Dark Night of The Soul- Philip Wesley
Namine stopped leaning on the tree and stood upright, nodding once more. They needed to get a move-on if they were going to find Sora before things got worse.
The Approaching Night- Philip Wesley
Namine nodded in agreement with Roxas. There was no way they would let Kairi walk into a dangerous situation all by herself, especially when Roxas was under orders from Sora to protect her. Before Roxas had even spoken, she had known he would say something like that. Sora repositioned himself into a battle-stance and summoned the Kingdom Key into his right hand, his eyes never leaving Johnis. "What're you getting out of this?" he questioned, trying to talk the man out of a fight. If he was a bounty hunter, than a fight would be a challenge. Sora was hoping to avoid it completely, if he could. "Money," Johnis said simply. He smiled for a moment and then frowned, charging at the Keyblade bearer with weapon in hand. Sora deflected the blow and then the battle began.
Namine looked up at Kairi, seeing a look in her eye that she immediately understood. "Through your heart?" Namine guessed aloud. That was the only way she could think of possibly working, anyway. Sora clenched his fist more tightly. "I'm not going with you," he said evenly, anger rising up inside him. There was no way he'd willingly leave behind his loved ones, ever. He'd fight if he had to, which he was getting a feeling he would. The sense of doom depend in his heart when he saw a dark cloud swirling around the bounty hunter's hand. Johnis summoned a blade into his right hand, his dark green eyes staring at the bright blue across from him. "You don't have a choice," he said darkly. "I'm taking you."
Namine frowned, looking down at the ground. "But we don't even know where he is," she pointed out softly. How were they supposed to help if they didn't even know where he was? And there was no way to contact him, since if something was happening, he probably couldn't answer his cell phone. Sora froze. He hadn't been expecting this turn at all. So...Johnis led me here so that he could take me hostage, he thought, piecing things together quickly. And then another thought struck him, one that explained more about what Johnis had in mind the past few days. "You told me to break up with Kairi because you didn't want anyone looking for me," he said, his facing turning a little paler. Johnis smiled widely, pleased that Sora wasn't as dumb as he had heard. "Very good," he said proudly. "Yes, that's exactly why I had you take that action. And then, of course, I had to watch you for the past few days to make sure you didn't talk to anyone else. Apparently she was your only friend, eh, Keyblade brat?" Sora frowned, but he didn't argue. This man had obviously failed in his research for his mission if he thought Sora didn't have any other friends on this planet. Still, though, in this case, having Johnis thinking this way worked to his advantage. It probably sped up the process. But, did he really want that? Or would it have been better to sit in suspense for a few days? After all, he was in grave danger now...
Namine nodded solemnly. Yup, something was definitely going on. The question was, what was it? And how serious was it? Apparently it was pretty bad, since Sora wasn't talking. Sora scoffed. "Like I'd ever help you!" he said, rolling his eyes. Was this guy insane? Why in the world would he believe that Sora would help him track down and kill a person who was like a brother to him? "If he hears I have you hostage," Johnis started, "then he'll come running."
"When did you start feeling this way?" Namine asked, standing upright and leaning lightly against the tree. She had a feeling it had been brought up pretty recently, but she didn't want to assume anything incorrectly. Sora clenched his hand in a fist lightly, hating the term that people also called him. "Who are you?" he asked, bravely taking a step forward. At that moment, it didn't look like things would turn violent. Before he summoned his Keyblade, he was going to get some answers. "A bounty hunter. You can call me Johnis," the man said with a small smile. "You see, I was sent to hunt down that Riku kid. Don't know why; I just do the hunting for a bounty. My boss told me about you, and that if I couldn't find Riku, I could always force it outta you." Sora looked at Johnis in awe, unbelieving. Actually, he completely believed it. All the pieces were fitting together now...all too perfectly. "But I don't know where he is," Sora said through gritted teeth, the teen glaring at the villain in front of him. "I believe that," Johnis said with a nod. "That's why I'm going to have to find another way to acquire Riku. And you can help me with that."
Namine set a hand on the ground and started to stand herself up, a frown appearing on her lips. If Sora wasn't talking, then that was certainly not good. What's going on...? Sora whirled around at the voice, the teen seeing a man standing in the center of the rink. He grunted softly and ran over, jumping over a small wall to get into the enclosed area. "Where's Riku?!" he hollered, worried when he didn't see his friend anywhere. The man shrugged. "Why don't you tell me?" he said evenly. "You're his best friend; you must have some clue which worlds he's visiting." Sora took a step back in surprise. "Wait...w-what...?" He was extremely confused. Riku was supposed to be with this man, but, was he? He had to have been, though, since this man had known who Riku was. Or was it a bit of truth mixed with a lie? "That's right," he confirmed. "You tell me where he is, Keyblade brat. Now."
Namine had been sitting against a tree in Roxas' backyard when the interruption occurred. She thought nothing of Kairi's arrival until she saw the distressed look on her friend's face. Any previous notions she had about a peaceful day faded away, concern finding a place on the blond's face. Sora set his skateboard down right inside the building and went further in. The only reason he could see was because of a few windows and some holes in the ceiling. Then his eyes landed on the rink itself, which wasn't too damaged. He turned around, scanning the area for signs of a threat. "Glad you could make it."
Sora made it there in about five minutes. He slowed down when he was outside, the teen inspecting the building without thought. It was a Roller Rink that had been abandoned long before he had ever known about New York. He cautiously held his skateboard in his hand and headed toward the door.
No matter what happened to him, though, Sora knew he had to fight for Riku. Even if Riku was freed and he was taken captive....As much as Sora didn't like the thought, it was better than the present state of things, anyway. But, what if I have to leave Roxas, and Namine, and...Kairi?
Sora hopped on his board once he reached the sidewalk and started riding, keeping his eyes on the path in front of him. He had no clue what was going to happen, but he wouldn't contact Kairi until he knew for sure. It would only take him a few minutes to get there, and then once he met this man face-to-face, he would definitely get some answers.
Just like the other phone calls, this one ended with Sora being hung up on. The brunet stuffed his phone into his pocket and rose to his feet without hesitation. Thankfully, he already had on a pair of black sneakers. He'd leave right away on his skateboard and get to the building pretty quickly. He headed toward the door and grabbed the board on the way out, shutting the door behind him. As he went down his walkway, he tried not to think deeply on what was going to happen. It made him feel a sense of impending doom in his heart.
Every morning and every night, Sora would take extra time to communicate with Kairi. Mostly he would assure her that everything was alright with him, and that nothing new had come up with Riku, either. He wasn't sure what that meant, but still, that was how it was. Suddenly his phone rang in his pocket, making his heart skip a beat. His phone hadn't rung at all in the past few days. He pulled it out and flipped it open, knowing who it would be. "Hello?" "I'm ready to meet you. Come to the Roller Rink at 3rd and Cherry." "Why?" Sora bravely asked. This didn't make sense to him...why would he want to meet him? Didn't the villain want Sora to do some kind of dirty work for him? "I'll accept you in exchange for your friend. That is, unless you'd rather have him die?" Sora exhaled a heavy breath, furrowing his eyebrows in anger. The way he said it, it didn't seem like Sora had much of a choice. "I'll be there," he said quietly, anger and surprise coming through in his voice.
Four days later... It was the fourth day after receiving the phone call from the stranger that was trying Sora's patience. It was mid-morning now, and, as he had been doing for the past few days, he was alone and staring aimlessly at the television. He hadn't gotten any new phone calls, and that made him nervous. What if he was wrong about all this, and it was all just an elaborate prank?
Okie dokie. =)
Okay, I'll be here. =) And would you be alright with a time gap when you return? I can lead it, if you want.
Namine felt reassured by Kairi's optimism, and that in turn put a small smile on her lips. If Kairi was sure that things would be alright, then so was Namine. She trusted Kairi's instincts; her friend had always had a good sense of the situations around her.
Yuna's Ballad- FFX-2
