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[Jun. 26th, 2009|07:13 pm] |
Praise me for getting this silly thing posted. Word crapped out on me like seven times. Technology can be a real bitch.
Chapter 3 of Nobody Fades. Cowritten with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) stellawind.
Title: Nobody Fades
Spoilers: All the way through KH2.
Characters/Pairing: Sora, Roxas. Will be Sora/Riku/Kairi, with others later on.
Summary: "Why do you need to die for me to be complete?" Sora won't settle for this, and Roxas is finding that having a heart again is a lot harder than he'd thought it would be. But if Sora, Riku, and Kairi can't figure out who's behind the new attacks, it'll be a moot point.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
The lazy summer days were split almost evenly between time on the small island the three called theirs, and their home island. What time they had missed, they had desperately been trying to make up. It was early morning when they met, Kairi last to come to the beach, with bread, coconut, and jam that made their breakfast.
By unspoken agreement they waded out to the island together, and went to the beach that they had built the raft. Facing out to the seeming endless sea, it was where they played and talked about anything that popped into their minds.
"So, if the Beast's curse is broken and he isn't a beast anymore, what do we call him?" Sora asked.
Kairi shrugged. “You never asked his name?"
"No... I mean, he introduced himself as the Beast. But he must've had a real name."
"Next time we see him, we can ask," Riku said. "Or you could write Mickey and ask."
Sora knew that Riku was close to the king, with the time they had spent together in the darkness, but he had a hard time thinking of King Mickey without the 'King' attached to his name.
"Speaking of which, it's been about a week," Kairi said. "We should be getting another letter soon."
Sora sat up and shaded his eyes, scanning the horizon. "I don't see it yet."
King Mickey had been keeping in touch, even though nothing exciting had been happening. They usually got a letter every week or so, but it had been almost ten days since the last letter.
"He's been pretty busy," Riku offered. "The last message for me said that he wished that he could spend more time at the castle."
"What's he been doing?" asked Kairi, picking up a stray shell.
Riku shrugged. "Hasn't said."
Kairi opened her mouth to say something else, but her eyes focused on a distant point. Sora followed her gaze but saw nothing. With a sigh, he slumped back onto the sand.
"Maybe we could ask the King about getting Roxas his own body. He might know something," Sora offered.
Can I mention again how much I object to this idea?
"If anyone knows where to start, it’d be him," Riku agreed.
"Let's at least try that," Sora said, agreeing with Riku, listening to the almost sputtering from Roxas.
Can you just drop it already? Roxas asked.
“And Naminé, too,” Sora added, ignoring Roxas’s protests. “We can ask about her.”
"She says she's still not sure," Kairi reported, eyes still scanning the water. "But she is curious."
After a moment, she perked up. "Hey! There it is!" she pointed.
"Alright!" Sora yelled, running for the water. "I'll get it!"
Sand flew as he ran to the water, then he waded until the water was past his knees, The bottle was bobbing past the breaking waves, but sure enough, the King's seal on it was clear and easy to make out. He swam back with one hand tightly clenched around the neck of the bottle.
"You know your mom's going to be upset that you didn't at least change into swim trunks?" Riku reminded him when he got back. “She's always complaining about the salt in your clothes anyway."
Sora shrugged. “I'll rinse them out later. Here, someone whose hands aren't wet needs to open this."
Immediately, Riku snagged the bottle and broke the wax seal around the cork as he pulled it out. He turned the bottle over and shook out the rolled letter. Breaking the King's seal, he unrolled the letter.
Sora noticed that it was just a letter from the king, no further notes rolled up with the letter from Donald or Goofy. Nothing from one of the other princesses for Kairi. Not even another letter just for Riku from the King.
Riku was frowning. "There's trouble. Mickey's sending someone for us."
"And we just got home too," Kairi murmured, taking the letter from Riku to read for herself.
"You could probably stay, if you wanted," Riku said, clearly not enchanted by the idea, but willing.
Sora winced even as Riku offered.
"And let you two go tearing off for who knows how long?" Kairi said indignantly. “No way. You're stuck with me."
Sora wiped his hands dry on Riku's shirt and reached for the letter. “Can I see that?"
Kairi handed it to him and he read the first few lines.
"I'm sorry to give you bad news," the letter read, "but we've got trouble again. The Heartless are being controlled, maybe even summoned through a door to the darkness. I'd suspected it since I got back, but I didn't want to call you away from home after you'd just got back. Now that I'm sure, we need you again. I'm sending someone to get you. He should be there within a day or two of you getting this letter."
Sora sighed. “Oh, man. Who could be stupid enough to open a new door to the darkness?"
"It could be anyone," Kairi said. “Anyone powerful enough to control the Heartless."
"And evil enough to try," Riku said, his mouth in a firm line.
Sora scuffed at sand with his foot. "At least we know that we're going, we'll have time to pack."
"And," Kairi added softly, "Time to tell our parents."
***
"You're back early," said his mother, taking off her reading glasses, and laying them over her work. "Did Kairi need to go somewhere with her parents?"
Sora shook his head. "Something came up. We got a letter, from the King."
"What does it say?" asked his mother, her tone too neutral.
"He needs us. There's trouble again, something about someone messing with the Heartless. We don't know who, but I'm needed."
“You’re leaving again?” she concluded. She looked like she was about to cry, and Sora chewed his bottom lip guiltily.
“It won’t be for very long this time,” he said quickly, trying to help. “And I’ll be okay. I’ll have Riku and Kairi with me. The King needs us and – “
His reassurances were cut off but his mother’s fierce hug. “I know you have to go. I just don’t want you to. Please, just promise me you’ll be careful and come home in one piece.”
Sora hugged his mom back, and wondered when exactly he’d reached her height. “I promise, mom.” Thinking about it for a minute, he added, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said. She let him go and wiped her eyes. “Now, let’s get your bag packed. You’ll forget something important like your toothbrush, otherwise.”
***
His mother accompanied him to the beach the next morning. They met with Riku and Kairi at the beach and waded out to the island. It was just a little bit weird to have an adult there with them, but no one was about to tell her that she couldn’t see them off.
“Our ride will probably be here soon,” Sora said once they got to the beach.
His mother nodded.
“Promise me you’ll watch out for each other?” she asked. “I know what you’re doing is dangerous, and I know it’s more dangerous than you’re telling me about. I want all of you to come back in one piece.” She hugged Sora with one arm and Riku with the other. She opened her arms again and called to Kairi. “And you, Kairi. You’re my kid too.”
Kairi joined the hug. “Thanks, Aunt Hisui.”
“What, you think I wouldn’t hug any of you?” she kissed Kairi’s forehead. “Besides, I can tell you aren’t in a good mood.”
“I had a fight with my parents over this,” Kairi admitted. “I know they were just worried, but they tried to stop me from coming.”
Sora winced. That certainly wouldn’t have gone over well.
The hug tightened. "Just come back safe, okay?"
Sora nodded, and began to say something, as gulls suddenly began to cry. Pulling away from the hug, he looked out over the stretch of coastline.
All along it, gulls and other birds flew into the air, away. Above the gulls’ cries, Sora heard a faint rumble, and then the air was filled with a thundering roar. Above in the sky, a burning dot was growing larger and larger.
The dot grew larger still, faint shapes taking on the recognizable form of a gummi ship. Then, the noise died and the air stilled. The shrill cries of the gulls filled the air again as the ship landed, throwing sand into the air.
The hatch popped open, and Sora stared.
No. The protest was almost a shout in his head. It... it's not!
"It's not," he murmured, though he'd had the same gut reaction. The man wasn't Axel. His hair was the same color, his face and eyes similar and he carried himself the same way, but the man wasn't Axel.
A wave of relief hit him from Roxas.
It's not him.
"He could have been this guy's Nobody," Sora said quietly.
It's not him, Roxas snapped. It's just an uncanny resemblance.
"So, you three kids the ones?" the man called. "Got your Keyblades and all that?"
With a flick of his wrist, Riku called his Keyblade up, and then dismissed it.
"Show off," whispered Sora.
Riku grinned at him, and then faced the other man. "We have our stuff. I'm Riku, and this is Sora and Kairi. You are?"
"Name's Reno. " He squinted at them. "And you?"
"Hisui. I'm Sora's mother." She had drawn herself up to her full height, a hand coming to rest on Sora's shoulder.
Reno blinked. "You ain't coming, are you?" he ventured, looking taken aback.
"Just seeing my kids off." Sora wasn't sure, but it almost felt like there was a warning in there, somewhere.
"Right. I know the drill, yo." Reno said, shrugging languidly, stepping aside so Kairi could get onto the ship.
Sora gulped. The shrug and that tone had been much too similar for comfort. "Did you see that?"
Not him. Roxas sound choked, like he wanted to say something else.
"See what?" asked his mother.
Sora looked at her guiltily. "Nothing, mom. Just..."
"Just Sora being Sora," said Riku, brushing by with his bag over his shoulder. He shoved Sora's backpack at him. "We can and will go without you," he teased.
Sora shot a look of gratitude at him. "It's a tight schedule, isn't it?"
"Yeah, no shit!" yelled Reno from hatch of the gummi ship. "I'm only doing this as a favor to Cloud. The sooner we're up, the sooner I'm back in Radiant Garden."
With one last hug, Sora broke away from his mother, and boarded the gummi ship.
Reno shut the hatch behind him, and pointed him to the open seat, before sitting in pilot seat, running his hands over the flight board. After a moment, the ship shuddered to life.
"Y'know," Reno began, as the ship gained altitude, and the speck that was his mother blended into the ocean. "You shouldn't talk to that person in your head out loud. Makes people look at ya funny."
"Someone told you about Roxas?" Sora asked.
"Half of Radiant Garden knows, yo. And about half of them are convinced he's gonna turn you evil."
Sora frowned. "Why? I mean, he's not the same as me, but he's not that much different, either."
Reno shrugged. "People are stupid like that."
See? Roxas said. Imagine how they'd react if I was walking next to you. Just leave well enough alone.
No. Sora replied simply. It's not 'well enough' yet.
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