty. The second fairy, Fauna, gave her the gift of song. And just as the third fairy, Merryweather, was about to give her gift, thunder rumbled through the room, causing panic as a glowing figure began to appear. It was green, but it slowly formed into another fairy, but a dark fairy." She emphasized "dark" with a scary look.

Sora gasped softly. "Oh no!"

"The evil fairy, named Maleficent, appeared in the middle of the room with her cane and raven. She walked to the King and Queen with a smile as she mentioned every person in the room. She stroked her bird as she told them her woes about not being invited. Merryweather, being the blunt fairy she was, told her how she wasn't invited, which stirred the evil fairy up. She in return decided to give the princess her own gift."

Sora and Riku both had looks of excitement mixed with curiosity. They both knew what it was, yet found it enjoyable to hear again and again.

"The fairies did their best to protect Aurora, but they failed. The evil fairy cast a curse on dear Aurora. "Before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she shall prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel and die," is what she told the whole room. The evil fairy laughed cruelly as she saw the panic around the room. The King ordered for the guards to apprehend her, but she disappeared before they could even touch her."

"But then someone comes and saves her!" Riku says.

"No saving is done yet, dears. However, they could help the poor princess. Flora saw the panic on the King's and Queen's face and reassured them that they could help her. Merryweather didn't give her gift yet and still had a chance to make things better. She went over to the crib and said, "Sweet princess, if through this wicked witches trick, a spindle should your finger prick, a ray of hope there still may be in this. The gift I give to thee, not in death but just in sleep, and from this slumber you shall wake when true loves kiss the spell shall break."

"But what if she doesn't find her true love?" Riku asks with a curious and concerned voice. It was a fake person, but he still feels worry.

"But she will! It's just how fate works!" Sora tells him with a smile. He grabs Riku's hand and squeezes it. "We all find each other through fate, so she would find her true love through fate as well!"

Riku looks over at Sora and smiles back at him.

The rest of the night is spent with Sora's mother telling them how the story went, but the most important part was the ending. When she was done reading and was getting ready to go to bed, Sora asks her an important question.

Sora yawns as he talks. "So, she would've been asleep forever if Phillip didn't make it?"

His mother ruffles his and Riku's hair. "Sadly, yes, she would have. But her prince's heart was stronger than Maleficent and he defeated her to save Aurora."

"Oh, then that's good," he says as he yawns once again. His mother kisses his cheek and leaves to go to bed.

He lays his cheek against the floor as he looks beside him. He sees Riku already asleep, still holding his hand. He smiles and squeezes it. "I'd fight a dragon for you, Riku," he whispers out. "Our hearts are already strong, aren't they," he says slowly. Only a few moments later, he falls into a blissful sleep.

Riku looked up at Sora's face through the clear glass of his sleeping pod. He could barely see him, but he could still see a smile on his face. It was small, but it was there.

This had been his third time checking up on Sora since he was put to sleep, and he always looked for a smile. It managed to put him at ease, but never erase the true pain he felt.

"I wonder what you're dreaming about. Is it good things?" He knew he wouldn't respond, but he still talked to him. "Are you thinking of the things I did?" He shouldn't have been thinking like that, but he still did. He was inexcusably rude to his best friend, someone he loves with all his heart, and someone who is precious.

He placed his hand against the pod. "I hope your dreams are good and that you can forgive me. Especially for the things I have to do." He knew what he had to do and it was things he didn't want to do, but he had to. He wouldn't be able to be without Sora, so he'd do whatever it took to save him...even if it means hurting someone else.

"I'm sorry."

He turned around and left the room, once again asking Namine to watch over him. He wished he could stay longer, but Sora wouldn't wake up unless he left, so he knew what he had to do. Even if he wished he didn't have to.

He never wanted to be away from Sora, even if his past actions didn't agree. This time felt painful, but when he had to watch Sora from afar? And look like Ansem at the same time? It was even more painful, but it was only the beginning.

Riku's legs felt like jelly as he continued to run. His dreams led him to an unknown world, and the only thing he knew was that it would lead him to Sora.

His beloved that had been missing for a whole year. It broke his heart to think about the time again, so he pushed it away as he continued to run and run and run. Every now and then he stopped so he could look around to make sure he didn't miss Sora, but he never saw him.

"I have to keep going," he said through panting breaths as he sat at a bench. He held his head in his hands as he thought. "Our hearts are connected together, but every time I think I'm getting closer, the connection goes away. It disappears all over again." He looks up as he finally realizes what he should do. "But if I just listen...maybe I can sense him better."

He quickly stood up, ignoring the pain his legs felt, and closed his eyes. He felt the connection to Sora, he could feel their hearts calling to each other, but he couldn't feel a direction. It should've annoyed him, but he stayed calm and cool. He only listened.

After a few moments, he felt a tug. A tug that's stronger than any other he's felt. He opened his eyes and looked at the road ahead of him. He felt the tug pulling him that way, so he goes. He ran, but not as fast as before since he didn't want to miss Sora. He looked around as he passed by buildings and shops. He kept going straight past many traffic lights.

However, once he got to another four way, he felt the tug go somewhere else. He felt it coming from a building. He runs over but then the tug comes from above. He backed up and looked up to see something on the roof.

He gasped and stared at the climbing he had to do. "I'm not as good as you are, Sora. But I'll do my best." He began to run up the side of the building, doing his best to not slip off.

He gets to the edge of the top and jumps so he can finally be on the roof, and what he saw makes him gasp with fear. He saw an array of spikes of ice surrounding each other, like a spell of blizzard gone wrong. He looked in the middle and his heart dropped.

Sora was frozen solid and laying in the middle. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was in peace, but Riku felt fear and terror.

He ran over to the spikes, which resembled a flower now that he was closer, and saw a little break through the array of spikes. He walked through the path and got on his knees beside Sora. As soon as he touched Sora, the spikes around him cracked and turned into silver flakes, disappearing into the wind. Sora's crystal form did the same thing as well. It made a cracking noise before falling off in flakes and going in the wind.

"Sora..." he said as he touched his cheek gently. It felt freezing and it made Riku feel even more upset.

He picked Sora up and held him bridal style and signaled to Fairy Godmother. He, within seconds, disappeared in a flash and reappeared in front of Yen Sid's tower. He was greeted by Mickey, Aqua, Terra, and Kairi. They all had a look of surprise mixed with relief, but when they saw Riku's face they were confused.

Riku walked towards them and kept his words brief. "I found him, but he's still not awake. He needs help."

Everyone nodded and all hurried to get Sora his own room. The room was at the top of the tower, far away enough from everyone else. They needed room to figure out what was wrong. They would tell everyone the news later.

Riku sat Sora down in the bed, Kairi started a fire in the fireplace to make the room warmer, and Terra got an extra blanket for him. They all stood in the room and waited for Fairy Godmother to appear. She was there within a matter of seconds and instantly looked at Sora.

She walked over to him and knelt down to be closer. She placed her hand against his chest and went silent for a moment before looking back at everyone. "His heart beat is very distant and his breathing is very slow. I can't tell what's wrong yet," she said with disappointment. She wanted to help him just like everyone else, but she needed time to do so.

Everyone felt disappointment and fear, but pushed it aside as they thought of what to do.

"So, should we leave him to rest? And see how he's doing in the morning?" Aqua suggested.

"But he shouldn't be alone, right?" Terra said with worry.

"Yes, he shouldn't be. I need time to research and see what's wrong, but he may get worse. I need someone to watch over him," Fairy Godmother said with firmness.

"I'll do it," Riku said immediately. He protected Sora ever since Sora saved him. He couldn't abandon him now. He knew Sora would never blame him for taking a break, but he couldn't. He couldn't bare the thought of having him here and not being able to see him in the morning if something went wrong. He trusted the others, but he had to do this.

"Riku, you haven't slept in so long. You need a break," Kairi said with worry. She stepped closer to him and grabbed his hand, gently.

He looked down at her and shook his head. "I just...can't leave him, alright? I need to make sure he's alright. Please," he asked the group.

"How about we do shifts?" Mickey suggested with a smile. He knew everyone cared about Sora, he did, too. However, he knew almost no one could care for Sora like Riku did. Mickey spent time with him in the Realm of Darkness and watched him find his strength with Sora. He understood the fear that Riku was feeling.

Fairy Godmother thought for a moment before she nodded with a smile. "I believe that's a good idea. How about we all go tell Yen Sid, just real quick, alright? Then you can come right back here and watch him," she said as she looked at Riku. She gave him a bright smile, doing her best to put him at ease.

Everyone turned around to leave, but Riku kept looking at Sora. He thought it was creepy, but he couldn't stop focusing on the way his breath was so shallow. He almost couldn't see it. However, he broke out of his trance when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Aqua with a frown.

"You can take a minute. It's okay." She squeezed his shoulder before leaving the room and closing the door gently behind her.

He smiled slightly at her concern and understanding. It made him breath easier. Once she left and didn't hear any more footsteps, he turned around and walked over to Sora. He got knelt down on one knee and looked at him.

"You look like you're in peace, but are you really?" He asked, knowing he would get no reply. "We're going to do our best to save you, I promise. We will save you. I know we can. You've saved us plenty of times, it's our turn to save you." He moved his hand slowly to push aside his bangs.

He remembered doing this when he was a kid on the Destiny Islands. Sora would take a nap and let the wind mess with his hair. Whenever he let his hair grow out, his bangs would get in his face and cover his eyes. Riku would move them away, which always would wake Sora. He would look at him with a smile and thank him for moving his bangs. It would always embarrass Riku, but he'd continue to do it. He liked seeing those blue eyes look up at him, and now he'd love if they could.

He got up and looked out the window. The sun was rising and it was beautiful. He wished Sora was awake to see it since he loved to see the sunrise. He looked back down at Sora and smiled as he leaned in and kissed him right above his temple.

He pulled away and made sure the blanket was covering him, the fire was still lit, and began to leave. He walked to the door and had his hand on the doorknob, ready to open, but stopped when he heard a voice.

"Riku?" Sora said quietly with his voice sounding rough.

Riku turned around quickly and saw Sora rubbing his eyes. He looked around the room confused, but once they landed on him he smiled.

"Riku...you're here." He looked to his side to see the sunlight reaching the tower. "It looks so beautiful. I hadn't seen one like this in so long," he said quietly.

"Sora!" Riku shouted as he ran over to his side of the bed. He got on his knees and grabbed his hand. "You're awake!" He let his forehead rest against Sora's hand and he closed his eyes. "You're awake..." he said again.

Sora sat up and laughed. "You saved me," he said gently.

Riku looked up at him to see those blue eyes. They looked at him with such love and he felt like he couldn't breathe. He couldn't find the words to say, so he only acted. He wrapped his arms around Sora and buried his face in the crook of his neck. It took a moment, but Sora wrapped his arms around him too.

"I'm here, Riku. You don't need to fear anymore."

Riku pulled back enough to look at him, but didn't let go. He cupped his cheek with a shaky hand and smiled when Sora leaned into it. "How are you here? How are you awake?"

"You woke me up." He poked right above his heart. "I heard your heart calling out to me. Those spikes and the crystal was protecting me, but they broke when you came because I trust you. You," Sora paused for a moment and struggled to find the words. "You mean the world to me, so they fell away. And I fought my way to wake up, but I couldn't do it. But when you kissed me, it made me stronger," he said with a small blush.

"The kiss helped you?" Riku asked with confusion and slight disbelief.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. You helped me break through. I guess it's like Sleeping Beauty," he said with a giggle.

Riku smiled and gathered up his courage. "Then, can I kiss you again?" He blushed and felt like looking away, but he didn't. He held his ground and waited.

"It better be a proper one this time," Sora said with a laugh.

Riku laughed in return before he leaned closer and gently kissed him. It wasn't perfect, but it didn't matter. It was them. It was their kiss. When they pulled away, they didn't hesitate. They went back in for another kiss, and another, and another, until they had to stop to catch their breath.

They pulled slightly away and laid their foreheads against the others. It was peaceful and everything was beautiful. The sun was shining, Sora was awake, and they both finally confessed.

Well, halfway, but they did it.

"When are the others coming?" Sora asked.

"Oh!" Riku said as he remembered the others. "They should be telling Yen Sid about everything. I was meant to join them! Do you want to go with me or do you want me to stay?"

"Stay. Stay with me, please," Sora said with vulnerability. "I don't want to be alone, and I'm still a little cold." Sora slid over and motioned for Riku to join him.

He smiled and joined him on the bed. He laid on his side and wrapped his arms around Sora when he scooted closer and buried his face in the crook of his neck.

"I love you, Riku."

Riku's heart pounded with joy and he smiled as he rested his chin on top of Sora's head. "I love you, too, Sora."

And they laid together before the others came and got them. At first, they believed Riku was clinging to him, only to hear Sora wake up when they called out to Riku.

They all helped him up so he could hug everyone and make them believe he was really there and awake. However, they let Sora rest back in the bed when he began to feel weak again since he had been sleeping for awhile. But it didn't bother them. They were just so excited and happy that Sora was finally home.

But no one was as happy as Riku. No one.

OKAY SO! This was a little difficult to write. The opening was good and I kinda liked that part. That's actually where this idea started, since I just imagined Sora's mother reading him and Riku a story and then I saw your posts and was like, "oh...SLEEPING BEAUTY!!!" And then this popped out. These are some author notes.

Okay so like this took so long to come out because I wrote it but then I had so many different ideas. I wanted him to kiss him on the lips but I kinda thought that Riku wouldn't exactly do that since he didn't want to I guess do that to Sora?? Since he was asleep and couldn't say anything?? So he just kissed him on his temple and it woke him up. AND THAT WASN'T JUST MY IDEA!! I got it from the movie Maleficent that came out in 2014. In the end of that movie, Maleficent was the one to wake up Aurora. She kissed her on her forehead and she woke up!! I was like, "oh yeah that's perfect for Riku."

I wanted to include the times Sora was asleep, but I didn't see how that would help anything or contribute to the plot, so I didn't. I only included the time where Sora was asleep to get his memories back, so I could show that Riku suffered during that (Even if we already knew that) and say how it was going to get worse >:).

Thus took so many rewrites because like...the ending of where Sora is found in crystal was so difficult to write. At first, I had him finding him in the position he was in the Remind ending, but I couldn't write it good, so I just switched it to him laying down in crystal form :). Let's just say that I wrote this multiple times and finally got on this version! And??? We like?? Don’t know what caused the crystal (I believe), so I just said that it was meant to protect him and fell away when Riku came bc now he would protect him :).

Putting in the sunlight on the tower part was a little difficult since I couldn't write it properly but!! I hope you enjoyed this!! I love your posts and I hope you love this! It may not be the best, but I love it.

AND!! That beginning of the story is actually from the movie. All of it is from the movie until the, "On that joyous day," part. Like the part of describing the event is my own writing and such. But the quote of Maleficent cursing Aurora and the gift that Merryweather gave Aurora is actually from the movie and word for word so I hope you like that part :).

There is some proofreading, but I could've missed something, so sorry if I did miss something!

#soriku #my writing #sora x riku #riku x sora #kingdom hearts #kh #I hope you enjoy sweetie♥. I did like writing it even if it took me awhile lol. I lost motivation on the weekend and such BUT!! I gained #it again today so YEAH!! Enjoy!!

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paintedwithapalette · 5 years ago

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SoKai Week Day 1 - Paopu Fruit

Word Count: 4, 054

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To Sora and Kairi, it was like being on an emotional high.

Through time, their bond had hardened like concrete—impenetrable. It was beyond latent feelings at this point, it was a harmonious compound of encouragement, support, admiration, and most of all, trust.

With their hands intertwined and legs dangling as they were bundled together close on the paopu fruit tree, these emotions ran rapid with just a single touch. The salty air and the seagulls squawking overhead was nothing short of the pleasantries the two had become familiar with. Though, it would’ve meant little if they didn’t have each other.

“I don’t think I could ever get tired of this place,” Kairi said, closing her eyes and allowing the wind to gently caress her face. “I know in my heart that this isn’t where I come from, but to me, this is home.”

“It always has been,” Sora validated.

“You think so?”

“Of course! This place wouldn’t be the same without you, you know?” Sora sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “And hey, I’d be a total wreck without you. Do you know how many times I probably would’ve fell to darkness if it weren’t for you being by my side?”

“True. You’re pretty much hopeless without me,” she teased.

“Hey!” Fabricating a look of hurt, he pulled her in closer with one swift motion and sent Kairi into a fit of giggles all the while. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I think even you can figure that out, dork.”

Another five minutes passed as they wrestled, mostly consisting of Sora trying to pull Kairi in close while she pretended to reject his advances, no matter how much she loved every second of it. As their laughter died down, they settled into a comfortable embrace; the warmth of Sora’s arms encompassed around her petite frame. They sat in a comfortable stillness, no words traded between them as neither broke eye contact until Kairi tucked some hair behind her ear with a soft giggle.

“What’s that goofy look for?” she asked.

“Sorry,” Sora apologized insincerely, putting on a grin. “Guess I just don’t want to forget that I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

Kairi’s blush intensified along with the ends of her lips. “You’re such a cornball.”

Sora chuckled nervously as he scratched his cheek as he imagined how much Donald would tease him if he heard that one. “Yeah, well…”

“It’s okay,” Kairi said. “I like how cheesy you are.”

“Well, there’s plenty more where that came from!” Sora pulled her in with an even tighter embrace, once again making Kairi burst into laughter.

When it died down, she rested her palm against his face and used her thumb to travel across the texture of his soft skin. “Looks like you really never did change,” she said.

Sora smiled, tenderly taking hold of her hand. “Of course I didn’t.”

Their smiles were radiant, weaved with affection as a sheen of desire shimmered over Kairi’s eyes when she noticed Sora looking at her lips. Their anticipation surged as their proximity decreased, their faces inching closer, closer, and closer...

“Sora!”

A yelp escaped them both as whatever tension there may have been dissipated and they held each other even tighter. Their nerves settled as Donald and Goofy entered their light of vision, the voice clearly belonging to the former of the two.

“Donald? Goofy?” Sora asked. “What’s up?”

“Riku and the King wanted us to tell you about the bonfire tonight,” Donald explained. “Since we’ll be celebrating the return of a half-pint like you, Sora.”

Goofy took note of the fact that neither of the two had let go of the other since Donald spooked them. “Gawrsh, I shore hope we aren’t interruptin’ you all.”

“Uh, no, of course not!” Sora gave a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Gee, then how come your face is red, Sora?” Goofy asked.

“Awwww, isn’t that sweet?” Donald teased, clasping his hands together and bringing them up to the side of his face.

“Could you cut that out?” Sora clenched a fist as Donald burst into laughter. “No offense, but can you two buzz off? Kind of in the middle of something here.”

“Guess we oughta stop meddlin’ then, a-hyuk,” Goofy said with a chuckle as he made his leave with his usual gangly walk. Donald didn’t stray too far behind.

“And remember to behave, Sora. Mind your manners,” Donald joked.

“Knock it off!” Sora shouted as his friends entered the seaside shack. “That’s it. He’s gonna regret this the next time I see him alone with Daisy.”

Kairi found Sora’s frustration amusing as she placed her hand on his cheek, directing his focus back to her. “Well, don’t worry. We still have plenty of time to ourselves, right?”

It wasn’t long before whatever Donald had said before became irrelevant as Sora fell into a goofy smile. “Yeah, you’re right.”

At least, so he thought until a frisbee smacked the back of his head. “Ouch!” Sora cried as he massaged the tender spot and turned around to spot Lea catching the frisbee just in time. Sora should’ve expected as much since it wasn’t uncommon for Lea, Isa, and Ven to have their fairly regular frisbee games around this time. Still, wasn’t it odd that it somehow hit his head?

“Yo! Sorry ‘bout that,” Lea called, waving.

“Aww, no biggie,” Sora called back. He returned his focus to Kairi once again but it didn’t take more than a few minutes before the frisbee hit him in the back of the head again. This time, Lea received a frown.

“Sorry, butterfingers!” Lea said, though this time Sora noticed Ven covering his mouth with both hands while Isa rolled his eyes.

Sora slowly turned back around to face Kairi, giving him an understanding smile. “Think maybe we should find a different spot?”

Sora shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’m sure it’s just an honest mistake.” Despite his words, his eyes narrowed as if he were waiting. Ten minutes passed and nothing occurred. The three seemed to continue about their own business. Sora let out a sigh of relief.

“Now, where were we?” Sora said, his usual smile returning before it was derailed less than a second later when the frisbee came hurtling right into the back of his head.

“Sorry again!” Lea apologized through the laughter he was failing horribly to stifle. “M-My fingers slipped!”

Sora growled, having had more than enough as he pushed himself off the tree, helping Kairi down all the while, as he took her hand and marched towards the seaside shack. Kairi had no objections but was left wondering where their next destination lied. “Where are we going?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Away from those jerks,” Sora said vaguely.

When Sora and Kairi exited the seaside shack, Lea and Ven were quick to catch up to them.

“Aww, where you goin’, buddy?” Lea asked, draping an arm around his shoulder as he pinched Sora’s cheek. “We didn’t mean to interrupt you guys. Was I disrupting the mood? It’s just that you two are just so darn cute.”

Sora grumbled under his breath but ignored Lea as he led (pulled, more accurately) Kairi inside the Secret Place, ignoring the howls of laughter from Lea and Ventus echoing in the short distance.

When Sora and Kairi made it inside, the former scoped the place out in search of any unwanted souls in the area. Thankfully, it looked empty as Sora let out a relieved sigh and smiled. He loved all of his friends dearly, but even he wanted some space every now and then to be with the girl of his dreams. He looked back at Kairi, their hands still attached.

“Think the coast is clear?” Kairi asked with a cheeky grin.

“Yeah, I think so.” Sora rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry about that. Hope I can at least make it up to you.”

Kairi shook her head softly as she wrapped her arms around the base of his neck, momentarily catching Sora by surprise before he carefully held her waist, bringing their foreheads together. “You already did.”

“I did?”

“Yes,” Kairi answered without hesitation. Her eyes traveled over to the drawings they made as kids handing each other a paopu fruit. “By just being you. I told you before all of this that I wanted you to never change and you haven’t. That’s more than enough for me.”

“Kairi...”

Before their lips could seal the deal, they heard a sharp squeal in the short distance. They immediately detached themselves from each other and scoped out the area.

“Who’s there?” Sora asked, returning to his previous look of defense.

Kairi narrowed her eyes, taking mindful steps as her eyes wandered over the cave until she heard hushed voices.

“I told you not to freak out over this, you dip,” said a hushed male voice.

“Shut up! They’re super cute! What do you want me to do?” asked an equally hushed female voice in return.

Kairi was able to pinpoint the voices from behind the large rock with a less than flattering face drawn on it. Making sure not to alert whoever happened to be back there, she tiptoed over until she looked behind the rock to find nothing. She raised her eyebrow.

Meanwhile, Sora turned around and saw two individuals making a poor attempt at being stealthy as they tried to crawl out of the Secret Place unseen. “Hey!” he shouted.

The two culprits, a.k.a Tidus and Selphie, looked up like deer caught in the headlights. The former of the two bumped into the rear of the latter, sending them both to the ground.

“Tidus? Selph?” Kairi voiced as she emerged from the other side of the rock.

Selphie scrambled back up to her feet, knocking Tidus back down in the process as she approached her best girl friend. “I-It’s not what it looks like!”

Tidus rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head. “Except it’s totally what it looks like.” The comment earned him a scowl from Selphie.

“Were you two spying on us?” Kairi asked.

Selphie bit her lip and averted her eyes. “W-Well, that’s uh...”

“It was her idea,” Tidus accused with a sharp finger pointed at Selphie, though the brunette didn’t deny it as she fiddled with her fingers.

“Selphie...” Kairi admonished.

“I’m sorry! I just heard you two like to come here a lot Lea and, uh... I dunno, I was a teeny bit curious to see how far you guys were gonna go. And you’re just soooo cute!”

Sora sighed as he shrugged defeatedly.

“That’s... sweet, Selphie, but boundaries would be nice sometimes, you know?” Kairi chastised kindly.

Selphie bowed her head in shame. “Yeah, I know...”

Sora crossed his arms. He was beginning to think this island was too crowded for his liking. “Well, uh, we’ll leave you two to it then,” he said somewhat hastily.

Kairi was caught off-guard when Sora moved past Selphie and took her hand in one swift motion as he hurried out of the Secret Place.

“W-Wait!” Selphie said, reaching out for them. “I just need to know if you guys have gotten to third-ba—”

Tidus covered Selphie’s mouth and pulled her back before she made the situation any more awkward than she already had.

“Just don’t, Selph.”

After having to feel the brunt of Lea’s teasing once again, Sora led Kairi to the wooden door leading to the cove. Sora and Kairi briefly examined the area before hopping across the broken bridge that led to the other side.

“Watch your step,” Sora warned.

Kairi puffed out her chest. “Hey, don’t you worry about me, I think by now I’ve learned a thing or twoowhoa!” she sputtered as she nearly tripped over herself when she landed on the other side before Sora caught her in the nick of time. He carefully brought her back up to her feet.

“You okay?” Sora asked with genuine concern.

Kairi found the will to stop ogling and cast him a smile. “Yes.”

They stood in a comfortable silence before they heard feet pattering against the sandy surface in the short distance.

“Woof, woof! Woof, woof!”

Before he even had a chance to react, Sora was tackled to the floor by Pluto and it only took a second longer for his face to be submerged in the dog’s drool.

“Aww, Pluto,” Sora whined, though Kairi couldn’t bite back the laughter that escaped her even if she wanted to. Once Sora’s face was appropriately drenched, he moved over to Kairi and would’ve nearly pounced on her as well if Kairi didn’t catch him in time. She still gave him plenty of chin scratches and pets to assure him his appearance wasn’t entirely unwelcome.

“It’s very nice to see you, too,” Kairi greeted. “How’ve you been, boy?”

“Gosh,” said a familiar high-pitched voice. “Sorry about that, you two. You know how Pluto can get sometimes.”

King Mickey approached them along with Riku. The latter chuckled as Kairi took a handkerchief out of one of the pockets of her pink shorts, dabbing Sora’s face once she was free from Pluto.

“Sorry, were we interrupting something?” Riku asked, a sly grin on his face.

Sora cleared his throat. “Uh, well...”

“Yes, you are,” Kairi answered boldly, though her words betrayed the smile on her face.

Riku raised his hands in defense. “Don’t mind us, we were just trying to get a little training in. But if you needed a little bit of privacy, then by all means...”

Riku stepped out of the way, presenting the rest of the cove to them, empty and barren for their disposal. Kairi sent an appreciative smile while Sora bashfully scratched his cheek.

“Thanks, Riku,” Sora said as he and Kairi moved past them. Riku playfully saluted while he and Mickey shared a chuckle. They were about to leave along with Pluto before they saw Lea charging in hot.

“Hey, Sora! I got somethin’ for ya,” he cried.

Riku calmly grabbed the back of Lea’s shirt before he could get any closer and yanked him back. “I don’t think so.”

“No, but it’s really important! I swear,” Lea said.

“What is it?” Mickey asked.

“I’m locked out of my house and I need his Keyblade to unlock it.”

Riku and Mickey shared a look. “You do realize more than half of us have Keyblades, right? Matter of fact, don’t you have a Keyblade?”

“And don’tcha live in Twilight Town?” Mickey added.

“I… I just moved here?” Lea gave a sheepish grin. “Today, actually. Crazy coincidence, am I right?”

Riku and Mickey shared a look of disbelief before nodding to affirm they were on the same page. Despite his protests, they grabbed Lea by his shoulders as they dragged him away from the scene.

Sora and Kairi were left to themselves as their eyes wandered the cove, a wave of nostalgia flooding over them both as memories lurked in every nook and cranny of this area of the island.

“Hey, remember when the raft used to be here?” Kairi asked as she wrapped her arms behind her back. “It’s almost like... this is where everything started.”

“How could I forget?” Sora asked with a chuckle. “We worked so hard on that thing. It’s a shame we never got to give it a try.”

“It’s a nice thought, wondering what would’ve happened had we been together the whole time setting sail on the sea. But honestly...” Kairi walked towards the shore, her arms tied behind her back as she looked to the sky wistfully. “If I could go back and change how everything went down, I don’t think I would.”

“Really?” Sora tilted his head.

Mm hm.” Kairi nodded, pursing her lips into a tight smile. “It may not have been ideal, but being able to go inside your heart, being able to see things through your eyes and feel the things that you felt... how much you cared about me and wanted nothing more than to make sure I was safe... maybe we’re this close because of that. And ever since then, no matter what, we always find our way back to each other again.” She turned around and faced him. “I wouldn’t trade that for anything. Not for one second.”

Sora was left speechless for a moment until a certain warmth washed him over. “Kairi...” he said quietly, his eyes trained on the sand. “I guess sometimes I just wish I could’ve done better for you. You spent all that time having to watch from the sidelines, waiting for me to come home because I kept leaving you all alone. I guess sometimes I wish I could’ve done better for you.”

Kairi sighed, but she settled into a gentle smile as she carefully approached him in good spirits. “Sora, go into your back pocket for me please.”

Sora raised an eyebrow. “Uh, sure.”

He did as told and dug into his back pocket and retrieved the good luck charm she had given him all those years ago. Since then, she wanted him to keep it permanently as a reminder of the bond they shared. Sora had come to treasure it deeply.

“Even if we’re apart, we’re not alone anymore,” Kairi said. “Remember that?”

Sora looked over the charm and the face, his own face, she drew grinning back at him. His eyes shimmered as the memories came back. “Yeah,” he said. “We made a promise.”

Kairi nodded. “We did. No matter what happens, no matter how far apart we are...”

She took Sora’s hand and gently closed them around the good luck charm.

“We’ll always find each other,” she said with a soft smile. “No matter what.”

After a moment of silence, Sora nodded. “You’re right.” He gripped his lucky charm harder. “I don’t think I would trade anything in the world for that either.”

“So, don’t worry about that stuff. In the end, I think it made me stronger. Not just me, but you too. And besides, I love you just the way you are, no matter how much of a hopeless goofball you are.”

“Thanks, Kai—hey, wait a minute! You take that back.”

Kairi giggled as she ran away. “But it’s the truth! You said it yourself.”

Sora grinned. “Okay, you asked for it!”

Sora chased Kairi all over the cove, leaving no stone unturned as they playfully teased each other all the while. Sora could have easily caught up to her before, but after all the training Kairi had received, she was a lot trickier to catch these days. Their misadventures ranged from running behind the coconut trees to splashing each other in the sea.

At one point, Kairi was running away after she casted Waterga magic on Sora (which Sora thought was cheating but at least he had an Aeroga spell to dry himself fast).

“Now, you’re really gonna get it!” Sora declared as he chased after her.

“I’d like to see you try!”

Sora looked ahead and put on a look of surprise. “Oh, hey Riku!”

Kairi stopped in her tracks. “Riku?” Before she had a second longer to react, Sora grabbed her by the waist from behind.

“Gotcha!” he said, a toothy smile as Kairi kicked her legs out.

“No!” she said in-between her giggles. “Lemme go, you lazy bum!”

“Nuh uh, I need my revenge.” Sora put on a malicious smile as he began tickling her sides. Kairi howled with uncontrollable laughter.

“Sora…! I-I can’t!” Kairi sputtered.

“Ha! Not so tough are ya now, huuuuhaaaaah!” Sora couldn’t finish his comment before he tripped over himself while backing up. He fell to his back, taking the brunt of the fall while he caught Kairi in the nick of time as she fell on top of his chest. They landed in the middle of shrubbery and gorgeous flowers that bloomed brilliantly near the ladder that led to the zipline.

After a brief stint of silence, they ultimately laughed at the situation at hand. This felt right. This was how it should’ve been. The stars had aligned and the universe was finally working in their favor. So it seemed, at least. Kairi wanted to last forever.

But she knew deep down all good things must come to an end.

“Hey,” she said suddenly. “I have a surprise for you.”

Before Sora could question her, she went into her back pocket and pulled out a paopu fruit. How she was able to carry that back there, she wasn’t sure but neither of them questioned it.

“I know we’ve already shared one before, but... I kind of want to relive that moment again,” Kairi admitted.

Sora didn’t say anything. He only offered a smile. A smile that communicated everything it needed to. He told her that she was safe, secure, and free of judgment. He told her that she was the apple of his eyes, the girl of his dreams, and his destiny. He told her how happy he was the first time she asked him to share one with him and he wanted nothing more than to do it again. All with one smile.

“You know I’ll come back to you, right?” he asked. “I won’t give up. I’ll never give up.”

Kairi’s smile turned solemn. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Sora took the paopu fruit from her possession and gently grazed his teeth on top of one of the spikes. Kairi took the initiative to nibble the other end, but before either could bite down, she cupped his cheek with her hand. Sora responded by using his index finger and thumb to carefully hold her chin.

The way he looked into her eyes with such a focus and confidence, it was enough to make a tear stream down her face. No matter what the situation, he always assured her that he would come back.

They both simultaneously bit down on the paopu fruit, solidifying their destiny to find each other once again, and in a turn of events, the fruit dissipated into sparkles that twinkled against the setting sun. They were still and locked firmly in the moment as they looked into each other’s eyes, her hand and his fingers still attached to each other’s faces, quietly admiring each other until Sora ended up being the first to break it.

“Don’t ever forget,” he said. “Wherever you go...”

Then Kairi woke up.

Reality settled as the memories slowly drifted back as she studied her room, the morning sun peeking through the slits of her blinds and its warmth faded from the translucent curtains. Eventually, she remembered it had been a year and a few months since Sora disappeared. She and the others were still hard at work looking for a way to bring him back home. But for a moment, she was relieved of the pain of her own uncertainty of his whereabouts and her lack of ability to see his kind smile beyond distant memories. It reminded her of the time when she first returned to the islands without Sora or Riku, except it was even more painful because her memory was fully intact.

He was there. He was so close. She could feel his touch. Everything felt so natural and real. Perhaps, in its own roundabout way, it was?

Maybe, just maybe... Sora was trying to communicate with her. Perhaps he wanted to assure her that he was okay and that he would return to her, but they could only meet in a dream. As the dream was nearing its end, she did recall her memories slowly rematerializing in the back corners of her mind and she had to assume the same could’ve been said for Sora as well as their fun-filled day on Destiny Islands without a care in the world came to an end. They both remembered that Sora still had to come back and he made sure to promise that he would.

Yes, it had to be him. Even the impossible couldn’t keep him away from her for long. No matter what the circumstances, Sora found a way.

Tears welled up in her eyes and they gradually slid down her cheeks as she looked out the window at the bright, morning sky.

“I’m always with you,” Kairi finished.

Credit for both of these amazing art pieces goes to my super talented friend, @amyhayanora!

#sokaiweek #kingdom hearts #sora #kairi #sokai

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mystical-strawberry-sheep · 3 years ago

Text

{Well, now that I've started, I don't rightly want to stop.}

⚠️ Trigger Warning⚠️

SPOILERS for Kingdom Hearts (up to 3), dark themes, depression/anxiety, trauma, low self-esteem, violence/battle

Don't Walk into the Darkness

Chapters:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

The gummi ship touched down first in a familiar orange sky. The soft, sleepy little town with an equally lazy population of people just carrying on with their lives with no ambitions stronger than the Struggle Tournament each year. It was a happy little place with quaint little buildings built upon sloping terraces and a sky perpetually blanketing the world in a hazy golden hue.

A small smile came to Aku's lips as she gazed over the nearing town. She had always enjoyed visiting this place. Oftentimes she was sent to here, primarily to observe the mansion in the woodland on the outskirts. She never understood why, but it was never like the Organization to explain much of anything to her. If she ever had pressing questions she almost always had to go directly to Lord Xemnas. He was always patient with her, though. Sometimes her fondest memories had been her talks with him while curled up in one of the empty chairs in the Room where Nothing Gathers.

The landing was far easier than the takeoff, and before long the two of them were exiting the gummi ship and taking in the bustle of the town. There in front of the train station Aku could properly gaze at the sunset filtering through candy pink clouds and admire it's beauty. There were so many great things about the worlds she had seen, she didn't see any reason to stick to just living on the island.

"Welcome to Twilight Town," Riku said, gesturing out to the scenery. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Aku nodded, "I've been here before, many times."

He made a soft noise of surprise, turning to look at her, "Really? When? I've been here a lot, but I don't remember seeing you."

She couldn't help a laugh. She had seen Riku a time or two, though at the time she didn't know it was him. She wouldn't learn that much until his infiltration into the Castle that Never Was, via a conversation she spied on after Xigbar's elimination at the hands of Sora.

"What's so funny?" Riku asked through a chuckle of his own.

"You wouldn't have," Aku ignored the second question to answer the first. "I was very good at hiding, and I always did so when I was around."

Riku scoffed, "You always were good at hiding. But you know, you really didn't have to. We wanted to be friends with you."

He lead her down towards the Tram Common where he assumed the others were. He hadn't seen them sitting atop the clocktower, so they must have been at work at the Bistro.

Aku averted her eyes as she followed after him, "I just... Don't fit in with anyone. And you three... You were always so close, I don't think anyone really thought they could compete with that, much less me."

Riku glanced back at her, "You know, Wakka and the others, they're my friends, too. I still played with them just like Sora and Kairi. Actually, a part of me wanted to be your friend, too. But I always kinda got that you wanted to be left alone. I didn't want to bother you."

Aku huffed, "Well, you certainly changed, didn't you?"

He chuckled, "Yeah, I did. I've done a lot of changing. You have too, it would seem."

She didn't combat that statement. It was true, but that's what happened when you interacted with Darkness. All of them, every person that came in contact with it, had certainly changed at least somewhat. She didn't have time to ruminate on that train of thought, however. She nearly ran into Riku's back as he stopped in the middle of the Tram Common, looking around for his friends. She stopped short just behind him, leaning back so as not to go face first into the fluff of his hair. She leaned to the side to glance past him, stepping back to make some distance.

"Mm, weird..." He muttered. "I really thought they'd be here..."

"Who're you--"

"Heeeey, Riku!"

Both turned to the sound of a third voice and were met with the sight of Lea and Isa approaching in their casual attire. Aku's jaw dropped when she saw Isa there. She was sure that they were completely done for after the battle against the guardians of light. She had no idea anyone other than Xigbar had made it out of that battle. A flurry of emotions descended upon her, and she could do little more than try to focus on breathing and keeping her tears at bay.

Riku perked up and moved to stand in front of her, "Axel, Isa! I was looking for you guys. Where are the others?"

Axel gestured over his shoulder, "In the Usual Spot. We heard you land but you never came. Heyner said you probably got lost and sent us out to fetch you."

Riku smacked his forehead, "The Usual Spot! Ugh, why didn't I think of tha--"

"Saïx?"

Riku stopped and turned to look back at Aku, who had finally gotten a good enough hold of herself to say something. Lea, too, stopped to look between the two.

Isa's eyebrows arched as recognition dawned on him, "Kaxu."

"Do... You two know each other...?" Riku asked, surprised that Aku would know Isa of all people.

The diviner was quick to answer the question, seeing Aku still hadn't quite recovered from the shock, "Yes. For a time, Kaxu was part of the Organization. She wasn't considered an official member, but she worked and lived with us nonetheless."

Axel raised a brow, "I don't remember seeing her."

"Me either," Riku said. "And I was doing a lot of spying on the Organization. I can't imagine I would have missed her."

"You wouldn't remember her, Lea. You had already defected from the Organization when she arrived. And I can assure you, Riku, that she was most certainly there. We sent her to keep an eye on you a number of times, as a matter of fact. But like I said, she wasn't considered a member of the Organization, and her work was even more secretive than our usual kind."

Aku shook her head, snapping herself out of her trance, and marched closer, past Riku, "Wait...! Wait, I need, I thought you were dead...! What happened? What--"

Isa looked down at her, "No, not at all. All of the members of the Organization reformed as their whole selves after their defeat, just like you. Why wouldn't that be the case?"

Aku looked down, a bit embarrassed, "W-well... This was the second time, and... And Lord Xemn--"

"You don't have to use his title," Isa cut in. The disgust in his voice made Aku flinch. "We destroyed his whole self, and that is why. The Master Xehanort that pursued you is the very same as Xemnas was, and he had to be destroyed. Isn't that why you didn't join the New Organization?"

Riku blinked, "Wait... She was going to join the New Organization...? Where was she?"

Aku shook her head, and this time Isa took pity on her, "That... Isn't my business to say. But... That all being said, it is good to see you made it home, Kaxu."

"Aku, that's her name," Riku clarified.

Aku bit her lip, "Wait, if everyone is fine, then... Demyx, Luxord..."

"I don't know their whereabouts," Isa said. "But Xaldin is well. His real name is Dilan."

She cast her eyes to the ground, her hopes dashed just the same moment that they were lifted. On the bright side, at least Xaldin was okay and accounted for. She was sure he wouldn't be happy to see her, seeing as how she used to always pester him. But maybe, if she managed to get away from Riku, she could find out where he was. She could go stop by and see him, even if just from a distance.

A thought struck Riku as he watched her. He needed someone to help keep Aku close to him, at least long enough to stem that darkness of hers. He needed someone to convince her it was better to be closer to the light. If Isa knew her, perhaps he could be the one to do that. He was sure if he asked Isa would definitely make the effort. But how to let him know without keying in Aku? If he said it outright she might very well run.

Furrowing his brow in thought, he lifted his chin to gesture to Axel, "Hey, want to go to the others? These two... Maybe we should give them some time alone, don't you think?"

Axel raised a brow, tucking his hands in his pockets, "What? Why? Let's just introduce her to the whole gang."

Of course Axel wouldn't get it... but... He turned a meaningful stare to Isa, and the way the diviner's brows quirked in response led him to believe he was definitely picking up on something.

"They haven't seen each other in a while, though," Riku responded, keeping eye contact with Isa now. "They probably have a lot to get off of their chests. Aku seems like she does anyway."

He turned his eyes then to the scar on Aku's forehead, and Isa followed his gaze. By now Axel had noticed the glances and understood that something was going on here, but he didn't understand what exactly. he narrowed his eyes and leaned back to wait for Isa's response. Aku, too, furrowed her brows as she looked at Riku, confused as to why he would say such a thing.

Isa studied her scar, remembered that it was a wellspring of darkness. He wondered if Riku had been having trouble with her, or the scar. Considering the journey he had taken, it was no surprise that he was getting involved with her. He nodded and took a couple of steps closer to Aku, trying to remain casual enough to keep from alarming her.

"You're right," he muttered. "There is an awful lot I have to say to her. You and Lea go on ahead."

Riku nodded and turned to head to the Usual Spot, waving for Axel to follow. Axel still didn't quite understand, but he trusted Riku and Isa. Whatever it was, it must have been important. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned to follow Riku back up to the others and allowed Isa to lead Aku away.

Isa took Aku first to collect some ice cream then lead her to the top of the clocktower. It wasn't uncommon for the whole group to be here, but for now it was abandoned. He'd discovered with the help of the others that this was always a good place for long and deep discussions. Aku surely needed one of these, or else Riku wouldn't have seemed so insistent.

Aku puzzled over the ice cream in her hand as she dangled her legs from the side of the tower. Saïx had never appeared to be to her someone who did these kinds of things. Even though they had never gone this far out of the way, she had fond memories of relaxing and playing card games with Luxord or listening to Demyx play his sitar. Saïx had always been a serious and overly formal individual, wanting no amount of closeness to anyone. It wasn't real, he'd always insisted, and therefore it wasn't worth it. Had he changed since regaining his heart? Or was it just worth it now that he had one?

"It's ice cream," Isa prompted after seeing her perplexed expression. "You eat it."

Aku looked up, snapping from her train of thought, "What?"

"In your hand. It's ice cream."

She laughed softly, "I know that."

"So eat it."

The manipulator made a soft noise and chomped onto the corner of the treat. It was a sharp, cold feeling in her mouth, something that felt real and grounding. The taste was a perfect combination of salty and sweet, too, lulling her even as it snapped her to attention.

"Where did you go after the battle against Xehanort?" Isa asked, breaking the heavy silence.

"Home," Aku said softly. "But there was nothing for me there. I didn't belong."

"Not like you did in the Organization?" Isa asked.

"Precisely," she replied, gazing out at the sunset. "No one there needs me or remotely cares if I'm around. There wasn't a reason to stay, so I was going to leave."

Isa cut his eyes at her, "And I take it you attempted to use the darkness to do that."

"Naturally," she replied.

"Well, I think Riku for one very much cares that you're around. Otherwise he wouldn't have brought you with him."

Aku narrowed her eyes at the sun, "I don't know what Riku's trying to do... He insisted on bringing me with him to... I don't know. Run errands I suppose."

"He's worried about you," Isa clarified. "He's trying to help you."

Aku furrowed her brows in frustration, "I don't need his help."

Isa turned sharp eyes to her, making sure he locked her gaze to his, "He is your friend, Aku. He's doing his best to help you. The least you can do is humor him."

Aku frowned, "Like you're one to talk."

Isa took a deep breath, and in that moment he looked very much like the person she remembered from the Castle that Never Was. Somehow that was almost comforting. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"You're right," he said slowly. "I used to have a terrible attitude towards my friends. I was jealous, and I was angry. I wanted to pretend I didn't have emotions because I wanted so desperately to run away from them. If I recall correctly, you used to chastise me about that, did you not?"

Aku turned her eyes away, a little embarrassed, "Well... I wouldn't call it chastising..."

"It took dying in Lea's arms for me to finally understand that I didn't have to compete for friendship. That I wasn't alone, no matter what I had been thinking. The same can be said for you, Aku. You don't have to run to other worlds. Riku, and Lea, and myself, and everyone else that has had ties to Sora... We will be there to support you. You can't help that you have darkness inside you. But you don't have to run away from everyone. I know you're afraid of it. You always have been."

Aku bit her lip, "I just..."

"Riku has already fought the darkness and won. He's been in the same place as you, had the same questions. He understands what you're going through, maybe better than anyone else save perhaps Terra. If there's anyone that can help you cope with the darkness within you, it's him. I suggest you give him your time."

Aku sighed softly, biting off a little bit of the ice cream, "But... What if I disappoint him...?"

Isa studied her for a moment, taken aback by the sudden shift in attitude. He had almost forgotten how soft and sensitive she could be at times, as a nobody anyway. He remembered how Xemnas used to pet her and reassure her like a loving parent. The first time he'd witnessed it he'd been shocked and almost disgusted, but it didn't take him long to understand why he behaved that way with her. Kaxu had been most receptive to kindness and most obedient when she felt loved. Being gentle with her always got the best results from her. It was a manipulation tactic, just as he had manipulated everyone else in the Organization. The problem here being that Isa wasn't sure Aku had ever really learned that Xemnas didn't care about her. It was only with hesitance and complete determination that she had refused the New Organization. Perhaps she never truly realized just how terrible a person Xehanort and his kin were. Regardless, that tenderness that she had had from back then still seemed to be there, buried under the thick layer of armor she had built up after the first Organization's death. He knew what he had to do, even if it was still very much unlike him. Tenderness was something he was still learning how to harness.

He reached out and squeezed her shoulder gently, "Listen to me, Aku. It takes a great deal to adjust from living a life within the darkness. Riku understands that, he lived it. There is no way you could disappoint him now except to completely push him away. It's the same for all of us. Mm, I used to guide you, remember? I gave you orders and sent you on your way, and if you were ever confused about a mission you knew to come to me for reassurance. I will always be here for you, even if you're unsure with Riku. And right now, I'm telling you that this is the correct path. Understand?"

Aku leaned over against his shoulder, finally letting that apprehension melt away to embrace the comfort she felt around the old Number VII, "Okay... I know... I can trust you, at least."

The two of them sat in relative silence for a while, finishing off their ice creams as they observed the setting sun. Isa might have suggested to leave afterwards, but Aku still seemed a little tense, and he didn't want to push her after such a serious talk.

It wasn't until several minutes after this that Aku finally spoke up, "Your eyes... They're different."

Isa glanced down at her, "I'm no longer a vessel of darkness. I don't hold any part of Xehanort in me, and so... Well, you see the result."

"I like them. You look good."

He chuckled softly, "Well, thank you. I also rather like that I'm no longer under Xehanort's control. Mm, why don't we go back? The others are waiting for us."

Aku took a deep breath and stood up, "Yeah, you're right. I'm nervous, but..."

Aku nodded and followed him down, heading towards the Usual Spot to meet the rest of Riku's and Isa's friends.

"Don't worry," he cut in, standing to lead her back down the clocktower. "I'll be there to help you."

#fanfiction: storybook #oc #kingdom hearts #riku #saix/isa #isa #saix #original character #fanfiction #fanfic #fandom aku: where the gates lead #kh aku: door to darkness

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