KH3 Another Side, Another Story

Title: KH3 Another Side, Another Story
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything that deals with Square Enix, never have never will.
Summary: Riku’s been dealing with some issues since his two best friends have decided to start a relationship, yet even a complete stranger can prove to help him out. What’s more is that this stranger is no stranger to the darkness, could this person help unravel the dark past of the Keyblade War, and the Chasers?

Chapter 1: Destati

“Hey Riku, you aren’t coming?â€

“Naw, I’m good here, you two go ahead.â€

“Are you sure?â€

“Don’t worry about it Sora, I have some things to do here anyway,†the teenager waited for his friend to finish speaking once more, “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll talk to you later.†With that he clicked, and stuffed his cell phone back into his pocket.

The boy walked down the shores of the beach, letting the afternoon sun touch his skin. Riku was wearing a white sleeveless, with black cargo pants, and stripped shoes. He still looked the same as he did a couple of months ago when he finally came back home. His other friends had remembered him, and they did forgive him for the sins he committed in the past, they knew he did something wrong, just that they never bothered to ask what it was.

Riku’s turquoise eyes scanned the clear water of the beach, and seemed to be shimmering, just like it always did. He sat down at stared out into the ocean, collecting his thoughts just relaxing. And that’s all he ever did, he just relaxed.

‘We’ll be the darkness…’ those were the very words he said to Sora. Now that the light was restored the darkness was the only thing left.

Other than that there were other things on his mind. He was happy that Sora and Kairi decided to start dating each other, but he didn’t always want to tag along with them. They needed their space, so he figured leaving them be sometimes was good for them.

Riku never really cared about dating, he was always busy training to always get better than Sora. To be honest he never thought about dating, or going out by himself. The only time he could be found by himself, alone, was only when he went to island where the three of them use to play as children.

Sure at times he would go out, but that was only when he felt really bored. A lot of people would just call him lazy, and maybe they had a good reason to do that…

At that point his phone rang out a melody, and Riku blinked for a couple of seconds. ‘Who is it now?’ he thought while he answered the phone.

“Riku, Sora told me you can’t come, is that true?â€

“Yeah, but don’t worry Kairi, I’ll be okay. You two deserve some time alone together.â€

“Wha, Riku?!†she protested.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, you two!†Riku said teasing the two of them.

“Yeah we’ll be on our best behavior,†Sora’s voice could be heard in the background.

“All right then Riku, we’ll talk to you later.â€

Then there was silence, and he placed his phone back into his pocket. He was getting ready to head back home. ‘I think I’m just getting lazy…’ he thought as he made it down the pier to his boat.

Now to Sora and Kairi…​

Sora walked alongside Kairi, and both were talking about their friend Riku. The wine-red haired girl looked at her crush, and sighed. The brunette just looked at her feeling a bit confused about the whole thing.

“He’s been acting like this since we started to date,†Kairi said staring at the ground as they walked. “You think he’s feeling left out?â€

“I don’t think so, I think he’s just giving us some space,†Sora said trying to cheer up his date.

“Hey, you know what, we should by him some sea-salt ice cream later on.†She said.

“Yeah that’s a good idea. I just really think he needs a girlfriend…â€

“Are we gonna start this all over again?â€

“I’m just saying…â€

Kairi just sighed and decided to just let it go. In part Sora did seem to hold some truth into what he just said. They both did start to think that Riku needed to start dating, either that, or at least go out some more.

“He’s just getting lazy.†They both said.

About a couple of feet away from them there was a park. The two teenagers decided that they should hang out there for the day. Sora picked out a spot under one of the big trees that was there. There were a couple of hills here and there, and it was very green. Kairi spotted out a little puppy that was running around.

“It’s so cute,†Kairi said pointing out to Sora. “I wish I could have one…â€

“That thing? It’s so… so little…†he frowned a bit looking at the puppy.

“It is a puppy after all…†Kairi remarked.

The puppy was coming closer towards them, and the owner was nowhere to be seen for now at least. Sora tried to shoo the animal away, he thought it belonged to some crazy person. He had a bad experience when a cat was following him because he smelled like tuna, and some lady thought he was abducting cats…

Kairi patted the puppy softly, and smiled at the little thing. It had these curious looking ears with a lot of fur sticking out. It had a black and tan tinted coat, it looked like a terrier, or some sort of mix.

Kairi was watching the dog as it was sniffing the area where Sora was sitting. He was blissfully unaware of the situation.

“Sora, I think that dog has to use the potty…â€

“He can go around.â€

“But I don’t think he can hold it…â€

In the distance the most awful sound ever known to man could be heard at least two blocks away. Birds were scared out of the trees, and a couple of people looked at the problem.

“…†Sora blinked and looked at the side of his shirt. It was very moist, and it had a bad smell to it. He just stared at the puppy still trying to figure out what had happened to him. “I got peed on… It actually peed on me…â€

“I was trying to tell you to move…†Kairi couldn’t help but laugh at this whole thing.

The animals ears perked up, and it looked ahead, it could see someone running towards them. It was person around their age. She was wearing a pair of jeans, and a black shirt with the word ‘The Black Mages’ printed in white, and black sport shoes with yellow stripes on them. She had light brown skin, and dark brown hair with blue streaks. Her eyes were of a dark color, probably a dark brown.

“Chico, bad dog,†she said waving a finger to the dog, and scolding him with her firm voice. She turned to Kairi and Sora, “I’m really sorry if he was any trouble, he likes coming here from time to time…â€

“We’re okay…It’s just that…†Kairi then explained what had happened.

“Oh that… He does that to people he doesn’t like,†the owner said feeling a bit embarrassed. “I’m really sorry he did that… Sora was it?†she said looking at the blue eyed teen.

“Yeah, but don’t worry I’ll live…†he said starting to take off his stained shirt. He had an extra shirt underneath.

“I-..I can wash it for you if you like.†She offered. “I’m really sorry we ruined your date though…†she bowed slightly. She noted the blush on the other two, and smiled. “We’ll be on our way then, come on Chico let’s go.†And with that they walked away.

Now to Riku…​

Riku was walking down the sidewalk, trying to play that game the little kids use to play, the one where you use to avoid stepping on the cracks. He frowned as he saw his foot underneath one of the cracks, even as a little kid he could never do it all the way.

Riku pushed some of the silver strands away from his face, he was pretty close to his house, and it wasn’t that far away from the park where Sora and Kairi were at. ‘I could really go for some sea-salt ice-cream,’ he thought as he started to get a craving for it.

“Chico, hey!†a girl yelled out close to his house.

Riku looked at the scene and noted that she was trying to get her dog back; it had wandered into his yard. She looked around, and stepped onto his lawn, and snatched the dog up. It ended up getting away from her though as it had struggled in her arms, and she couldn’t hold on to the animal.

Riku was still on his way to house and decided to help the girl, if she still couldn’t get her dog. He felt something tug on the lace of his right shoe, he looked down and saw the puppy playfully pull the lace, it growled at the shoe.

“Chico, hey leave that guy alone.†The girl said in a firm voice. At that moment the puppy went back to the owner’s side.

Riku finally let his eyes catch a glimpse of the owner. She had light brown skin, with blue streaks on her dark brown hair, she looked to be Kairi’s age. She wore a fan made shirt with the name of a band called ‘The Black Mages’, with jeans and black tennis shoes with yellow stripes. He was able to make out that she had dark colored eyes.

“He’s been causing some trouble today…†she said shyly, as she finally looked at Riku, and noticed what he was wearing. She stared down at the ground, and then looked at her puppy. “He peed on some guy today…†she finally picked the puppy up and held him tight.

Riku let out a small laugh, “Really?â€

“Yeah…†she said laughing a little. “Do you live far from here?†she asked.

“No, you stepped on my lawn earlier,†he pointed out giving her a small hint.

She looked back at the lawn she was previously on. The house was pretty small, it had a beige color to it with the window panes in a light tan color. She looked back at Riku and felt a bit more embarrassed, “Oh… He didn’t do anything on your lawn, if that’s what you’re worried about…†she said looking at the puppy in her arms.

“How about you, where do you live?†he asked trying to get her a bit more comfortable. “Is it far from here?â€

“No,†she shook her head, “I live a block away from here.†She said turning her head in the direction where she lived. In that moment she heard a small growling noise, she looked at her dog, but it wasn’t him.

“That was me…†Riku said she saw that he had blushed a bit.

“You’re hungry… what have you been doing all day?â€

“Relaxing…†he said honestly.

“…You’re kidding, right?â€

“Nope,†he said giving a big smile.

“Well me and my dog we’re going to get some sea-salt ice-cream, do you want to go?†she said pulling out a leash from her back pocket, she hooked it up to the dog’s collar.

“Yeah, all right…†at this point he didn’t know what her name was.

“That’s right, we didn’t introduce ourselves…†she outstretched her hand, “My friends call me Selma.â€

“My name’s Riku.†He said shaking her hand. He then bent down and stroked the dog’s fur mainly on top of his head, “and this must be Chico.â€

It had been about a good three weeks since that day, and a strong bond was formed from then on. Riku and Selma became inseparable, wherever one was there the other was right behind, no doubt about it. Kairi and Sora never met her personally, but Riku talked to them about her.

Kairi took a great note on how Riku acted around them now, he was a bit more cheerful than how he had been weeks before, and he was spending a bit more time with them. Other than that it was right as rain, well sort of anyway.

The silver haired teenager was walking down the block where Selma said she had lived. In his eyes she was a good friend, though she never talked so much about herself. He was surprised that she showed him where she lived. It had gotten dark the day he met her, and so maybe that was why she let him walk her home.

Selma was just waiting by the steps of her home, with Chico sleeping at her side. Her dark colored eyes spotted Riku from a couple of houses away. She waved to him, and he waved back at her.

“Did you bring it?†she called out.

“Hello to you too, Selma,†he said jokingly.

“Sorry!†she shook her head.

He walked up the steps and sat next to Chico, he placed the black notebook at his side, and just sighed in relief.

“Did you tell your mom I said ‘hi’?†she asked curious about the other day.

“Yeah, she says ‘hi’ too.†He said.

“She seems really nice.â€

“You’re mom’s nicer though, she’s cool.â€

“I’m glad to hear you think so,†a women said opening the screen door, she was a middle aged woman, with brownish curly like hair. She was wearing an apron, she had just finished cooking.

“So, lunch is ready, Mamì?†she asked turning around.

“Yes it is. Riku, you know you’re always welcomed to come and join us.†She said.

“Thanks very much, Mrs. Hikari.†He said politely.

“I’ll call the two of you when I have the others at the table.â€

“Wait, all of us?†Selma asked a bit bewildered.

“I’m making everybody’s favorite, Fettuccini with chicken breast, and that creamy sauce you like.â€

“Hey, then Riku, will you be able to stay and eat with us?†Selma asked him.

“Yeah, I’ll stay then, besides I like you’re mom’s cooking.â€

“At the rate this is going, your mom might as well just give me the adoption forms… You practically spend more time here…†Mrs. Hikari said in a joking manner as she walked back inside the house.

As Mrs. Hikari left Selma heard the little jingle that sounded a lot like Chico’s collar. She looked around and noted that Chico had just woken up, the smell of the food had gotten to him. She let him back inside the house, and sat back down on the steps.

“So then, Riku, how have you been feeling today?â€

“Good, I guess you could say.â€

“Have you been spending some more time with Sora and Kairi?â€

“Yep.â€

“Why were you avoiding them anyway?â€

“I thought it was because I felt they needed some time alone… But now that I think about it, it was because I was a bit jealous…†he said embarrassed to admit it.

“Now why was that?†she asked, trying to get him to open up a bit more.

“I… I had this small crush on Kairi, but I knew she liked Sora… And I accepted it…â€

“See that wasn’t so hard to say!†she said patting him on the back.

“Noasn’t…†he said a bit surprised himself. ‘I’ve only known her for a while, but she’s been the only one who listens to me…I feel bad I don’t ask her so many questions…’ he thought for a moment.

“Oh yeah, hey did you write down your story?†she asked breaking his moment of thought.

“Umm, oh yeah...†he handed her the black notebook.

“So all of this really happened?†she asked reading what was written in the notebook. ‘He has beautiful penmanship… Hell it’s even better than mines, no offence but he writes like a girl,’ she thought for a moment.

“You don’t think I’m crazy?â€

“Nope, in fact I believe you… You see the reason is because…â€

“Hey you two, everybody else is ready!†another female called out from the doorway.

“That was my older sister…†she answered before Riku could even ask. “You would’ve meet them sooner or later…†she smiled. "Let's go and eat."

A/N: Yep it's the same one from ff.net... lol well anyway you know the drill, constructive criticism is welcomed!

 

your story is easy to follow, the dialogue flows smoothly and you paint the descriptions well, keep going!

 

Thanks Destined!
Anyway on with the story!

Chapter 2: Life, and Bonnie Pink, plus Ice-Cream…

“So then, this is, Riku?†it was the same lady that had called them to eat lunch.

Selma just sighed as she was being pestered by her older sibling. Her name real name was Tachigami, but she liked being called Monica. She was two years older than Riku, and she had black shoulder lengthened hair. She wore a purple top, and some navy colored shorts.

“How long have you two known each other?†she asked, looking back at Selma.

“A couple of weeks.â€

“So then Riku, you’re really close with my sister?â€

They were at the table when she asked that question. Everyone who was there stopped what they were doing, somebody dropped a fork, which landed on someone’s toe, and a lot of curse words were directed to the poor fork.

“Who in their right mind would wear leather pants?!†a young sibling shouted out.

“My friend…†Selma tried to defend her new friend. “This little one is Kazegami. The one yelling at the fork is Moegami, but we call him Moe.â€

Both of the two siblings had spiky orange and brown eyes, with light colored skin. They were twins, around the age of 15. They were a bit short, so they got mistaken a lot to be around 11 years old.

“Nice to meet you all,†Riku bowed to people in front of him.

“You don’t really have to bow.†Another male said. He was a more masculine version of Monica. He went by the name of Yomigami, but he liked to be called Yuki. “It’s nice to meet you, Riku.†He shook his hand, “You can call me Yuki.â€

“It’s about damn time, she’s always talking about you.†Someone said in back of Riku. Riku and Selma turned around, “The name’s Geki,†his full name was Gekigami. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt, with some tight jeans, and he light brown skin as well as short black hair. Riku shook his hand, and nodded.

“How much do you talk about me?†Riku whispered to his friend.

“Not that much… Honest,†she whispered back as they were going to the wooden table.

“Hey you two pick up pace, the foods going to get cold!†Monica instructed as she saw Geki finally sit down.

“Hey, wait, where’s Mamì?â€

“I’m coming hold on, just getting the salad.â€

“Hey is Dad coming today?â€

“I think he’s going to be late dears.â€

“Sweet hey the salad’s here!â€

“Monica, stop hogging the salad!â€

Selma just smiled at the scene, and started to take a bite out of her salad. Riku was sitting right next to her, and he looked at his pants. He made this little face where he ended up scrunching his nose. She just shook her head, and smacked him gently over the head.

“There’s nothing wrong with the pants, just eat your food Riku!†she whispered to him.

“…Ow…â€

“Don’t smack your guest dear, that’s rude.†Mrs. Hikari instructed her daughter.

“Sorry, Mamì…†she said and sunk into her chair.

Geki and Yuki were snickering at their little sister, but Monica gave them a glare. Other than that everyone was eating their food. The puppy was just sitting at the table waiting for someone to slip him some food, but Chico didn’t like pasta.

Mrs. Hikari and her husband told their children at a very young age that the table was a place for someone to eat, not talk. It was very quiet at the table, and Riku felt a bit out of place, he was use to having people around him talk.

An hour past, and after playing rock, paper, scissors, Selma ended up having to wash the dishes. She smacked which ever sibling forgot to clean their plate, she loathed having to throw the leftovers in the trash.

Mrs. Hikari and the others went about their daily things, and Riku left Selma alone to go and get his notebook that he left sitting on the steps. Though when he finally made it out of the house, it wasn’t there anymore, it was nowhere to be found. He heard a familiar dog growl beside him.

Riku looked down and noticed the dog had something in his mouth. ‘That’s MY notebook!’ he thought to himself.

“Give it here, Chico…†he whispered trying not to make so much noise, but the dog moved farther and farther away from him. “Chico…†he said in a stern voice losing his patience with the animal. He started to chase the puppy around the yard within a matter of seconds.

Selma was almost done with the last plate when she heard someone yell. She quickly left the dish alone, and dried her hands with the blue towel, and slung it over her shoulder. She walked out down the hall, and went to see what was going on. There on the green grass was a guy with turquoise eyes just staring at the blue colored sky.

“Tell your dog to give me back my notebook…†he said whispering.

Selma just walked towards him, jumping off of the last step. She found her self being stabbed with Riku’s gaze, but she just smiled. Riku sat up and frowned at her, he tried to call Chico again, but he ran into the house.

“He’ll leave it back where he found it…†she said patting the teen’s head.

“How can you be so calm about it?†he asked.

“Eh, you get use to it…†she said fiddling with the towel over her shoulder.

They went back inside the house, and Selma found the notebook not that far from the front door. She scanned through the black notebook to make sure none of the pages were bitten off, or eaten. She found nothing wrong with the book, and handed it back to the owner.

“The good thing is that nothing’s missing from it… The bad thing is…†she paused for a moment, “you write like a girl.â€

“Like a girl?†he repeated, looking at his notebook.

“Yeah, you write more like a girl than I do, and I’m a girl.â€

“Girls wear leather pants!†someone said in the background.

“No one’s talking to you, Geki!†the sister said coming to her friend’s defense.

The teen entrusted his friend with his notebook, and it was her duty to keep it away from everyone, they were meant for her eyes only. Then after that, Riku decided it was best if they just went outside again, he felt a bit weird for wearing his leather pants now. Selma tried to tell him that there was nothing wrong with wearing them, but she had to go and say that they were a bit tight on him.

“Great…â€

“Sorry… Just had to point it out…â€

Riku just scratched his head and gave an embarrassing laugh. He went on to asking why none of her family members spoke during lunch.

“It’s something my mom told us when we were little, that the table is a place to eat, and not talk…†she stated, “Also it’s a place to do homework and stuff, but we do talk at the table almost often, you just caught us on one of our quiet days.â€

“Oh. Hey, where’s your dad?â€

“He’s working, and he doesn’t come until 5 or late at night. He works as a computer technician, but since that business is becoming more and more popular; almost anyone can start applying for the job.â€

“You’re dad must make about a thousand, no?â€

“No, when you subtract the social security and health stuff, and all the other things, he ends up with about 400 to 500 a week… Life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…â€

“What do you mean?â€

“Everyday… You think something exciting is going to happen, but sometimes you’re just stuck doing the same old thing… It gets kind of boring, but I mean to me, it just falls under a regular routine. I don’t really have the best memory in the world, because I forget stuff really fast, it just doesn’t interest me… It sounds so stupid…â€

“Hey look do… do you sleep a lot for the remainder of the day?â€

“No… Why?â€

“Just don’t do it, it’s not the best thing to do.â€

“O…kay…†she looked at him with a strange look.

“You know, you know what I’m talking about it…â€

“I’m just talking about life, but here you are saying something about sleeping…†she said.

“Selma…â€

“I’m not depressed if that’s what you’re thinking,†she put two and two together, “… Just because I can’t remember a whole mess of stuff, it doesn’t mean I’m depressed… Mostly I give you advice on stuff like that…â€

“Just giving you some advice in return,†he tried to finish his sentence.

“That’s a lie, you think I am starting to get depressed…â€

“No, no I’m just saying not to.â€

“Why are you telling me this, now?†she said sounding a bit annoyed now. She knew how to handle her emotions and what not, but he had no right in believing she was acting depressed.

“Because… because I’ve done that before. You hide yourself in this little hole, just watching as time passes you by, without caring what happens around you…â€

“Does this look like the face of a depressed person?†her face was serious.

“…â€

“I didn’t think so, but thanks for the advice…†she stood up and dusted her shoulder. “Anyway, you want to go get some ice-cream?â€

“Ice-cream?â€

“Did I stutter…?†she said looking at him, putting on a funny face.

“Are you buying?â€

“No…†she said in a serious tone, or at least it sounded like one.

“… Okay, okay, geez…†Riku said standing up.

Selma laughed, and told the silver haired teen to wait for her while she changed into some other clothes. She came out wearing a striped purple and black shirt, with some black jeans, and checkered shoes.

“All right then, let’s go.†She said taking his arm and pulling him forward.

“Hey! Are you trying to trip me?â€

“I’d be lying if I said no!†she said starting to run away from him.

“You’re such a girl!†Riku yelled running after his friend.

Inside the house Mrs. Hikari, Monica, and Yomigami were watching the two teens run down the street. The three of them were laughing a bit, and they were glad that Selma had someone with a good head on their shoulder for a friend.

“So you think she’s told him her real name?†Monica said looking at her mother and oldest brother.

“Nope,†Yomigami shook his head.

“Just give her some time, she’ll get out of her shell.†Their mother said. “Besides if anyone can get her to talk it’s that Riku boy.â€

“Why?†Yomigami asked.

“Do you really have to ask?†Monica said looking at her brother.

“What are you talking about, Tachigami?†he addressed his sister.

“He’s really good looking if you haven’t noticed.†Monica said.

“I was going to say something else dear…†Mrs. Hikari said holding the black notebook in her hands. “But I guess we can also say that.â€

“So then, what do we do now?†Monica said looking at the black notebook in her mother’s grasp.

“Absolutely nothing, we’ll let destiny lead them the way.â€

Monica was too busy to notice what her mother said, she was able to get the notebook that Riku had entrusted Selma to guard. She was flipping through the pages until a word caught her eye.

‘Bonnie Pink – Last Kiss’

“Hey that’s Amaterasu’s favorite song.†Monica said.

“Are the lyrics in there?†Yuki asked curiously.

“It says… ‘Turn the page’.†And she did what it said. “There’s nothing…†she said a bit confused. “Naw, you know, I bet it’s invisible ink…â€

“He probably was looking for the English translation.†Yuki said.

‘It’s bitter like beer for kids…’

“There you go…†Monica said holding the paper to some light.

At the ice-cream place not to far away…​

Selma and Riku had stopped running, after Riku had tripped due to foul play with a towel. He accused his friend of cheating, and she didn’t deny it. He had the blue towel over his head so he grabbed it, and he threw it back at her. She stumbled forward.

“Sore loser…†she said shaking her head a bit.

They entered the ice-cream shop, and decided to sit down in the corner of the area. Both of them were a bit tired from running, it that just made them want some ice-cream some more.

They finished purchasing their own cone of sea-salt ice-cream, and as Selma was paying another pair of people walked in. Riku turned around and his eyes went wide for a moment. Selma came from behind and handed him his cone. Though when she saw he wasn’t taking it, she also looked in his direction.

“Hey that’s the guy my dog peed on.†She said licking her cone. She handed Riku his cone. “Here take it.â€

He took the cone and stared at it for a moment, “Thanks…â€

“It’s going to melt, come on let’s go to the table.â€

Still the two people Riku saw had no idea that neither he nor Selma was there. They sat down and at that moment he heard a familiar two of them turned around, Riku sighed and Selma just shook her head.

“Riku, hey there you are. I was trying to call you, but you didn’t pick up your cell phone…†Sora said sitting down right next to him.

“I left it at home…†Riku said trying to enjoy the ice-cream.

Kairi and Selma looked at each other and smiled, they remembered who the other was. Though Kairi never got a chance to ask her, her name, she thought it was the girl Riku talked about.

“So then, this is who you’re with when you have things to do…†Sora said looking at Selma as she and Kairi were talking.

“This is Selma, the girl with the dog who peed on you.†Riku said letting Sora get a good look at the girl.

“Wait the same one you talk about with us?â€

“I don’t talk that much about you… Honest…†Riku whispered to his new friend.

“Li…†she licked her ice-cream, “…ar…â€

“Riku your ice-cream’s melting…†Kairi said pointing to the light bluish stain on his white shirt.

“Hey what’s with the leather pants?†Sora asked.

“Not that again…†Selma and Riku said groaning.

 

good addition, but it seems somewhat long, but when you turn the view to the family asking about her name, it gets interesting again

 

Crap it. Idid it again. I was pulled into the Creativity corner. I need to stop. Your story is awsome. Waiting for the kiss between Riku and Selma ( dont deny that you have it coming :))

 

Its awsome....very very good

 

WOOT! *does a happy dance*

I want to remind you guys that I wrote this around a year ago and I'm reposting it, sort of like a revised edition, of course I won't catch every typo.

Now on with the story!


Chapter Three: The King’s Seal and Snow

The sun was slowly starting to set as the night was finally going to pop up. Everyone said their goodbyes, and the two groups of people went their own separate way. Riku went as far as to leave Selma at her house, and Sora probably did the same thing to Kairi. The night was starting to pave the way into darkness, and a new day would come up… It had been two weeks since the day at the ice-cream shop…

The afternoon sun was hitting Kairi’s back as she was running up a hill. She ignored the fact that some people were calling her. ‘I can’t give up now…’ she thought holding on tight to a clear bottle.

Going up the hill was the hard part, but it was running down the hill that was a bit harder for her. She had to control her speed so she wouldn’t end up tripping over her feet. She breathed in and out trying to run as fast as she could.

Kairi had found the bottle washed up on shore on the other side of island where they use to play as kids. The green seal was the only thing that caught her eye, if it wasn’t for that then there would’ve been no point in running.

She rushed past the small field of wildflowers and with each step she made she was getting closer to her friends, but farther away from home. Her blue eyes scanned the clearing where the paopu fruit was growing.

Meanwhile, while Kairi was running her little heart out, Riku and Sora were both talking about, well guy stuff.

“Hey have you given her a paopu fruit yet?†Sora said looking at the tree for a moment.

“I don’t… Have you given Kairi a paopu fruit?†Riku asked avoiding his question.

“I’ll do it, but I mean she wants everything to be romantic so…â€

“Then do it when she’s least expecting it.â€

“What?â€

“You know what I mean…†he was going to say something else but he stopped.

In the distance the teen with the pink outfit finally made it to the area, she was panting and gasping, like if she had ran away from a lion or something. Sora took no time grabbing the bottle, as it clearly bore some kind of message of urgency.

He wrapped his fingers around the little cork and with a slight pop out came the long awaited news. His blue eyes held some kind of happiness as he held the paper under his trembling fingers. ‘It was going to happen sooner or later,’ Sora thought reading the paper.

Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,

It’s been a while hasn’t it? Of course we all knew this day would come sooner or later. The realm of light is safe, but for how long no one really knows. It can only be said that the darkness is the last thing to be taken care of. I’ve sent a Gummi Ship in advance to arrive on the island, it should take at least two days.

I’m asking you to go ahead of me and try and restore some of the other worlds that haven’t been cleansed of the darkness. It shouldn’t be too much, just a couple of worlds in this galaxy, but that shouldn’t be a problem for the three of you.

Also I’ve been informed that somewhere in this world, somebody can provide some details on the past of the Keyblade. You will treat her with respect, as well as her brethren, and sister.

In addition if you hear about the ‘Chasers’ please notify me immediately and whatever you do take caution if you should face on of them. If you can’t reach me tell the person I mentioned of earlier. By then I’m sure you’ll have met her..

Please take care.

Signed by,

King Mickey

“Another mission…†the expression on Sora’s face was one with pure happiness. “And some clues as to the Keyblade… But where are we going to find this person?†he didn’t think to long about it.

Kairi held an expression of worry, she didn’t really want to believe that they were going to have to fight again. They’ve only had a couple of months rest, but when you’re a Keybearer what could you expect? Kairi looked at the letter that Sora held within his grasp. The moment of peace seemed to shatter right before her eyes.

Riku looked at the piece of parchment with some wonder and disbelief. He had just gotten use to the whole routine, but he never dreamed of being asked again to help. Riku thought that Sora would be the only one to go. Then he remembered his life on the island, the only person he could think of was Selma. His little personal counselor, she had helped him for a couple of weeks, but they had a bond that couldn’t be broken. ‘What about Mom?’ he thought.

Sora thought for a moment and his mother popped into his mind. ‘What do I say to her? What is she going to say?’ he thought. What would he say to his family? The brunette’s mother was in a state of depression for the first couple of months when he left. He couldn’t really end up breaking his mother’s heart like that. His father though believed in his son’s ability, but he still worried, whether he showed it or not.

For Kairi her adopted family, they would react the same way anyone of their family’s would act. They understood the situation, but they also took into grave consideration the risk of losing her. They didn’t want anything bad happening to her, but they believed that she could take care of herself.

It was on that day the each of them went their own separate way, they walked the road they had to take in order to go home. The ocean breeze, and the warm sun comforted them. They each felt the warmth from the sun creep over from their backs, while the ocean breeze brushed past them leading the way.

Kairi was the first one to arrive home, and there her explanation was the first to be heard.

The young princess of heart walked up the steps of her white painted home. She found her mother and father in the kitchen as she tip-toed down the hall so as not to make so much noise.

Her parents heard the door from the house close slowly, as it had a bad case of creaking. They both knew she was home.

“Mom, Dad…†Kairi’s body was shaking with the embarrassment and nervousness of the whole thing.

Her mother and father watched their little girl take a hold of her feelings. Her voice was becoming less and less shaky.

“I…I have something to tell you,†she confessed, sitting next to both of her parents. They each listened, “I received a letter from King Mickey,†she saw the face of her mother, “and in two days I’m… I’m going to leave…†she said gripping the fabric by her legs. She could hear her mother start to sob, and Kairi’s eyes were starting to get hot. “I… I’ll be all right, I promise…†she choked and the tears began to fall.

Kairi’s mother took off the necklace she wore and placed it on her daughter. It was a religious artifact, and her mother believed that it would guide her on her journey. Kairi’s father held on tight to her and told her how much he loved her.

Sora’s path came to an end as he was already inside the living room of his own home. He asked his mother and father to sit down as he stood up.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?†his mother dared to ask, tears were forming around her eyes. She was afraid of the response.

Sora nodded as he stared at the beige carpet, he felt the tears start to slide down his cheeks and his face was getting red from embarrassment. He walked towards his mother and just hugged her.

“I’m leaving in two days, but I won’t go alone, Kairi, and Riku are going too.†He said trying to fight back the tears.

Sora’s father looked away, his emotions were ones of sadness, but he couldn’t get them out. At that small moment though he got his son and held him tight.

“You take good care of Kairi, you hear?†he said to Sora.

“Yeah, I will…†he said whispering.

Riku had two paths to take, and he chose his mother first. He was in her room speaking in a low voice. The first thing one could hear were the sobs of a depressed mother, she clung to her little boy as if he was melting away.

“Mom, please don’t cry…†he said holding his mother tight.

“How can I? I just…†she sobbed for a moment. “I just found out my little boy is leaving me again… How can I stop crying?!†she said letting the tears slide down. Her makeup was smearing, but she didn’t care.

“I don’t want to go either but…â€

“Then why are you going?†she asked.

“It’s my job… My duty to the King.†He said looking down, his eyes were feeling warm. “I love you, Mom.â€

“I love you too, Riku.†She said in a very tender voice as she held her son for one last time. “I suppose you’re going to tell Selma?†she asked looking at him.

“I… I don’t know how to tell her…†he said feeling afraid now. “I’m afraid of what she’ll say…â€

“If she’s as good a friend as you describe her, then I’m sure she won’t be mad. But she’ll be a bit worried about you.†His mother said wiping her tears away now. “Are you going to tell her here?â€

“I think it’d be best if I go over to her house…†Riku said feeling something vibrate in his pant pocket. The words ‘SoRa’ flashed on the screen. “Sorry buddy…†he said clicking on him.

He dialed Selma’s home number, and he felt a bit nervous. Riku’s mother had left him alone so that they could talk for a while. For a moment he thought that no one was going to answer the phone…

At Selma’s house…​

“I got it!†she was wearing a navy colored shirt with some long black pants, and a black hooded sweatshirt. The teen grabbed the phone and flopped to the couch. “Hello?†she answered.

‘Is Selma there?’ a familiar voice asked.

“This is her… Riku?†she asked, the voice sounded a bit different. “Riku, are you sick or something?â€

‘No, no… Listen I have something to tell you, but I want to tell it to you in person.’ He said.

“Hold on, have you been crying?†she asked noting the change in his voice and the noise in the background.

‘It's not… Don't worry about it,’ he admitted to her. ‘But forget about it, just meet me outside.’

“Why…?†her voice turned into a tone of concern.

‘Please… Just wait for me outside, Selma.’

“All right, I will Riku, talk to you later.†She said saying her goodbye and hanging up the phone.

She told her older sister and brother that she was going outside. They in return didn’t ask why, but told her to be careful. Selma agreed and then noticed that the black notebook she was guarding was plainly seen on the little night stand out in the open.

“You thought you could hide that from us?†Monica called out from the living room.

“We believe in what he says, so don’t worry. But don’t hide things like that from us, we’re family.†She heard Yomigami voice.

“I know that’d you’d all understand, but what if strangers got into our house…†Selma explained.

“They couldn’t even get past the front door, heck one of us would be there at a moments notice. But anyway, listen go… You’re friend is waiting for you.†Yuki said. “I had to eavesdrop, Monica made me…†he said laughing.

Selma nodded to her older siblings and then opened the door. She waited in the dark watching the people move around, finding their way home. The street lights suddenly turned on, and then the little moths started to gather by one street light. She watched the street for a sign of her silver haired friend. Her dog was sound asleep inside, and they wouldn’t be disturbed for the remainder of the time.

In the distance her heart flipped as she saw her friend walking down her side of the street. He was wearing black clothing, she noted that he was wearing something around his neck too, but she couldn’t make out what was on the pendant. He waited by the steps, and she in turn walked down the steps of her home and greeted her friend.

“Riku.†She said in a soft tone.

“ Selma, listen I don’t have much time but…†Selma had placed a finger over her lips to tell Riku to be silent for a moment.

“Would it be better if you sat down?†she asked looking at him for a moment. He seemed to be struggling with something.

“Yeah… No wait, better yet let’s go to the park.†He said.

“Okay.†She said nodding her head.

The two of them walked side by side to the park, and the night air was beginning to get the better of the two of them. Riku didn’t expect for it to get so cold, so early, but considering they went to place with no buildings the air was moving about freely.

Selma picked out a place that was right underneath the tree Kairi and Sora were at. The two of them just sat there. Selma could tell that Riku was nervous about something. She didn’t pressure him into saying it, but waited for when he was ready to speak. For a couple of minutes there was silence, and the girl could tell the teen was shaking a bit, either from the cold or of nervousness.

“Here…†she offered her friend her little electronic device. In her palm was a small blue mp3 player. Riku looked at it, he was confused by her action. “Play a song, it’ll ease you up a bit.â€

He took her little blue device and searched through the songs she had on there. One of the songs was something familiar. He had heard her sing this song a couple of days ago by one of her favorite bands, FAKE? It was titled 'Snow' it was a bit more on the mellow side for his taste, but that was the only song he could remember the words to.

Selma had the other ear piece and listened to his selection. She laughed for a moment, but then cleared her throat.

“You drilled that song into my head.†Riku said messing up Selma’s hair.

“I didn’t know I had that impact.†She said sticking her tongue out, she was joking or course.

They sat next to each other looking out into the sky, it was being blanketed by the stars of the night sky. Each twinkling as it came to life in the darkened sky. Riku was starting to relax for a moment, but when he thought of what he was going to say he panicked again.

“ Selma…†Riku started. “No matter what happens we’re always going to be best friends, right?â€

“Of course, you’re my buddy.†She said looking at his turquoise eyes. “Now… what’s the matter?†she asked in her patient tone.

Riku was still trying to figure out how he was going to say it, and he had two days to tell her. But on the last day he wanted to spend the whole day with her. He figured that telling her goodbye today would give them time to hang out more on the second day.

“I’m going to be leaving…†he finally said. He looked into her eyes. “I’m getting picked up in two days.â€

“It’s funny… But for some reason I thought it’d happen.†She said looking down at the single blade of grass. “When I read what you wrote in the notebook I knew that something like that would one day happen to you.†She said trying to smile. “Remember when you said not to be depressed?â€

Riku looked at the expression on her face, he didn’t know whether to hold her, or let her continue to talk. As a friend he let the teen continue her talk. She breathed in, and gripped on the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

“You did figure me out that day, and I was sort of surprised, but I didn’t even think of that for about 3 years… It’s funny, but I mean I’m still feeling like that…†she said pulling her knees up and holding them tight.

Riku placed a hand on her head and stroked her hair back, feeling the softness of it. She cracked a smile and placed her hand on top of his where it rested on her head.

“But, so you’re leaving…†she said the tone in her voice was still soft, but it held some sadness.

“Yeah… I am, with Sora and Kairi,†he said holding her hand and putting near his lap just for comfort.

“I came here to say goodbye.†He said hugging her tightly. Riku took in the smell of the faint wildflowers and fruits that would forever cling to his memory. The ear piece came off now. “I want to say thank you, for everything.†Riku said closing his eyes feeling his own heartbeat thump in his chest.

Selma held on tight to him and sighed, if she spoke right now she felt her voice was going to crack, or that she might just start to cry at that point. The music was still playing in the background, a tune for their emotions right now as the ear piece fell to the cold grass.

Riku just held on for a bit longer trying to figure out his next move. He wanted to plan the last day for the two of them, with no distraction, just two good friends on their last hang out.

“I don’t really want you to leave…†she whispered in his ear, still trying not to let him go.

“I don’t want to go either, Selma.†He said in a low voice. “But you know why I have to.â€

“I know why, but I mean it’s only human to be selfish.â€

“I’m going to miss our talks.†He said laughing under his breath.

They finally let go of each other and sighed. Riku sat closer to her, but he felt some stress come up on him giving him a headache. Selma offered her shoulder for a good resting place and he didn’t refuse it.

“It’s not good getting worked up about it.†She said pinching his cheek for a moment.

“Let’s plan something the day after tomorrow, just the two of us, no distractions.â€

“All right, that’s a good way to relax, before you leave.â€

“Really early in the morning, bring something warm.†He said kissing her on the cheek.

She scrunched up her face when she felt his lips touch her cheek. The teenage girl stuck out her tongue and shook her head. Her brown eyes looked at the turquoise ones and just smiled, the two of them smiled at one another.

“So then something warm… where are we going, buddy?†she said.

“A surprise, I can’t tell you.†He said waving a finger at her.

“So… How did your mom take it?†she asked concerned about the woman.

“It was getting to me,†he would only say it to her. “So that’s why I sounded a bit weird.â€

“You gonna cry when it’s your last day?†she asked punching him in the arm.

“I might not…†he said sneering, “but you’re gonna have to stay through the whole day if you want to see me cry.â€

“I think I’ll pass, seeing a guy cry is worse than anything I’ve seen.†She said, saying serious, but then she changed. Of course it’s nice to see a guy get in touch with his emotions. Crying doesn’t show a sign of weakness; remember that, it means you’re strong because you have the guts to cry.â€

“I’ll keep that in mind…†he said closing his eyes, he was resting his head on her shoulder. “I almost forgot…†he shifted himself for a moment and took off the necklace he wore.

It was a small friendship pendant that was crafted in half. It was a heart painted in black with one side holding yellow writing and the other side in red writing. It read ‘to the grave best…’ and the other side ‘…friends till the end’. Riku gave her the side with the final part that was written in red.

Selma carefully placed it over her head and put it on. She smiled and swore to cherish it till the ends of the earth. She hugged him for a moment and told him again how lucky she was to have a friend like him.

For Riku those words were more than enough for him, yet for sometime now he felt that he wanted something more, but for now he wouldn’t dare let this ruin the moment him and his best buddy were having. For right now Riku didn’t give in to the emotion he was feeling other than happiness.

He would wait till the last day to find out what he was trying to make sense out of…

 

not the kiss I had in mind but you are ...what am I saying? You have me hooked please tellme you will have the next part up tommorrow?

 

i agree with darkness, and this portion made it feel like i was just a bystander in the park, only a few stories here have that effect good job.

 

Thank you very much you guys! Well this is the last one for the night for me! I'll be updating about three times in one day.

Chapter Four: Plan of Action


Selma was back in her house where it was nice and warm, and she just sighed. Her big brother Yomigami though wasn’t going to let her off the hook just yet. He wanted to ask her a couple of things. This was mainly Tachigami’s, a.k.a Monica’s part, but tonight Yuki would be the nosy girl, in this case it was a nosy guy.

Yomigami heard the door close and sat up from the couch he was napping on. By the hall way the time was marked as 10:55. It was past the curfew hour that the islands went by, he was amazed that neither her nor Riku were caught by the authority figures.

“Someone’s home late…†he said hearing Selma’s footsteps by the hallway. He was fiddling with a small locket that he had found on the couch.

“I know, Yuki…†she said calling her brother by his nickname. “I’m sorry… It won’t happen again, I promise…†her brother told her to come into the living room.

“Where’s everyone else?†she asked looking at her brother for a moment. She sat down next to him on the couch. “Are they asleep?â€

“Yeah… They went to sleep just after Mom left…†he said looking down at the locket for a moment. He opened it and there on one side of the opening was a picture of Yomigami and their mother. “Memories are a very powerful thing, aren’t they, Amaterasu?†he said looking at his little sister.

“I…†Selma sighed and looked down at her feet. She hadn’t heard that name in so long, it was very foreign to her ears, so distant like a far off memory. “Please, don’t call me that again, Brother…â€

“You can’t change who you are, ya know? Mom called you that for a reason, and yet it’s funny you bring her to life with the memories from your heart… Her image is there everyday, she feels real to the touch… But you know that it doesn’t last that long… You haven’t told Riku, have you?†he said in a very calming voice.

“No, and I don’t want to, not yet I don’t think I’m ready… Besides any one of our memories could bring Mom back, I mean it’s nice, living like a family again…†she said trying hard to smile.

“Let’s drop this subject for now…†he said placing a hand on his sister’s head. “What were you doing anyway…? You were out pretty late, and with a guy no doubt…â€

She showed her the necklace around her neck, and he laughed. Selma frowned for a moment, but she laughed anyway. She thought back to what had happened a while ago and she was a bit upset that her friend was leaving, to go and save the world.

“He’s leaving the day after tomorrow, Brother…â€

“Did he tell you why?â€

She shook her head and opened her mouth to speak, “But the notebook has a good justification as to why he is.â€

Her brother nodded in agreement, he like his sister believed the words that Riku had written down. This was his side of the story that Sora had made for himself in the other worlds. Yomigami scratched his head for a moment and then just scrunched up his face for a moment.

“He wants to spend time together on the last day.†She said messing with the necklace.

“He’s asking you out on a date, you dumb head…†he said slapping his forehead lightly.

Selma just made a face, it was one of two things, confusion, or embarrassment for accepting the invitation. Her head was trying to figure out exactly what Riku was trying to say when he used those words. She didn’t have a good explanation for it, and she ended up taking her brother’s advice.

“A date?!†she yelled out, almost making her big brother go deaf.

“If I remember correctly this had happened a long time ago too…†he said smirking.

“Hey!†she yelled. “You said you wouldn’t bring up that story…†she started to whine covering her ears as her brother started to speak. She muffled out the sound by thinking of something else.

“…And then he left… And you never told him goodbye that day.†He finally finished the story.

Names, dates, or places, weren’t given out because Selma had locked away that incident a long time ago in her memories. It was one she didn’t really like all that well because that was the first time she ever really liked anybody. Selma shook her head and pouted at her big brother.

“You liked that’s guy’s sister, and she dumped you…†she said.

“Anyway back to Riku…†he said smacking his little sister upside the head. “He’s got a crush on you…â€

“Ouch…†she grumbled for a moment. “I don’t think he does…â€

“Well you’re thinking wrong little sister.†He said shaking his head. “Besides if Tachigami was here right now she’d do anything in a heartbeat to get him away from you…â€

“Not this again…†she shook her head. “Listen let’s just drop this whole conversation, it’s getting nowhere… All right?†Selma stood up and kissed her brother on the cheek. “Good night, Yomigami.â€

“Night, night, Amaterasu…†he whispered, and looked back at the locket with the picture in it. “I hope you’re watching over us, Mom…†he said softly under his breath.

That night the sky was full of stars, but in the distance if you looked closely enough, you could see some stars fade out, as the darkness was starting to come and take the worlds in its grasp. People here on the island had no clue as to what was going to happen, and it seemed that the events would start again just like they did two years ago on that day of the storm.

Riku was sitting at the edge of his bed, staring the black checkered sheet and he was thinking back to what had happened about an hour ago. He took out this little device that was in his pocket, it was his friend’s mp3 player. As a relaxing exercise, she told him to keep it until he had to leave. He had gone through 13 songs already, but he wasn’t sleepy at all.

“We’re letting go of something we’ve never had…†Riku found himself singing slightly, he laughed at himself. “I don’t have anything planned for tomorrow… I think I’ll spend that time with Mom…†he placed the little mp3 device on his night stand and got ready to go to sleep. “How we long for heaven…†he yawned as he mimicked the vocals from the song.

And with that he knocked out like a light. Bright and early the sun greeted the new day, which meant to three people that they had to start packing for the next day. It was hard for all of them, but they knew they had to do, it was their responsibility as keepers of the peace.

Somewhere in the distance of Riku’s living room a band by the name of ‘Secondhand Serenade’ was playing in the distance. His mom did like the sentimental lyrics within the song the one man band was playing.

“That’s in her mp3 player?†his mother asked him.

“Yeah, I’m guessing she’s emo.†He said sitting up straight on the couch.

“You don’t know that for sure, besides do you think people really need labels?â€

He looked at his mother for a moment and smiled. In response he shook his head and believed that people were people, and that putting labels on them was just another way to distance themselves.

“Do you have anything planned for your little date tomorrow?†his mother asked him.

“..Uh…†he scratched his cheek. “I have something…†he said, not really sure what that something was.

“Well whatever that something is, I’m sure the two of you will have fun.†His mother said smiling at her little boy.

It was hard to believe it, but he hardly could be called a ‘little boy’ now, he was a seventeen year old now. Riku sighed for a moment and pushed back some of the strands falling over his face. He was thinking of what to do for tomorrow but he couldn’t get anything in his head, in fact he just wanted to spend that last day with Selma, and he didn’t really care about what they did so long as they had fun.

“I think we’re just going to hang around the island…†Riku said finally speaking up, “You know the one where we use to play on?â€

His mother nodded in satisfaction and added her own little piece to the idea:

“You should probably make that your last stop.â€

“Hm,†he thought about it for a moment, and he felt his stomach churn again like it did the night before. “Wait why?â€

“You’ll get the idea soon enough,†she said patting her son on the back. He in turn looked at her with confused eyes trying to scan her eyes for an answer or an idea as to what she was trying to say.

“But what if I don’t?†he asked hoping that he’d get the answer.

Riku’s mother shook her head and gave a big smile. ‘Mom, you’re really brave, I hope you know that,’ he thought watching his mother laugh a bit. It was going to be really hard to leave her, and the new friend he made.

Another song came out, carrying out it’s melody into the area of the living room. The screen, from the little blue mp3 playing device, read that it came from an album titled Wolf’s Rain. It was in another language of course, Selma had a strange liking for other world music. The title of it was called Coracoa Selvagem, which meant in English ‘Wild Heart.’

“It’s in Portuguese,†his mother said to him. “I took that as a foreign language, but that was years ago.â€

“So you have no idea what it’s saying?†he asked her blinking a bit. She shook her head and that was enough for him.

It was already late into the afternoon and Riku didn’t really do anything, other than not answer his calls. Surprisingly neither Sora nor Kairi called him in almost the whole day, which was a record in Riku’s book.

The sun was starting to cast long shadows as the afternoon was starting to set, signaling another day passing by. Since the three of them were leaving this day in general was starting to go by pretty fast.

Riku laid on his bed watching the sun set for a minute, in his hand he held the little mp3 device and closed his eyes for a moment. The song from before, the one titled Snow, played in his head for a moment. ‘Tomorrow’s the last day,’ he thought to himself taking in a mouthful of air, he exhaled slowly and frowned for a moment. ‘A week in advance would’ve been nice, but that’s not how it works,’ he could imagine Selma saying something along the lines of that, and he chuckled a bit to himself.

He looked up at that same familiar ceiling that was over his head, and in a day and something hours that wasn’t going to be there. ‘I know when I go out tomorrow I won’t come back home to this,’ he felt a bit upset about leaving the life he knew for only a couple of months now.

Final Day…​

“Come on, Sora!†Kairi yelled at him as he was lagging behind. He said something about the items being too heavy. “Come on, put some muscle into it!â€

“I’d like to see you try!†Sora said straining under the weight of the items. “In case you haven’t noticed I’m not that-†there was a heavy thud and Kairi rushed over to the spiky brunette’s side.

“Are you okay?†she asked, the look of concern sketched on her face. Kairi pulled him up and sighed in relief noticing that he wasn’t bruised nor had any cuts on him.

“Like I was saying before…†Sora sighed heavily and put his arms up in the air, “I’m not that muscular…â€

“Sorry,†she said laughing nervously looking down at the ground for a moment. The boxes were dented a bit, but it wasn’t that bad. A couple of items had fallen out of one box and she went over to pick the items up. “You brought snacks?â€

“Well there aren’t any in the gummi ship.†He pointed out putting his hands on the back of his head.

“Do the words ‘wrap drive’ mean anything?†she asked tossing him a bag of potato chips.

He caught it and laughed nervously and innocently said he had forgotten about that. It was true he did forget about that, but with the worlds and their barriers the paths would be lost again, and they’d have to travel like they did in their first adventure.

“Where are we meeting up again?†Sora asked helping Kairi pick up the items from the ground.

“By the edge of this island where you can see the other island we use to play on as kids.â€

“Does Riku know?†the male teenager asked.

“I tried to call him on his cell but he won’t pick up, and his mom said he wasn’t home.â€

“What the heck is he doing out so early in the morning?†Sora asked finally being able to carry the box. Kairi shrugged for a moment and carried the lighter box as the two of them walked down the sidewalk.

“I’ll take a guess…†Kairi said nudging her head forward. Sora’s blue eyes followed as he spotted two familiar people. It was Riku and Selma, the two of them were walking down the same sidewalk as Sora and Kairi. “That’s should be enough to guess…†she said smiling. “But what he’s doing taking her out so early in t€

“Beats me…†Sora said trying to think of something. He watched the two of them mess around with the other’s hair. “He likes her a lot, doesn’t he?â€

“So you noticed it too?†she asked looking at Sora for a moment.

“It’s kind of hard not to notice it…†Sora said almost tripping over his own feet.

“Be careful…†Kairi said starting to worry a bit about his well being.

Sora gained control of his balance and laughed it off. The two of them started to follow slowly behind to other two individuals. He thought of a plan and laughed triumphantly as Kairi gave him a confused stare for a second or two.

“Come on don’t look at me like that, I know you wanna see what they’re going to be up to.â€

“Not really…â€

“But you were thinking it…†Sora said hoping that his little plan would work.

“Well now I am…†Kairi said sighing in defeat.

“Yes!†Sora said feeling like he won something big. “So let’s drop off these boxes by the pier and then we’ll go and spy on them.â€

 

This one was too short in my opinion. But It was awsome still.

 

Thanks for waiting you guys!

Chapter Five: Can I Tell You?

Riku looked at the girl for a moment and played a small smile on his lips when her gaze didn’t catch up with his. The girl was in rapture, this here being the sense of joy, that she was eating a sea-salt ice-cream popsicle stick so early in the morning, strange how someone could find it that enjoyable to be eating ice-cream so early in the morning. He in turn ate the ice-cream he bought for himself and savored the taste that melted into his mouth.

“Thanks, Riku,†she said quietly looking at him for a moment.

“No problem,†he said patting her on the head. He asked her to give him her hand and she did without question. Riku pulled something out of his jean pocket; it was the little blue mp3 device. He handed it to her, letting his hand linger on hers for a second longer.

“Did you like the songs?†she asked looking at him.

“I liked the Black Mages a lot,†he said remembering a tune from her mp3 device. She said that they were her favorite. “I liked Jenova,†he told her smiling slightly as he took a bite out of the ice cream.

“Jenova was pretty good,†she said smiling slightly humming the tune as she moved side to side. “Those Who Fight Further, and Matoya’s Cave were my favorite.â€

Riku smiled for a bit, watching the area around him. The two of them were sitting outside the ice cream parlor, it opened around 8 in the morning considering that the temperature would get around the 80 mark, especially during the summer.

He decided to wear a black and white version of the clothing he wore two years ago, his other clothes didn’t fit him, and so he had gone to buy some new ones. Selma was wearing a black t-shirt with some sort of tribal marking on it, it was fabricated in white material, and she also wore some black jeans and white tennis shoes with black skulls on them.

“Hey come on,†Riku said holding a bare Popsicle stick, “let’s go we have more things to do.†He out stretched his hand and waited for her to take hold of it.

Selma looked at the wristband for a moment it had an emblem, it looked to be custom made. It was a shape that looked oddly familiar in her eyes. It brought back a feeling of nostalgia, she let a smile slip out as that little emblem brought a warm fuzzy memory into her heart, but she didn’t know why. ‘It’s been decades since anyone has seen that,’ she thought to herself, unknown to her that Riku was trying to get her attention.

“ Selma…†she finally snapped out of her little trance and blinked for a while looking up at Riku. “Come on, we have more stuff to do,†he said in a gentle tone.

“Ri…Right!†she said trying to push the embarrassment off of her. She took hold of his hand and he led the way onto their next destination.

Unbeknownst to the two of them Sora and Kairi were watching them from a safe distance. Riku’s two good friends enjoyed seeing him this happy, but at the same time when they thought about it, it was also depressing. Out of all the days he finally found happiness he had to leave to do what it was that Keyblade wielders did.

Riku led her down the sidewalk, and Sora and Kairi were right behind them. Selma with her free hand placed her little mp3 device into her pocket and allowed Riku to led the way. ‘I feel like a little kid,’ she thought walking behind him. ‘But he’s enjoying himself, so that’s good.’

“Where are we going now?†she asked looking at the back of Riku’s head. “Hey come on, don’t tell me it’s a secret.â€

“I can’t really say…†he told her looking at her for a moment. “But I think you’ll like it.â€

“I’m sure whatever it is I’ll like it anyway.†She told him honestly as she patted his hand with her free hand.

Riku felt a small blush creep up on him and he turned away from her, clearing his throat. The two of them were waiting for the cross light to turn green, because no matter where you lived green meant ‘go.’ He still held onto her hand and at some points he had to pull her close to him when the streets would get crowded as the two of them went deeper into the area. Sora and Kairi struggled to keep up with them, and Sora had to follow Riku’s tactic, Sora didn’t want to lose Kairi in the sea of people.

“Hey hold on,†Kairi said wrapping both of her arms around Sora’s left arm. “Where the heck is he leading her?â€

“Beats me…†Sora said looking straight ahead. “I think he’s taking her to the little shopping area, the one in Anatore.â€

“Anatore, hey remember when you and Riku said you’d take me there?â€

Sora laughed slightly, out of embarrassment and out of nervousness. He finally remembered that day. He told her that it was lucky her day then, since it did happen to be true that they were going to the shopping center in the city of Anatore.

“Anatore…†Riku said answering Selma’s question. “You said you wanted to go, so that’s where we’re going.â€

“You were actually paying attention when I said that?†she said stopping him as she squeezed his hand.

“I listen to what you have to say…†he said sounding a bit wounded. Riku looked back at the dark eyed girl with his turquoise eyes. She was able to mend him without words all it took was a big smile to get him moving again. “So then, Selma where do you want to go?â€

“Anywhere you decide to go.†She said laughing a bit as they walked past the crowd of people. “Besides you’re the one leading the way.†She said holding hold his hand in her grasp.

Riku laughed nervously completely forgetting that he was still holding her hand. He let go of her head as they finally reached the outside door of the shopping center. Selma stated that she didn’t have any money with her at the moment.

“Don’t worry, I’ll buy you something, as a little keepsake.†He said looking back at her.

‘That’s very gentleman like of him. Though it’s not right for him to buy me anything he doesn’t have to, I mean I haven’t given him anything, or have I?’ she thought about it for a moment and sighed, she managed to smile.

Riku held the door open for her and she thanked him, he loved watching the way she would act, it was almost funny, but in a cute way, if that way could even be accomplished. If it could, Selma had it down to perfectly, it made him feel like he was at peace whenever she thanked him or smiled at him.

He noticed right there that the blue streaks in her were gone they had faded away with time. He never noticed the little things, until now that was.

“Hey your streaks are gone.†He pointed out following after her.

“They fade with time of course,†she said bumping into him. The place was crowded; after all it was the weekend. “Hey you know what I’ve noticed, the weekend is a time for couples…†she started to ramble on a bit about the subject.

“Yeah I guess they are,†he said tapping her shoulder to get her attention. “So then, since I’m leading the way,†she turned to face him, “I’m guessing we should probably go to Little Tokyo. Does that sound all right with you?â€

“Yeah!†she said nodding her head happily. A couple of people passed and Selma leaned against Riku so that they wouldn’t bump into them. Riku blushed slightly looking away for a moment. “Little Tokyo it is!†she said wrapping her arm around his waist.

“You act like such a little kid.†He said messing up her hair slightly. She in turn did the same to him, the two of them laughing for a moment. He placed his arm over her shoulder and expressed amusement for a second or two, “I forgot how short you are…â€

On the Second Floor ​

Above on the second floor Kairi and Sora were gasping for air as they had to make a mad dash so that the other two wouldn’t see them.

“Do you still want to spy on them?†Kairi asked closing her eyes for a moment.

“How about…†Sora thought about it for a moment. “How about we just walk around, you know relax, I know for a fact Riku does have his cell phone, so…†he played a devilish grin.

Little Tokyo​

“I’m not coming out…†Selma said standing a mere inch away from the curtain. “I change my mind I don’t like how it looks on me…†she had finally picked something out.

Riku sat in the waiting room flashing a nervous smile to the lady who was waiting for the girl to finish up in there.

“Is she your girlfriend young man?†the woman in her mid forties asked.

“Ah, no we’re close friends,†Riku said looking up at the lady for a moment.

“Yeah, it starts out that way,†the woman said reminiscing about her days when she was young.

Riku pleaded with his friend to get out of the dressing area so that others could use it. The owner of the store was patient, but still he prayed that, that one girl would come out some time soon. Selma sighed slightly and shook her head; the good thing was that no one could see her due to the curtain in the way.

“Amaterasu let’s go!â€

“Wait hold on Xe-†she paused for a moment not wanting to say his name.

“The ceremony’s going to start. King Ansem said I can’t be late!†he took a hold of her hand and led her down the corridors. “Besides you said you were going to wear that dress, and you look nice in it too, and I REALLY don’t think you want to keep King Ansem waiting.†He said smiling at her. That day he smiled at her, it was the first time she had blushed in plain sight.

“I like how it looks on you,†the woman in her mid forties brought Selma back into reality. Selma blinked and gave a big smile to the woman, and bowed at her in gratitude. The woman walked past her and it was her turn to try on the clothing she wanted to buy. Riku stole a glance at his close friend and he felt a blush creep up on him that was when he looked away from her.

“Does it look okay?†Selma asked modeling the dress shyly. She wasn’t a big fan of Asian inspired dresses, although she did think that they looked very attractive.

“Um,†his turquoise eyes scanned the dress from head to toe. It was rather elegant looking in his eyes. It had a mixture of blue, white, and gold designs on it, with a thick black lace around the torso to keep it all together. The sleeves were a bit long on her, but they both didn’t care, the length went to her ankles with a slit down the thigh area on each side. Riku pulled out his phone from his back pocket and switched the cellular device to act as a camera. “Cheese!†he said.

“Cheese!†she said giving a big smile. The flash of light from the little phone came out and Riku’s phone captured Selma in a stylish looking kimono. “How does it look?†she asked leaning over him, watching the screen on the phone.

“See for yourself…†he said handing the phone to her.

Outside of the store ​

“Kairi!†Sora whispered to her grabbing her arm. The blue eyed brunette boy pointed inside the shop. “It’s Selma! Look at that!â€

Kairi turned around and smiled. She commented on how that type of dress appealed a lot to the girl’s figure. And from what she could tell it looked like Riku was also having a good time, just being around her.

Sora pulled out his own phone and zoomed in, he wasn’t able to get a good resolution from the picture, but he knew who it was anyway. He pressed the flash button and there in still life, captured a picture of Selma standing next to Riku smiling slightly.

“They look like they’re having a good time,†Kairi said. “I really wish we didn’t have to leave though, it makes me sad just thinking about it.â€

“Think of how Riku must feel,†Sora said, he knew quite well how his bosom friend was feeling. “I’m sure of it though, well meet up with her someday, right?â€

The question was directed to Kairi and she nodded, watching the two of them, the dark haired girl and the boy with silver hair, it was a bitter-sweet. The moment was cut short due to the fact that those two were already purchasing something. Sora and Kairi left entrance of the store rather quickly.

The cash register​

“Wait Riku, I mean $35.60, that’s too much!â€

There was no way around to stopping him. He had promised her that he was indeed going to buy her something and that he didn’t care how much he paid so long at he did indeed get her something. She protested once again, and this time he did listen.

“I love the dress, but it’s too much for me…†she said getting out of the line. She let other people pass by her so that they could pay. “I love to draw…†she said pointing out a small set of pens and pencils by the register. “I want that instead.â€

“What a shame, you would’ve looked so cute in that kimono,†he said joking around with her of course, but then again fifty percent of the joke is always true.

“Ha…†she forced herself to laugh as she brought the pen and pencil kit to him. “So, give me the kimono and I’ll go put it back, and you can pay for that.â€

Riku watched her walk across the store with many Asian trinkets, and items, lamps, clothing, and even food. After a while he lost her in the crowd of people with the same colored hair. He missed watching the blue streaks, since they stood out from that of other people. The young teen went back in line to pay for the $20 item. As he approached the cash register she came back standing next to him, like a little kid impatiently waiting for their turn.

The cashier rung up the total and told the two of them to have a nice day. As Selma was the last person to leave from the register she heard the cashier say that Riku was ‘pretty hot,’ her cheeks blushed slightly and she shook her head laughing away the reaction on her face.

It was about 2 o’clock now, and the walk back to the beach from Anatore would be too much for both of them to handle. Kairi and Sora for the most part, unknown to the other two, were already back at the beach.

It was Riku’s idea to take the bus to the beach. Selma still felt bad about the whole thing, he was paying an enormous amount, she added everything up in her head and the total came out to about $50. She sighed for a moment feeling even worse because of how much he was spending. ‘I know it’s out last day, but he doesn’t have too… In a way he was like that too, funny they’re both so alike,’ she thought sitting next to Riku on the bus.

There were so many things she wanted to tell him, ‘But not like this, this isn’t right, he’s leaving and I don’t want him to worry,’ she thought sighing for a moment or two.

Riku was lost in his own thoughts. He had never felt so, happy, ever, but the only times he did remember being happy was when he was with his friends. Selma was his friend, but it was completely different. Even after spending less than a month with her, well really almost a month, he felt as though he could accomplish something new each day. He loved the fact that when he could ramble she would listen so intently. Though the same question came back to haunt him, ‘I wonder if that’s just how she is?’

He wanted to hold her tightly like he did the two nights ago; he wanted to comfort her when she cried. He knew that when she did cry today, it was because of him. He didn’t want her to cry because he was leaving. ‘I’m just thinking selfishly,’ he thought to himself, as he so desperately wanted to stay by her side, to protect her.

Riku’s turquoise eyes looked at her face, it was flawless to him. The way she smiled the way she talked sometimes. He realized that was what drew him to her, their first meeting she was shy. He closed his eyes and leaned against his seat thinking back to that day, she had made him feel more cheerful. ‘She doesn’t deserve me as a friend though…’ he opened his eyes slightly looking at the scenery from the moving vehicle.

The girl glanced at him for a moment and flashed him one of those very smiled that he enjoyed seeing. The more she thought about him and Riku, the more she began to see how similar the two were. ‘His smile, his jokes, everything about Riku does remind me of him… But Riku’s different he’s so much more, Riku-ish,’ she thought trying hard not to laugh out loud. She noticed the familiar scene, the beach was coming into view, from where the sun was positioned in the sky one could say it was about 3 o’clock now. She looked at the yellow chord that would signal the bus to stop. She was about to pull on it when she heard a familiar ding.

“Stop requested,†the automated voice said from the speakers overhead.

“Riku, hey, come on,†she said nudging him softly the boy had fallen asleep. “Our stop’s right here.†She said softly whispering into his ear. “Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey,†a Chester cat smile was plastered onto her expression.

On the other Island​

“Give her a paopu fruit?†Riku asked again for the umpteenth time.

“Yeah, it’s kind of sweet, don’t you think?†Sora said reiterating what Kairi had told him a while ago. “It’s obvious you really do like her.â€

“I don’t know if she feels the same way though,†Riku said scratching the back of his head. When it came to emotions that made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, Riku didn’t rally major in stuff like that. It was even a miracle if Sora understood that feeling, the only one he could turn to was Kairi, but she said it was better and more rewarding if Riku found it on his own. “I should probably give it a try though…â€

“That’s the spi-†Kairi almost feel forward, straight down the pier. She had felt something creep up against her leg. She regained her balance and titled back before she dove forward. “As I was saying before, that’s the spirit. I’m sure she feels the same way about you, I mean isn’t obvious?â€

It was like talking to a pair of rocks, the two of them just shook their head.

“Well it is…†she said whining a bit.

“Riku, E-R-F to Riku, hello?†she said exaggerating the last word a bit. “Hey…†he finally blinked coming back to reality. “You dozed off on me there buddy. Are you okay?†he nodded a bit confused but never the less back once more into reality. “I was asking you if you knew at what time they were going to come and pick you up.â€

“Around…†the turquoise eyed teen started to speak, but then found the cause of the problem. “I don’t know…†he said hearing her sigh sharply.

Riku called up Sora on his phone and waited to hear his voice pick up.

Sora and Kairi ​

Sora finally was able to get into the moment of things. He was just about to plant his first kiss on the girl he came to care for so much. Though just as he was mere inches away from her his cell phone rang out.

Selma and Riku​

“ Five o’clock,†Riku said hanging up with Sora. “He sounded a bit depressed though when I called.â€

“Aw, I hope he wasn’t in the middle of something important, like eating or something,†she said thinking about if for a moment.

“You think about food 24/7.†He said.

“What can I say, I love food!†she said happily twirling around for a moment, her plastic white bag moved along with her. Riku took a hold of her wrist, he held on to her gingerly for a second and pulled her carefully. She spun around for a moment, and she bumped into him. “Hey…†she looked up slightly at him.

“We got about an hour or so before I have to go back to the other island,†he said sounding a bit dejected. She tried her best to cheer him up, but she felt as though she didn’t have the mental stamina to do it.

“Hey, come on…†she said poking him slightly in the ribs. “It’s not going to be that bad. We can send each other text message through our cell phones, you know that.â€

The two of them sat down by the shore of the beach taking in the beauty that Destiny Islands had to offer. The skies were starting to set, and it as around 4 o’clock now. The firmament was starting to display a color of pink orange, and light crimson dusky color, painting the water as well. It was peaceful just sitting there hearing the waves hit the shore, or hit the larger body of water in the distance.

“You’re lucky,†she told him; “You get to see the sun set in a lot of different worlds, don’t you?†he turned to her slightly.

“I’ve… I’ve never really paid attention when I was in the other worlds,†he said holding some remorse in his voice; he wanted to cheer her up a bit.

“Well then,†she said punching his arm playfully, “Start paying attention, I want you to take pictures of the different sunsets in each world you visit, okay?â€

“It’s a promise then,†he said holding out his little finger to her. “All right?â€

“A promise,†she said grasping his little finger with hers. “I had a lot of fun today.â€

Riku eyes brightened up a bit when he heard her say that. His heart was fluttering around when that sentence rolled of her tongue. She started to fidget around with the necklace he had given her not that long ago. At that moment a very faint smile was placed on her face. Selma’s vision was starting to double as tears were starting to form. She tried her best to smile at him, but al she could do was let the tears fall, and her bottom lip started to tremble.

“You can cry…†he said to her as softly as he could. Riku looked down at the sand. ‘She probably doesn’t want me to look at her while she cries,’ he thought hearing her sob a bit. At that moment he felt a pair of hands gently touch both sides of his cheeks. They felt cold and he quickly cupped them with his own hands. She closed her eyes and gave him a big smile. ‘I wish we met earlier, you’re probably thinking the sam thing, aren’t you?’ he removed one of his hands from hers and wiped away one of her tears with his thumb. “You know, I really would’ve loved to have bought you that dress…†he tried to get her to relax.

“It’s…†she cleared her throat and placed her hands down to her lap, “It was too much for you to pay.â€

“It wouldn’t have mattered to me,†he said looking at the white plastic bag she had placed by her feet. “You’ve done so much for me, and I wanted to repay you with something.â€

“But…†she shook her head slightly. He noticed she had her eyes closed tightly. “It was a lot, and I mean…â€

“Well technically…†he smiled at her, “You’re worth more than that.â€

“Oh hey… did you know there’s this survey you can take on the internet, and it tells you how much you’re worth? Anyway, because I’m left handed I’m worth $5 million,†she said trying to get him to laugh. “I’m sorry, here you were trying to make a point and…†she paused as her eyes wandered to his facial expression. “Riku…?â€

Riku felt his eyes get a bit warm, and his vision was starting to blur a bit, his own emotion of sadness finally caught up with him. He didn’t express it for one because it was not a part of his nature, but part of him wanted to have her comfort him. Selma wrapped her arms around him, placing her chin to rest on his head. She rocked him gently side to side, hearing him breath, his body felt tense as he began to break down a tad bit in his own way.

“Riku…†she whispered his name. “I’m glad I met you.â€

His turquoise orbs looked up slightly, watching her expression and he looked back down. He felt a little bit like a child in her arms and hugged her tighter. He could hear her heartbeat race as he rested his head on her chest. She finally let him go and the two of them cleared their throat forcing a smile out of the other person.

“Listen, Selma…†he started to twirl his thumbs around. Riku sat with his knees against his chest. “I…†he stammered a bit, but yet she still placed attentive eyes on him. “Come with me…†he finally mustered enough courage to say.

He took her hand in his and the two of them stood up. They walked down the shore and into a little shack. It was dark in there, so the two of them had to watch their step as they went up the stairs. Riku pushed the door open and watched the sunset touch the area they were on. The two of them walked down the wooden bridge and Riku ran up to the paopu tree. He plucked two out from the crooked tree and ran back showing her what he held in his hand.

“A paopu fruit…†she said touching the edge of one of the curious star shaped fruit.

The silver haired Keyblade wielder placed one of the star shaped fruits in her hand . She accepted the gift and smiled happily. The dark haired girl paused for a moment and offered to share her piece only if he shared his.

“This way,†he said smiling to her, “we won’t be that far apart. We’ll always be connected.â€

“Friends in my heart…†she whispered to herself. The two of them bit into the star shaped, it was tangy, but the after taste was rather sweet. “It’s sour…†she said making a face as the tangy flavor danced in her tongue.

Sora and Kairi​

The two of them sat near the edge of the pier waiting for Riku and the gummi ship to arrive. It was Sora who had noticed that Riku’s boat was gone, so it would be a nice surprise to greet the two of them after their little ‘date’ ended. Kairi pointed out a silhouette traversing over the water, it looked like a boat. The two of them waved happily to their friends. It was at that moment that something was glistening in the sky. Sora looked up at the dusk setting in the sky and noticed something red approaching. It was the gummi ship piloted none other than Donald and Goofy. Riku finally made it to the pier and looked up at the sky, pointing out the rocket that would take them away. Selma looked up and smiled, she felt a distance memory come back to her, though that feeling went away as the gummi ship started to hover over the beach.

“I’m going to miss you,†Sora said helping Selma out of Riku’s boat. “You’ve been a great friend to him, and to us too.†He said giving her his trademark smile.

“I really hate saying goodbye…†the dark haired girl said blowing up her cheeks. Kairi hugged her with all her might and Selma felt as though her ribcage was going to collapse or something.

The ship landed on the sand of the island, and all four of them huddled by the red ship. It made a loud hissing sound as the engine was slowly starting to turn off. One side of the ship started to slowly come down, like a mechanical garage door. Selma watched the ship for a moment and looked back at her new friends.

At that moment a white duck with blue clothing walked down the hatch and onto the side. Selma titled her head slightly trying to figure out how the duck came to be, but she didn’t get anywhere with her thoughts. This duck’s name was Donald Duck, Sora had spoken about him once or twice around her. She remembered that he used magic, it stuck in her head as Sora use to poke fun at him. Then a tall figure came out making a a-hyuck sound. Her mind went back to a distant memory, but she brought herself to reality before she became absorbed into her childhootroductions were said and done hugs were given out to everyone, a warm fuzzy feeling and a lot of other things too, like nostalgia, and it was almost time for the three teenagers to leave.

“Ya know, you look pretty familiar…†Goofy said nodding slightly to the dark haired girl. “Ya sure we haven’t met before?â€

“Nope, Goofy,†she said shaking her head. She pulled out her little mp3 device and checked the time on the little machine it read 5:25 p.m. “It’s late you guys, I mean I really hate to spoil the fun but…†she heard the duck laugh nervously.

“Let’s go guys,†Donald said also bidding his goodbye to Selma. Goofy said his good bye as well. He still didn’t shake off the fact that he had seen her somewhere else.

Kairi and Sora walked towards the ship, and they each looked back at Riku and Selma. The silver haired teen was trudging behind them slowly. A gentle voice called out his name and he looked back at her. Selma held on to his wrist and forced a smile on her face.

“Take this with you…†she said forcing the little mp3 device in his hand. “I want it back, so you have to take good care of it, okay?â€

‘There are so many things I want to tell you…’ Riku thought for a moment pulling her into a hug. ‘I’m not going to see you for who knows how long, I won’t see you laugh or smile, get angry, or even see you cry,’ he sighed heavily onto to her hair, it smelled just like mandarins, papaya and paopu. ‘I understand what it is I’m feeling, I…’

“I…†Riku started to whisper softly to her.

“You have to go…†she said letting go of him. “Take care, please?â€

 

Awww so close Sora. But it serves him right for spying on Riku. I just wish King Micky was there. Didn't he say that someone was going with them? And Selma knew Xehanort?

 

heh, thanks for the comment. Huh, well I really can't answer all of that but I mean that's why I'm posting another chapter. This one's a bit shorter though for my liking.

Traditionally when I wrote the others chapters there was going to be a POV shift but it started to flow better in the sixth chapter and later on. Sorry for the typos!

Enjoy!

Chapter Six: It’s a Start

R I K U ​

I sighed for a moment staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling before my eyes. I had not been able to rest for two weeks, we just got back from a place called Atlantica, or something like that, I can’t really remember the name. It was pretty cool though. Donald used his magic to transform us into mere people. Sora had a dolphin fin on his mere-man tail, and Kairi had one that was almost a splitting image of that girl Ariel’s.

Ariel, she’s the daughter to King Trident, and she married someone from above the surface, I think his name was Eric. Anyway they have a kid now, she’s a cute kid, I think she’s two years old or something like that. The Heartless made their way to the ‘surface dwellers’ and at the bottom of the sea. It was hard learning how to swim with meremaid’s tail. Mines ended up looking like a skinner version of an orca. I was able to take a picture of the sunset on where the humans of that world lived. Did I mention that Ariel’s a human now? Yeah, it’s pretty strange. Sora clued me in what happened with that world since I never set foot, or rather fin, in that place.

Donald had octopus legs and Goofy was a turtle, it was pretty funny. I probably got a big work from that world because fighting underwater was pretty rough for me, and for Kairi too. Sora showed us the rope’s though, and Kairi’s fighting skills are developing, slowly, but hey it’s a pretty big improvement. The only time I saw her fight was in the World that Never Was.

I remember looking out of the gummi ship, the day we left Destiny Islands. Even when I close my eyes I see my home, and I see her too. I turned over in my bed, hearing the springs creak as I shifted my weight on the divan. This room, I call it the Blue Room, I think that’s its name anyway, it has a blue sheeted bed with a coffee table in the middle of the room, with a black rug, and a desk up against one of the blue walls. We had to stop in a place called ‘ Traverse Town’ because we ran out of supplies after our little adventure in that world. At least there was an outlet in my room, so I can charge the mp3 player and my phone, I’d rather use the outlet then have Donald use his Thunder spell to charge if back up.

There was a light knock on my door, and told whoever it was on the other side that they could come in. I turned my head slightly and looked at whoever it was that entered. It was none other than my best friend, Sora. He said ‘hello’ and waved at me slightly, and I waved back.

“Anything new today?†he asked referring to something, I just didn’t know what that something was.

“Wha?†I asked, blinking for a moment.

“Did she send you anything?†he asked, his blue eyes holding some sadness in them.

“Not yet, it’s going to take a while before it can reach her.†I said speaking in a rather low tone.

“Oh…†he said obviously thinking of something else to say. “We’re going to be leaving soon, I just came by to tell you that, so…â€

“Got it…†I said watching Sora say his little goodbye and closed the door of the Blue Room. “I wonder where we’re going…†I got up from the bed and stretched for a moment. I put on my black sneakers, and grabbed the black hooded shirt from the chair on the coffee table. When I slid my shirt on I heard a strange sound coming from in the room. I looked around, looking under the bed, under the pillow, I came up to the desk and noticed it was my cell phone.

I flipped it open and smiled as I knew who it was from. It was a feeling that came from the bottom of my heart, and I could feel my breathing stop for that small moment in time. I held it in as I opened the text message from her.

‘Hey what’s up, Riku? I loved the sunset picture from that place, it was so beautiful! I’ve been using that kit you bought me, I know, when you come back I’ll show you all the cool stuff I’ve drawn, I’m sure you’ll like it. I’ve been checking up on your mom, like you asked me too, I haven’t forgotten my promise, and neither should you. P.S. I miss u.’

“ Selma…†it warmed my heart knowing that she kept her promise. I unhooked the charger from the phone, and did the same thing to the little mp3 player. Funny, we almost forgot those boxes Sora had laying around by the pier, if we did I wouldn’t have had anyway to communicate with her, or keep the mp3 player charged.

I sent her back a text message. From the date on it, it would take at five days for it to get there.

‘Hey Selma, I miss u 2… I’d love to see the drawings you’ve made so far, hey send me one on your phone. We’ve been missing you a lot over here, I feel bad for Kairi she’s the only girl in the group. I’m glad you liked the sunset, I’m going to be leaving soon, so I have to go, ttyl.’ I pressed the send button on the menu from the cell phone’s screen and sighed.

“She sent you something, did she?†Kairi’s voice was heard from my room. I turned around and saw her leaning against the doorframe with a little grin on her face. “I saw the look in your eyes when you sent it. It’s kind of cute,†she said laughing for a while. “Sora told me to tell you that we’re leaving so…â€

“Yeah I hear you…†I told her grabbing the items on the desk and tucking some two items in the pockets of my black jeans. “Do you know where we’re going?â€

“I have no clue…†she said as the two of us walked down the hallway of the hotel.

It was like this the last we boarded the gummi ship. Donald and Sora were arguing about who got to pilot the gummi ship. It as a good thing that I have her mp3 player, and I stuck the little ear pieces into my ear and heard the music it had to offer. The title, it read as followed ‘The Lost Horizon’ from the play list titled OCRemix. It was very, how could I put this, strange. It stirred feelings in my heart thought I wouldn’t feel again.

Kairi was fast asleep, so I didn’t feel bad that Sora and Donald were still arguing even as we traveled through space on the red colored ship.

I looked out of one of the windows, watching the stars in their natural environment. They looked beautiful there, I couldn’t help but take a picture of it. I grabbed my camera phone and clicked the flash button. It captured the image of the stars as we were traveling through space. I placed my hands on my chest and I sighed for a moment. ‘I wish you could see what my hearts sees…’ I prayed a little, silently in my head. ‘I hope this thought can reach your heart,’ I felt a sly smile creep up on me and I shook my head placing the camera phone back into my pocket.

“Destination, Radiant Garden. Arrival time 3 hours…†the intercom was fully automated, and it pierced through the sound of the music I was listening too.

A M A T E R A S U​

“Welcome back, Amaterasu.†A cheerful looking ninja greeted me.

I blinked for a moment, still not use to my real name yet. I grinned sheepishly at her. She was wearing a black outfit, it reminded me of the one she wore when she was a kid. Mind you I’m older than I look, but that’s my little secret. I looked back at the others who came with me. I really shouldn’t call them others, they are in fact my family, well the only family I have let that is.

“It’s nice to see you too, Great Ninja Yuffie!†I said giving her a big smile.

Yuffie Kisaragi blushed, I don’t know if it was because of how I said it, or rather that I was embarrassing her. I knew she was still the same Yuffie, no matter how great of a ninja she became. She still got motion sickness I know that much of her is still true, I won’t forget that.

“It’s nice seeing you too, Yomigami, Tachigami, Gekigami, Moegami, and you too Kazegami!†she said cheerfully as we all smiled at her pleasantly. “I’d like to welcome you all back home, to Radiant Garden.â€

“They sent you of all people to be our receiver…†Gekigami said trying hard not to laugh. “Excuse me, excuse me…†he said bowing slightly. “It’s just that you… flying this little hovercraft…†he pointed to the cargo like craft ship. “Don’t you still get motion sickness?â€

“No!†she said shaking her head, hopefully she knew that my brother was just joking around, or least thought that he was. “Listen, just let me do my job you guys, besides this wasn’t the kind of reunion I thought we’d be having.â€

“True, true…†I told her smiling softly. “I didn’t think the darkness would swallow Destiny Islands again, I guess I thought wrong…†I sighed heavily.

“That’s where…!†I noticed the look of worry in Yuffie’s eyes.

“Don’t worry; they left long before that happened.†I calmed her down.

Yuffie started to talk about what happened while we were gone for who knows how long. It had been so long since we were home, I mean finally home, back where this all started, at least that’s what I can remember at least. All of us started to go to the little cargo ship.

“ Selma…†I heard Yuffie call out my preferred name. “How have you been most of all?â€

“Just peachy!†I said smiling a bit. “Why do you ask, Yuffie?â€

“No reason…†she said shaking her head for a moment. “Ready to see the others?â€

“Hey, do we get cake after this?†I asked her trying to lighten up the mood.

“Still the same old hungry girl…†the ninja said laughing. We all ended up hearing some unearthly barking sounds from the black painted gummi ship my big brother had piloted. “What’s that?†Yuffie asked stopping all of us in our tracks.

“A Shadow Hound…†Yomigami said pushing back his hair a bit. “We picked Chico up a while back…â€

R I K U​

“Riku…†my eyes weren’t opening. “Riku, hey come on wake up…†someone was trying to get me to wake up. I couldn’t hear the roaring engine of the gummi ship.

“Are we here?†I asked whoever it was that trying to wake me up.

I walked outside of the ship, rubbing my eyes. I was surprised that I didn’t stumble forward or anything, because I was pretty tired, a three hour nap. Everything was different in Hollow Bastion, well now it’s called Radiant Garden. Hollow either might mean empty or depressed, and ‘bastion’ meant fortress or citadel. The name probably came from the fact that the castle looked depressed, hence the title, Hollow Bastion. Anyway with that aside the place had a lot of green things, and by that I mean bushes, trees, it was looking more like a place from those Old English towns you see in fairy tales.

Donald and Goofy were showing us the way to the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, or what I like to call HBRC, a better way to remember it.

Sora was excited about coming back, because of the friends he had made while he was there. All of us were walking through the area, when something, like a needle, was slowly working its way into my heart, a little jab here and there. I winced slightly looking at my chest for a moment, there was nothing there.

As the group walked… ​

Riku sighed for a moment and that it was nothing more than just heartburn, or something like that. He continued to follow the others down the area, sometimes though he would look over his shoulder, thinking that he was being watched sometimes.

“I wonder what’s up with everyone…†Sora said looking back at Kairi and Riku. The others just shrugged they didn’t know. It took a while for everyone to finally make it to the headquarters of the HBRC.

Sora noticed that a couple of people had gone inside, and for a moment he could’ve sworn he saw Yuffie in that bunch. He shook his head and made a mad dash to the front, he couldn’t wait to see everyone again.

Within the building…​

“They’re in a meeting?†Sora asked looking at what the wooden door inside the building had. “But…†he thought about it some more and sighed.

The younger male Keyblade wielder just sighed and sat down on one of the wooden chairs. He was looking forward to seeing them again, but he had to wait now. Donald and Goofy looked around the place, calling out some of the people’s names from the HBRC.

Upstairs… ​

“As I live and breathe,†a man with brown hair and matching facial hair cried out happily. He wore a blue suit that was rather strange, but that’s how he carried himself. “If it isn’t the Hikari family.†The members smiled slightly, and corrected him on their last name.

“Diaz, Hikari’s our code name remember?†the youngest one corrected him quite casually. “It’s nice to see you too, Reeve Tuesti.â€

Reeve was head of Radiant Garden’s Urban Development Department and was a primary architect for the construction of the capital called Midgar. He was a very serious, middle-aged man, and with that came into possession of a strong sense of responsibility. It had been a long time since the Diaz family had seen him, he’s now the head founder of the HBRC.

“Did you really have to put that little sign on the door though?†Yomigami said hearing voices coming from downstairs. “Whoever came in sounded like they really wanted to talk to the others.â€

Selma hunched over slightly in her chair feeling a little jabbing pain in her heart. She exhaled sharply and muttered something under her breath.

“That sounded an awful lot like Sora…†they all heard Yuffie speak out.

“Sora?†Amaterasu called out looking up at the others, she breathed in a bit, feeling her heart mentally twist in pain. She noticed that Reeve leaned forward in his leather chair, placing his elbows on the wooden desk, he had his hands closed together.

“It’s better for now, that you all keep under a low profile. It’s not all that safe for you guys to be sticking your heads out from hiding.†The others nodded understanding everything that was at stake.

Downstairs… ​

Sora was pacing back and forth a bit, looking at the wooden door with the note on it. He did kill some time as he had gone to pay his visit to Winnie the Pooh in the book. He had taken Riku and Kairi along for the ride, both of them seemed to have liked the peaceful setting there. It made the others feel better too, they didn’t really like waiting that much. The spiky haired Keyblade wielder sighed and suddenly his curiosity couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed hold of the brass doorknob and the others watched his every move. Sora’s blue eyes scanned the area upstairs and noticed a white light coming forth from the cracks in the door, the air was a bit frosty, which meant that someone had the air conditioning on. He stopped himself from going any further and closed the door letting his conscious get the better of him.

Sora sighed a bit and went to go sit on a wooden chair, he titled the chair back and forth hopefully passing the time as he did that.

Upstairs…​

“I suppose that’s all I have to say for this meeting…†Reeve said as he adjusted his blue suit.

“Hey… How’s Cait Sith?†Moegami asked.

“If I remember correctly…†Reeve was going to say something but Yuffie interrupted him.

“He’s on a mission, I think…†the ninja said laughing sheepishly noticing she had cut Reeve off. It was a miracle that the little robotic cat had kept quiet during his little mission.

“You know, I know I really shouldn’t be asking this but,†Amaterasu asked the question her siblings had wanted to ask earlier. She still felt the stinging sensation in her heart but ignored it as she spoke. “Did you ever find Vincent Valentine?â€

As she said this a pang of hurt rose to the ‘Great Ninja Yuffie’s’ face. The question was directed to anyone who could anser with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The silence Amaterasu… Selma in this case, she took the silence for a bit fat ‘no’. Selma shook her head and apologized seeing as how the whole group turned melancholy as she mentioned that person’s name.

“But I know we’ll find him,†it surprised everyone in that room that Leon, the young man with a scar across his face, was the one to speak out in that optimistic tone of voice. In his opinion he just didn’t want to see Yuffie look so hurt by that. Aerith Gainsborough would most likely have been the one to say something like but currently she wasn’t here at the moment.

With Aerith…​

Aerith Gainsborough rushed inside the building, panting a moment as she caught her breath. She attracted a lot of attention to herself seeing as how she stormed into the building, her and her little pink outfit. The maiden was glad to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy once more thanking them for their journey and how it had brought some peace to the worlds once more.

She greeted Sora and the others with her trademark smile and voice. Sora and the others greeted Aerith in their own way and the brown haired maiden opened her mouth to speak as introductions were said and done.

“Do any of you know if they’re still holding the meeting upstairs?†she asked looking at everyone in the room. Her greens eyes tried to scan the other’s eyes to get an answer. They all nodded.

“It’s still going on…†Riku said looking at Aerith for a moment.

“I’m late…†she said smiling slightly as she started to open the door that led upstairs.

“What exactly is the meeting about?†Kairi asked since no one else would ask the question.

“That… I don’t know,†Aerith place a slender finger on her chin as she thought about it for a little while. “They just told me to be here by 1. I ended up oversleeping, you know how that can be.†She rubbed her eyes slightly, her green eyes seemed watery as she tried to fight off a yawn.

Upstairs…​

Selma sighed and ended up spinning around in her chair. There were wheels attached to the bottom of it. The oer members of her family just looked at her a bit confused by her actions, she smiled brightly at them, and it was a sign that indicated something was on her mind. Tachigami noticed a small necklace around her younger sibling’s neck.

“What’s that?†she asked taking some interest in her younger sister’s personal gift.

“A gift…†she felt a gentle tone of voice creep up on her when she explained the little pendant. As Selma’s fingers touched the little pendant she felt that pain come back into her heart. ‘Why won’t it go away?’ she thought back to something Riku had told her. ‘No matter the distance I’ll always be with you…’ she shook her head for a moment and just let out a heavy sigh. ‘It’s a start, anway…And if Sora’s here that must mean he’s here too!’ her heart was pounding with excitement. ‘But I can’t…’

Downstairs Riku felt his heart beating a little faster whenever he’d look at the door that separated the meeting. He couldn’t explain what it was his heart was trying to tell him, but he knew that he couldn’t just barge in there and disrupt the meeting.

 

So close ,but so far ,so good

 

I'll post another one later tonight. Thanks for the views you guys!
The next ones get longer.

Chapter Seven: Her Desire

“Hey you guys welcome back!†the ninja said happily, greeting her friends with a bone crushing bear hug.

Sora wasn’t paying attention at all to what his friends were saying. He saw a couple of dark shadows from the top of the stairs. In the blink of an eye, as quickly as he saw the shadows, they seemed to disappear, almost melting at the foot of the stairs, Sora couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing.

“Hey… Did any of you guys see any dark shadows up there?†the blue eyes boy asked, pointing to where he last saw the dark outlines. Yuffie and the others exchange confused glance with one another.

“How have you guys been?†Leon asked in his same old fashion tone, he was changing the subject.

Sora went on rambling about how their vacation time was cut short and what not. The young ninja placed a smirk on her face as she teased Sora about how things were working out with Kairi. Both of the blue eyed teens looked at each other and laughed nervously, both individuals trying hard to cover up the tinge of embarrassment placed on their faces. As Sora recovered from his little embarrassing dilemma he started to go on and mention the new friend they had left behind.

Riku shifted his weight to his right leg, feeling a bit out of place, he decided to go and sit down on one of the wooden chairs next to the girl with the green eyes. Aerith welcomed him with a warm smile.

“Riku really like her a lot,†Sora said rubbing the back of his head as the others were hearing his story. “Her name was-â€

“Aw, well I guess that means I can’t introduce you to a good friend of ours. She just came back from a trip.†Yuffie said moving her head a bit to get a better look at Riku, who sat in one of the chairs that was propped up against a wall. Sora looked back and noticed the look on his friend’s face; no doubt Kairi knew what Riku was thinking about. Sora did feel a bit ignored, but he knew he shouldn’t feel like that. He went on to talking about other things hopefully to make Riku feel a bit comfortable.

Aerith smiled at Riku slightly and asked him how things had been with himself. By that Riku knew well enough that she meant how was his heart. Was it still being plagued by the darkness he wished to dispel?

“I guess, I’ve been okay,†the turquoise eyed teen didn’t know where to start. “I’ve been feeling a more at peace though. We just came back from Atlantica not that long ago, it was pretty hectic, Heartless everywhere…â€

He recounted a tale about a vicious attack by a gigantic squid like Heartless. Donald had been knocked out and Goofy was shielding him from on coming attacks. Riku, he had been injured on his left shoulder. Kairi was dodging on coming spells with ease, and she was getting use to blocking with her own keyblade. Sora charged with full force underwater, and Riku was in back of him, as well of course back up.

“I got careless and the squid like Heartless flung one of its tentacles at me hitting my whole body,†he said using his hands as he spoke. “Kairi came up from behind and hacked off one of the tentacles on the Heartless…â€

Aerith watched him with the same attentive gaze Selma use to place on him whenever he spoke. He finished off his talk saying that the giant Heartless was defeated. He felt the tinge of pain in his heart subdue, and his heart beat returned to normal now. Sora and Kairi looked at the expression Riku placed on his facial feature, he looked more relieved now.

r i k u ​

I looked up a moment sighing in relief as the pain in my heart was finally going away. It wasn’t heartburn but more like a pain in my chest, but it wasn’t anything serious. I don’t really know what it was anyway, maybe it’s got something to do with that fight I had earlier with that giant Heartless or something like that.

Aerith went on and asked me who the girl was Sora heard her mention. I told her that shewas a very good friend of ours. At that point I felt my cheeks get a bit red and I looked down so that my hair could cover my face. I could sense that Aerith was smiling, but I didn’t want anyone to see that I was blushing that badly.

I do miss her, but I know we aren’t far apart in spirit where ever I go a piece of herwill be with me and I know it’s the same for her. After all she is my friend and I don’t want to lose that special place she’s already made in my heart, it’s unbreakable, that and the fact that we shared a paopu fruit together…

I’m never telling anyone what I did that day, or else they’d never let me live it down. It’s better I keep it like that because then me and her have something we can talk about in secret. I hope I can keep the promise I made to myself…

“I’m going to protect you and Mom,†I said to her smiling slightly before I left to board the gummi ship.

“But you’re going to be far away…†Selma said clearing her throat a bit.

“No matter the distance I’ll always be with you,†I told her that from the bottom of my heart.

“All right but you have to promise yourself something.â€

“A promise to myself?†I asked her a bit confused.

“Yeah when we see each other again promise me and yourself you’ll have found your light by then, okay?â€

‘My light… If only she knew,’ I thought to myself as I heard someone calling out my name. It was Yuffie, I waved a small hand to her and she smiled. I excused myself from where Aerith and I were sitting and said a goodbye to the others as I went to go walk outside.

I remember how depressing Hollow Bastion was, and I understand how it got its name, I’d really like to go see it though, the decaying castle. I walked around the town passing the shops with accessories and what not. Something by the Moogle’s stand caught my eye.

A pair of light blue earrings with a black essence swirling around it, and attached to the blue little orbs were feathers from some bird called a Chocobo whatever that was anyway. The Moogle, with its bouncing pompom thing, called it ‘Earrings of Destiny’. I would have called it ‘Earrings of Bankruptcy’ they were too expensive, about one hundred thousand munny, and I didn’t have that kind of money, even if I did I wouldn’t buy it. It was just eye candy, see that’s why I like window shopping. I like browsing and bugging some certain people.

The Moogle was being nice and asked me if I have any items or recipes for synthesizing. I remember pulling out a couple of scripts of Moogle text from this little pocket on the bottom right side of my jeans. All my synthesizing items were in a little box somewhere back on the gummi ship.

“Got any items you want to synthesis, kuppo?†the Moogle asked me.

I shook my head in reply, and I noticed at the text was being translated I had more than enough to make some certain items that caught my eye, I really wished I had taken my little material box with me today, but I didn’t.

Deeper inside the HBRC building… ​

“How did you like Destiny Islands?†Reeve asked looking at the Diaz family.

Reeve, Cid, Merlin, and the siblings were in a room now that was completely different from the meeting held in the other area. The walls were of a plain beige color, it was easy to tell that the whole floor was wooden and it shined bright from the wooden polishing liquid. There was a big metallic like desk in the center of the room, it looked like a round table, and metallic like chairs around it. There was an enormous screen on one of the walls near the table. This was another kind of meeting place.

“I liked the place a lot, a shame though it got swallowed up so easily…†Gekigami said making himself comfortable in the room. “We could’ve stayed and fought off the Heartless but we didn’t know if they would be there…â€

“Exactly…†Tachigami said nodding in agreement with her younger brother. Selma on the other hand was still feeling some emotional attachment to the isles as they were by far the best places she ever went too.

The gummi ship expert noticed the look on Selma’s face and was the first one to ask her the question, “Whatcha got on your mind, kid?†Cid knew of course that she was by far older than him, but he still got use to calling her that.

“Nothing much, Cid Highwind,†Selma said a smile forming from the corner of her mouth. “So how are you and Shera? You two still argue?â€

Cid’s face turned a bit scarlet at the mention of the woman’s name. They of course had some history that the Diaz family, as well as Reeve and Merlin knew. Reeve cut to the chase and told them that the two of them had gotten married.

“I wonder what the kids are going to look like…†Geki said tilting his chair back a bit. Moegami smacked his brother on the side of his head.

“No doubt you have met the keybearer?†Reeve asked raising a questioning look. He noticed that Selma looked away from his gaze. “Did you get a chance to meet him, Amaterasu?†he would rather call her by the name her mother left her with.

“I’ve met him a couple of times, but so long that we’d get close…†Tachigami snickered as her youngest sister started to answer. “I did meet the one who was destined to be the chosen one, but as you know he picked the path to darkness, so that title was given to Sora.â€

“She extremely got attached to that one…†Kazegami said giving a big smile to her older sister. “Didn’t you, Amaterasu?â€

“Is it true, Amaterasu?†Reeve couldn’t help but lean in on his chair, he did seem interested in the personal life she had given herself.

“We’re very close friends, but that’s about it,†she said laughing nervously and she rubbed the back of her head. “Um, anyway,†Selma changed the subject at a more important matter at hand. “The darkness how far has it started to spread?â€

That was a topic every single person there got into. Merlin used his wand to bring the enormous screen to life with images of different worlds. Reeve invited everyone to sit down on the chairs, and from the metallic looking round table screens from the table protruded from the top of the table. The siblings looked at one another and every one of them were thinking the same exact thing ‘Too many spy movies.’

Yomigami watched the screen as different places were being monitored. No doubt Cid and Shera were in charge for the satellite’s orbital patterns and trajectory pattern. One of the satellite’s images were starting to get a bit hazy when the two twins, Moegami and Kazegami pointed it out. Everyone watched the screen on the number titled XII. The world was slowly being covered in a black like aura, it came from the south pole of the planet.

“Watching this, you can almost imagine the planet crying…†Reeve and Amaterasu said feeling sorry for the planet and its inhabitants. They looked at the planet as the darkness started to swirl around it, and as if it were like an eclipse, a strange black star with an ominous orange and red tinge hovered over the planet. It was responsible for the darkness that covered the planet, and with that transmission from satellite XII was cut.

“It’s been happening, but at a slow rate,†Merlin the wizard explained finally taking a moment to speak. “Six worlds have already been swallowed up, including the inlands.â€

“What were the other worlds?†Amaterasu asked leaning against her seat.

“The world where Beast’s Castle was located,†Reeve said transmitting an image from his screen to the other screens. “The Pride Lands, Port Royal and the rest of that place, the Coliseum, Traverse Town, and Twilight Town…†with that Reeve pressed a button so multiple satellite pictures of those various worlds could be viewed on the other screens.

“Wasn’t Twilight Town just a…?†Tachigami started to speak and she noticed Reeve Tuesti nodding in agreement.

“None the less it is a real world, well now it is anyway…†Cid said wiping his nose with his thumb. Moegami noticed the toothpick in Cid’s mouth it was unlike his nature to have something so simple against his mouth.

“Weren’t you smoking the last time we saw you?†Moegami asked raising his eyebrow a bit.

“Shera’s making me quit…†Cid mumbled under his breath.

“The Chaser’s are starting to surface again,†Reeve said noticing a look of disgust on the sibling’s expressions.

“That they are…†Amaterasu said speaking in a cold tone for the rest of her family. “They’re going to be giving us hell if they find out we’re alive…â€

“Then, are you willing to train them, the group of Keyblade wielders?†he directed them to Yomigami considering the fact he was the oldest.

“To fight the Chasers?†Yomigami asked, smirking with a twisted smile. “You know how I teach. I’ll train them as killers, not protectors…â€

“I take it then, we have to let a dark age come back?†Amaterasu said looking at Reeve straight in the eyes.

“Not exactly, we have to train them to be the darkness… Yomigami and you yourself specialize in that… But please Yomigami don’t let your bloodlust take the best of you.†Reeve shifted uncomfortably as he said this noticing a menacing smile Yomigami placed on his lips.

“Aw, don’t worry old man,†he said laughing a bit. “That’s why Amaterasu will accept the job position. I bet she doesn’t want me killing her boyfriend.â€

“What?†Selma looked at confused eyes.

a m a t e r a s u​

The Chasers, to be honest we lost that position a long time ago when I met a young boy who King Ansem had found, the real King Ansem not the imposter I watched grow up. My brother and I were a result of a great experiment called ‘Project Blitz’. Even though my brother is by far older than me, the two of us were picked since we each held curiosity to the darkness.

A man by the name of Hojo directed the whole thing, and that’s where Yuki’s, Yomigami as he is called now by his real name, blood lusting ways were instilled into him.

That’s where I met others like me, a girl by the name of Shelke Rui, she was only nine years old when they kidnapped her from a country east of Radiant Garden. She was placed in operation ‘Deep Ground’. Vincent Valentine willing became a an experiment and he no longer considered himself human so he slept for thirty years…

It really was a dark age back then, which was almost about thirty years ago, I think, I know it was way before Leon and the others went to Traverse Town.

But enough about that, it’s not important now. It’s going to be hard considering that I do have some relationship with the people who will be taught under us. I’m not saying that I’m going to go soft on them either, if they get involved with a Chaser they’ll be dead before they can even blink.

The meeting was adjourned, and I soon felt that pain in my heart again, I leaned over for a moment in my chair making sure everyone had left the meeting room. At that moment from my back pocket something was vibrating. I opened it, it was a text message from him and I knew I was turning red.

‘Hey Selma, I miss u 2… I’d love to see the drawings you’ve made so far, hey send me one on your phone. We’ve been missing you a lot over here, I feel bad for Kairi she’s the only girl in the group. I’m glad you liked the sunset, I’m going to be leaving soon, so I have to go, ttyl.’

I ran my fingers over the buttons to reply back but something stopped me, logical thinking. ‘He’s closer in the area so it’ll take less than five days for him to reach the message, I’ll just have to wait a day or so…’

I really wished I could just run up and hug them all, but I can’t it’s a price being a Chaser… An ex-Chaser now, but I don’t want to dwell back on my family’s profession from a long time ago it’d take hours to even break down what a Chaser is, but for now I have to keep my mind closed a bit, so as not to get distracted.

Chaser… I really wish that was what our family sometimes, instead of running away, but I don’t want the sins of our family to catch up with us. It’s better that no one knows the real truth, see what Chaser’s do want is something dangerous if they get their hands on it, and yet we still hold on to our Chaser like nature.

“What we desire most of all…†I whispered to myself looking up at the ceiling trying to imagine the light blue sky. “Is total control of darkness…â€

I just wanted to get this one out of the way. Thanks again.

Chapter Eight: Kind Heart?

Aerith sighed for a small moment looking up at the broken roof from inside the chapel. It brought back a feeling of nostalgia when she gazed up there, watching the clouds move as the breeze passed by. It had been a couple of weeks since she decided to visit the place where she met the blonde haired man.

The sunbeams were piercing through some of the pieces of rotting wood. This place had been abandoned for decades, probably before even Amaterasu and her siblings were born. Still this was the only place that she knew, in her lifetime that would produce flowers. The soil underneath the wooden floors was very fertile.

Aerith had changed her attire, rather than wearing the two piece outfit she had worn last year, she decided to wear that certain pink dress, as a way of grieving. She met Cloud while she wore this dress, and somehow she thought that this time he’d come back for sure, just like he did last time.

Aerith walked up the stairs to where the meeting was being held, and she caught sight of many familiar faces. She held a big open smile, feeling her eyes form tears. The dark haired girl turned around hearing her true name being called out. The green eyed flower maiden ran forward holding on tight to young girl as if she would melt away.

“You’re back!†she said smiling as tears slide down her cheeks. Amaterasu gave a sad smile and patted Aerith gently on her back. “I thought we’d lost you…â€

“Last time I saw you, you were wearing a dress really similar to this one…†the ex-Chaser said trying to get her to feel happy.

“Yeah,†Aerith paused for a moment before letting the young girl go. “I’m sorry for being late everyone, I overslept…â€

“You… Oversleeping? Cloud use to do that…†Gekigami said, not knowing how much is pained Aerith to hear his name.

The other siblings stared at Gekigami with a rather hurt look. As Yuffie was taking them to the meeting she had explain to them that Cloud had left yet again. Yuffie though, in retaliation to the name smacked Gekigami on his head, and he apologized. Aerith like always placed a strong mask on her face and told her that he would come back, because his light would guide him.

Aerith remembered how Yomigami, Cloud, and a boy named Zack had all been close before. It was all in the past now, but she wished that those days would come back, because that was when nobody even knew the darkness existed.
She was able to get Amaterasu to stay a bit after the meeting.

“Please, Ammi…†Aerith began calling her by her nickname, “I want to know if you’ve seen Cloud anywhere.â€

“…I…†it did pain her to say the truth. “I haven’t Aerith, I’m sorry…†Amaterasu said looking away from her.

“…Oh…†she was so sure that Amaterasu would have seen or heard from him. “It’s okay, I’m sure he’ll come back.â€

“You’re a very brave girl, Aerith… I wish I could be like you.†Amaterasu said hugging her. “He’s probably in Traverse Town… You know, where those who’ve lost their world go to.â€

Aerith didn’t know that at the second meeting Traverse Town was swallowed up by the darkness. It was best that she didn’t know for now, and probably no one would ever tell her.

Aerith heard leaves crack under the weight of her brown boots. She walked past the decaying pews of the chapel. And now stood directly under the hole in the roof, she looked down at the white and yellow lilies that were underneath her feet. These were the same flowers that broke Cloud’s fall. They were all young teens then, with Yuffie being the youngest child there.

This was the same place where she met Amaterasu and Yomigami, when the two of them were still undergoing experimental procedures. Aerith had walked in on them as they were discussing whether or not steal the darkness within the heart of the world. Discovering that a child had walked in on them during their conversation, they figured it best not to carry out the deed.

“So many memories…†Aerith said sitting on one of the broken concrete columns near the alter of the chapel. “I hope you’re looking back at some of those wonderful memories Cloud, where ever you may be…â€

“What’s this?†Aerith asked holding a lumpy brown seed in her hand.
“A paopu fruit seed.†Amaterasu said gleefully. “I got it back from Destiny Islands. You should plant on near the old chapel.â€

“A paopu fruit, you mean those star shaped fruit?†Aerith asked wondering how such a little thing could produce a star shaped fruit. “I thought you didn’t believe in things like that, Ammi?†she knew the legend behind the fabled power of the star shaped fruit.

‘Should I plant one?’ Aerith thought about it long and hard, her green eyes looking deeply at a small patch of dirt. It seemed to be the right size for a tree to grow in, and it probably didn’t hurt to try. Here in this are the paopu trees were very rare, and maybe planting more of them would do the agriculture good.

“As for me… I’m going to plant a lot of them where ever I go!†Amaterasu said taking Aerith’s hand in her hand. “A little reminder for a special friend of mine…â€

“I take it it’s one of Sora’s friends?†Aerith said noticing the blush on the girl.

“I’ll plant one here…†Aerith said pulling out the side from her side pocket. “If Cloud does come crashing down here one day, he’ll have something else to break his fall.â€

Within Radiant Garden…​

“This place it brings back a lot of memories, doesn’t it?†Yomigami asked his youngest sister.

Yomigami this time styled his hair a bit different. He brought his bangs forward and spike up the rest of his hair in the back. The blood lusting, ex-Chaser, was wearing a black baggy t-shirt with tight jeans and a black studded belt, and white tennis shoes.

“Some I wish I could forget…†Amaterasu said pushing her hair back a bit.

She decided that this time she’d go by her real name, rather than her middle name. Amaterasu decided to keep her hair natural wavy, as it was once before. Though to throw some certain people off guard she curled the tips of her hair. She liked it better this way, a better improvement she thought on her part.

Amaterasu wore a white shirt with graffiti like letters in red that read ‘Coracoa Selvagem’ Portuguese meaning ‘Wild Heart’. The text had more of a blood splatter effect, it was something her older brother despised partially due to his blood lusting, but he had learned to control his actions when she wore something that affected his nature.

“Forget…? Amaterasu, surely you’ve got more wonderful memories than bad ones…â€

“It’s about half and half then, Yomigami,†she said looking at her brother for a moment. The look of surprise was drawn across his face. “I’ve decided to go with my real name again, we’ll see how long it lasts…†she said. Her eyes traveled down the empty ravine and located the once proud castle of the former King Ansem. It was now reduced to ruble. “It breaks my heart, knowing what happened to the castle.â€

“Yeah well, you have you’re ex-boyfriend to thank for that.†Yomigami said harboring some resentment to the person he was referring to.

“We never were together…†she tried again justify her actions. “We were good friends nothing more…â€

“That good friend of your cost us our position as Chasers…†Yomigami said, “If he were alive today I’d kill him for what he did to our position…â€

“His memory is out there somewhere, why not just kill that?†Amaterasu said looking at her brother for a moment.

“Because we need that…†Yomigami said smacking his sister gently on the side of the head. “I don’t want to screw up the promise we made to King Mickey.â€

“How many promises have we made to people?†she asked trying to count with her fingers.

“More than you could possibly ever count…†Yomigami placed his hand down at his side, as if he was going to pet something, and he looked down confused for a moment. “Where’s Chico?†he asked looking around the area.

“A Shadow Hound’s loose?!†Amaterasu said looking at her brother. “You idiot why’d you bring Chico outside!?â€

With Sora and Kairi… ​

“We should start heading out to other worlds soon.†Sora said looking at Kairi slightly.

“Hush Sora, don’t speak…†Kairi said watching her pencil capture the image before her eyes. “It’s hard to draw your face when you keep moving your eyes like that, not to mention your mouth…â€

Sora had volunteered to be Kairi’s little model, since Riku wasn’t around right now. Other than that Sora did want some time to be alone with her, but this wasn’t the kind of alone time he was thinking about. Sora shifted his gaze back to what he had been focusing on earlier. They were inside one of the various inns that Radiant Garden’s had to offer the Keyblade Wielders.

Something moved about outside the window, and Sora could faintly hear something growling near the window, and it seemed unearthly. Kairi stopped what she was doing and looked up as she saw Sora move out of the wooden chair.

“Sora what are…?†Sora cut her off with a raised hand, and he placed a finger to his lips. He walked up to the window near the ivory colored walls. He could still hear the unearthly sounds coming from outside and his heart was beating fast in curiosity as to what is could be.

Kairi stood behinds Sora as she finally came to hear the same sound her companion heard. Sora pushed the dark curtain away from his view so he could see outside. Sora sighed in relief as he saw nothing, and he turned around and laughed it off as he told Kairi it was a false alarm.

Kairi raised her eyebrow a bit as she saw a shadow pass by the window, but thought it was just her imagination. At that moment the sound of breaking glass flooded their ears, and Sora turned around quickly, but the last things he could remember seeing was a black mass of fur with legs and teeth charge straight at him, and Kairi pulling out her Keyblade, he could remember watching the heart shaped tip of the blade, with the flowers around it.

A couple of blocks away from the Inn… ​

Riku hummed to himself a song he had put on as he walked back from the Moogle’s synthesis shop. As he was reaching the inn he noticed that on the side of a building a window had been broken into. He started to pick up the pace and noticed that the door had been forced out.

Riku broke into a faster stride, and at that point he started to run. He pushed himself past a couple of people and ran through a red light in traffic. He finally made it to the inn and noticed something roughly push him to the side. He spun around and looked at the creature making a mad dash with Sora’s Keyblade.
Kairi busted out from the door chasing after the creature to get the Keyblade back. Riku didn’t waste anytime on pulling out his own Keyblade. He peered in for a moment and noticed that Sora was resting against a wall in the room. With that Riku ran after Kairi and the creature that had the Kingdom Key weapon in its grasp.

The creature led them down the street, in and around traffic, all the way to a somewhat excluded area. It growled as it knew it was cornered by the two people that blocked its path. The two humans were gasping for some air as their human lungs supplied oxygen to their muscles.

“Stop right there!†Kairi said pointing the Keyblade in the direction of the creature. It just growled a bit, like if it were laughing. It started to move to the side, and Riku followed it.

At that moment with neck breaking speed the creature rushed past Riku, using Sora’s Keyblade as a weapon, and Kairi blocked the dashing attack, and she strained under the force the creature had used for such ant attack.
Riku decided that two on one was far, and went from behind to attack it, but with the creature’s sense of hearing, it dodged Riku’s attack with ease. Kairi jumped back as Riku’s weapon almost collided with her.

The creature taunted the two of them by tossing Sora’s weapon in the air for a moment. This living thing obviously had a higher level of intelligence than most other species of animal alive. Riku jumped into the air trying to perform an Aerial Sweep, but the creature performed a similar version of Strike Raid, tossing Sora’s Keyblade directly at him.

“Stopra!†Kairi yelled out raising her Keyblade, any second too soon at the Sora’s Keyblade might have collided with Riku’s face. The creature turned its attention to Kairi now and let out an unearthly barking sound in protest to the spell.

a m a t e r a s u ​

‘Where in the world did Chico go?’ I asked myself walking around the city now. I shook my head and noticed a couple of cars. They looked like they got into a car accident. A couple of people were saying that two kinds started to run in and out of traffic chasing something, but that they didn’t get a good look at it.

I started to look around some buildings and alleyways. My brother was walking around the area whistling to coax the Shadow Hound out of hiding. I rubbed the back of my head and ended up whistling, knowing that Chico, the Shadow Hound, was capable of hearing that well. I noticed that an inn had its window broken, and the front door was broken into as well.

The owners of the inn were taking care of someone who had been knocked out. I looked inside and noticed to my surprise that the mess of brown hair, and that familiar black outfit, it had to be Sora. ‘ Chico’s not even that strong, and he got knocked out by him… He needs a lot of work, Sora, not the dog…’ I thought to myself asking the owners of the inn how the boy was doing. They told me he was fine, he just got knocked out from the impact of the floor.

I whistled to my brother and he came running in my direction. He started to pant a bit shaking his head for a moment. He asked me if I had gotten a led on Chico.

“Yeah… I’m assuming it’s down there…†I said pointing with one hand down the street. I watched my brother draw an invisible mark with complicated lines on the concrete, and within moments the darkness sprouted up from the cracks on the sidewalk, and we melted into the ground.

In a matter of seconds there was a pool of black goo under our feet, and it started to give us our height back. We found ourselves at the entrance of a somewhat excluded area. I looked back at my brother as his right arm started to turn back into its flesh tone color. I didn’t really like the whole idea of traveling like that, but it was the easiest and the fastest, I can say that much for sure.
“ Chico can hear our whistles from all the way over there…†my brother pointed out from where we came from.

“Something’s got him preoccupied…†I said extending my hand out, before my very eyes a Keyblade of a wicked shape and form materialized from the air. The Keyblade formed a hilt on my palm, and it started to reconstruct itself, like a broken, almost liquefied, puzzle. “I guess we can spare a bit with them, before we test them next time…â€

“It’s not fair, Sora’s knocked out…†Yomigami said flashing a wicked smile on his face. I knew he was ready to taste blood, but he’d have to control himself. “I’d really like to see that kid fight…†he extended out both of his hands and two Keyblades mixed with a design similar to that of Oblivion wrapped around an invisible spin to form itself like a weapon. “You’re not using your other one?â€

“No… Besides we have to get Chico away from there, not make it worse…â€

“I hate it when you’re right…†he said withdrawing one of his weapons. “Just for that I go after Riku…â€

“You wouldn’t dare…†I said giving him a warning.

“Watch me…†he said flashing a cruel smile before running down the alley.

r i k u​

“Move back, Kairi!†I yelled slashing through the air as the creature moved to the side.

It was fast I’ll admit, but everything has a weakness right. I jumped back as it swung a clawed paw at me. It was growling, swing the Keyblade around.
‘Why hasn’t it gone back to Sora yet… Unless this thing has a strong heart…’ I thought kicking the creature away from me. Its breath smelled really foul, like rotten eggs or something. I don’t know but it made me want to gag. Kairi was casting spells, but I told her to be careful and not use up all her energy.

“Riku, left!†she yelled out.

All I knew was that my Keyblade blocked an attack from the creature. There was a loud whistle around the area and the creature barked at me and then to Kairi. That’s when it started to growl again at us.

“Drop it!†I heard a male call out.

The creature did as it was told to do, apparently this guy was the owner, of that thing. The Keyblade clinked as it hit the ground and the creature moved away from Kairi and me. I looked back at the entrance and noticed two people there. They were holding Keyblades.

One of them greeted me with a wicked smile that sent shivers down my spine. Again, that pain in my heart came back, it was starting to annoy me so badly, that and because I didn’t know what in the world was causing it.

The girl, who held the more malicious crafted Keyblade, her left arm twitched a bit. Something about her looked so oddly familiar but it was probably just the skin color that was all.

“So then…†the male spoke. “You’re the ones that kept him from coming back…â€

“What?†I asked lowering my weapon down for just a second.

“He was trying to get back to us when you were fighting him…†the girl spoke out, her voice seemed so distant, like if I heard it in a dream or something like that. “It’s not nice making a Shadow Hound late for something, they like being punctual most of the time.â€
sorry…†I said raising my weapon in a defensive stance. “Mind telling me why you have Keyblades?â€

“Nope…†the male with the studded belt said. He rushed forward and before I knew it I was knocked down to the ground. “You’ll have to knock me down, and then you’ll find out…â€

Kairi was having her hands full with the female fighter, she had a good defense but she lacked offense to back it all up, she was unbalanced. The girl with the wicked looking Keyblade, it looked like she was an expert or something.

“Hey…†the guy said, I could feel the blade from his Keyblade pierce my right shoulder. “Don’t get distracted… You’ll die…â€

Current Scene… ​

Kairi moved back casting Reflect, but that had no affect on the female attacker. She yelped as the wicked Keyblade missed her by an inch, but the force of the attack itself was enough to cut a small indent on her side.

“Don’t get cocky…†the wicked Keyblade wielder told her. “Just because you have that Keyblade, doesn’t mean you’ll be guaranteed safety…â€

“Amaterasu, stop playing with her already!†Yomigami called out as he dodged Riku’s attack with ease.

Yomigami dodged Riku’s second oncoming attack and rolled forward, grasping Sora’s Keyblade in the process. The blood lusting individual grinned at Riku as he displayed his own attacks with two Keyblades.

“You’re just lucky Kingdom Key is slowing me down…!†Yomigami said feeling Riku block his attack. He knew though that Riku was straining to push the attack back.
Kairi hit the wall with enough force to almost dislocate her right shoulder.

Amaterasu mentally apologized, and silently casted a Curaga spell on her shoulder. Kairi dashed forward, and almost stabbed Amaterasu in the leg if she had moved slightly.

“You got lucky I have such a kind heart…†Amaterasu said locking her Keyblade with Kairi’s and flung it into the air.

 

I know you have more so post it please

 

heh, yeah I'm just waiting for people to post or else it'd be considered doubling posting. Little side note I typed up to following chapters before At Worlds End came out thank you very much.

Chapter Nine: Isles and Lucifer

Kairi watched as her Keyblade was flung into the air, the metallic luster was glinting a bit as the sun’s rays gleamed across the area. At that point she felt something razor-sharp touch her neck, her blue eyes stared at the edge of the Keyblade, and she let out a small whimper, as would anyone who had something dangerously close to them.

Her Keyblade fell with a heavy metallic thud, and Riku stopped in the middle of his attack, thinking that Kairi had fallen or something. Yomigami took his chance and knocked Riku down. Yomigami’s blade lightly touched Riku’s shoulder, and Riku could feel a dark presence in his attacker.

“I told you not to get distracted…†he told the fallen boy. “My sister won’t hurt anyone… But I one the other hand have a difficult time following that…â€
“Don’t you dare…!†Amaterasu said in a rather cold tone to her oldest sibling. She had Kairi in a corner all to herself. “That’s enough…â€

“Just one little piercing… I mean I’ll heal it all up, I just want to see if he bleeds black blood, I mean he did once become the darkness, did he not?†Yomigami pushed his Keyblade a bit further, breaking the skin, and Riku winced slightly at the pain.

“Brother…†she said in a commanding tone.

Riku took the chance and slowly pushed the Keyblade away using both of his hands, and it was a rather risky move, anyone could admit to that. Yomigami one the other hand pretended not to notice as he watched his sister carefully, she in return did the same.

“Kairi, call your Keyblade back!†Riku said straining to push the blade away from his shoulder.

Kairi’s mind wasn’t focusing at all on her weapon, but rather the dangerous weapon that hovered close to her. Her mind went blank, and she forgot how to call her weapon back to her side. Amaterasu on the other hand just let out a small side, and drew her weapon back down to her side. Yomigami continued to have Riku pinned down, nudging his weapon against his shoulder, the turquoise eyed teen cried out in pain as the Keyblade broke a millimeter of skin.

“Stop!†Amaterasu cried out to her brother, somehow Kairi could sense that the girl was feeling concerned for his well being.

Riku held his Keyblade in his right hand, and strained to raise the weapon up, close to Yomigami’s leg. The eldest brother just looked at Riku and laughed slightly, and then smiled at him for a moment.

“I guess your blood bleeds red… Shame I thought the darkness would still be in you…†Yomigami said pulling out his weapon. Riku’s shoulder was soon beginning to ache in pain as he could feel blood slowly run down his arm.

At the same time Amaterasu felt a sharp pain pierce her should as well, but she managed to hide her reaction. Her heart was starting to twist a bit, as she could feel Riku’s pain. Such was the fate the paopu fruit had instilled on her. She could feel his pain, but to a minimum, where it would just be just like a little stab, and nothing more.

“Let’s go…†the girl said looking back at her big brother, his gaze was still on Riku as he casted a Cure on the boy’s bleeding shoulder.

“I told you I’d fix…†Yomigami said grabbing Riku roughly by his collared shirt. “You’re really lucky my sister has pity for you.†With that Riku was on his feet, with his Keyblade still in his possession.

Kairi on the other hand managed to call her weapon back, but it was too late now. The Shadow Hound was standing next to the girl with the wicked Keyblade, and Sora’s Keyblade was still in Yomigami’s position.

“Give this to Sora…†the blood lusting fighter said, throwing the metallic weapon to Kairi. “Tell him we said ‘hi’.†And with that he smiled happily at the two individuals.

“We’ll see you guys again someday…†Amaterasu said directing the Shadow Hound where to go. “Until then, Kairi… Try and keep your mind on the opponent, please…â€

Two weeks after…​

Port Royal, believe it or not, the place has been opened back up somehow. Sora and the gang noticed that they didn’t need to clear the pathway, since something, or someone had already banished the Heartless gummi ships from the area.

Upon arriving to Port Royal Sora, Donald, and Goofy along with Riku and Kairi, discovered that the darkness had been slightly diminished thanks to the Sun Goddess and her children.

“Sun Goddess?†Sora asked Captain Jack Sparrow.

“Aye…†Jack said feeling a bit rather detached from the whole conversation. He was contemplating on the events the unfolded before. Sora stared at the captain for a moment trying to figure out why he was acting so distant. “That lass, she sure could fray mighty well against those Heartless…â€

“Was she the one who helped?†the young Keyblade wielder asked.

“She be the one who caused this disturbance…†a voice said sitting next to Sparrow.

This woman’s name is Tia Dalma, not as the goddess of the sea, rather a carbon copy of her human form. A voodoo priestess who traded Captain Jack Sparrow his famous compass seven years prior for a bag of gold. Apparently this voodoo priestess knew Jack Sparrow even before, possibly during his childhood, but that’s best remained unsaid.

Captain Jack Sparrow spoke of how once the fight with the East India Trading Company and the Brethren of the Coast, things started to go rather peaceful. It wasn’t until two weeks ago that the attack of those Heartless started to worry the people around the area. With Elizabeth on earth and Will somewhere off in another part of the world of the dead, Jack was left with his crew and the Black Pearl. He, believe it or not, was still bent on mastering the Keyblade, he remembered that he’d be the one to take Sora’s weapon away from him. Donald and Goofy laughed at Sora seeing as how he was getting defensive about Jack beating him.

“That’s besides the point…†Jack said continuing with his story. Kairi and Riku, along with Donald and Goofy were entranced by the captain’s story. “That lass ended up taking something from this heart, I suppose one could call it…â€

“A heart?†Sora asked.

Jack Sparrow nodded, “It’s interesting, she pulled something out of that heart, a rather big heart at that too…â€

“Her name be that of the fabled sun goddess, but she don’t act like one at all…†Tia said recounting what she had seen. “She pulled something out from that heart, something that was as black as night…â€

“The darkness from the heart of the world…?†Kairi asked looking at the voodoo priestess. Tia nodded in agreement to her assumption.

“Sun Goddess did look a tad upset, she seemed rather sorry,†Jack said. “That’s when the Heartless came, trying to reclaim that darkness…â€

“And everything after that has been calm?†Riku asked, still finding it hard to believe.

“Heartless here and there, but nothing Cap-†as Jack was going to finish his line a familiar monkey jumped on him, causing his hat to come off. The monkey screeched happily and perched himself on Tia’s shoulder. Donald and Goofy jumped at the noise the monkey made.

“Don’t tell me…†Jack fixed his hat and looked back trying to find that familiar person. Somehow the little are they were sitting in was a very open place where people could find them, and by people it was probably just Jack the monkey. Captain Sparrow didn’t find the person he was looking for and went back on to talking again, before Tia interrupted him.

“Take it, by how much you’ve been speaking about this goddess, you’ve been smitten by her swordplay?†Tia asked Jack, noticing how much he rambled on about Sun Goddess. Tia Dalma knew her true name, but of course she wasn’t speaking, no one asked her so she did not answer.

Jack was about to answer when he heard someone come from in back of them. There was Captain Barbossa in the flesh once more. He still was and is the same captain he was before. Both he and Jack did still argue about who would be captain of the Black Pearl, it was still a confusing argument that never once was settled.

He still had rings on his finger, and cared very much for his appearance. His hat revealed feathers, in fact they were blue ostrich feathers, and the buttons on his coat were made from Incan silver. The weapon he had, his pistol, was taken from a Spanish pirate, which he had won in a duel that the Spanish pirate lost.
Jack, the monkey took his leave from Tia’s shoulder to that of his preferred owner, Captain Hector Barbossa.
That’s when he spoke, “There be more of them foul creatures on that isle…†Barbossa said, his voice not missing a beat.

Sora decided that is was best to ask, but he still was a bit apprehensive in asking Barbossa.

“That same one the goddess was on, Barbossa?†Sora asked, forgetting formalities with this captain.

Captain Barbossa nodded, telling them that the isle was called Isla Cruces, which meant Crosses Island. Barbossa and Sparrow looked in back of them to witness the scene. Past the shores their eyes wandered down the horizon, the winds were starting to pick up. The howling signaled that something was aggravating the area, and that’s where the storm was settling in, in the same area around that isle.

The others started to notice the scene, as it obviously had some meaning to the whole predicament.

“Something tells me a big one just came out…†Kairi said, feeling something stir up within her soul, a Heartless of this magnitude was waiting on that island.

“I wouldn’t doubt it lass…†Hector Barbossa said, watching Jack Sparrow adjust his hat as it was going to fly away any second from now.

Riku felt something on his stomach, like a small twitch or something, but it was enough to make him blink in surprise. His heart, it had stopped hurting for two weeks, but the pain came back, though this time it was dull.

Everyone took Jack’s example, no not the monkey, the pirate, they all walked with him to the pier where the Black Pearl was stationed at. Tia would accompany them again, this being her second time on the Black Pearl. She explained to Sora that she could help find the lock since she had a general idea of what it looked like, and that he had the key that could unlock it, thus obliterating the Heartless from the isle.

“Pray tell Barbossa, how did you know there were Heartless on the isle?†Sparrow asked once they were on board the ship.

“I used my ship of course…†Barbossa answered the man.

“You’re ship?†Sparrow asked curiously. “It better not have been mine…â€

“The Black Pearl doesn’t belong to you, Sparrow…â€

“Oh brother…†Goofy and Donald said in unison hearing Sparrow and Barbossa bicker like children.

“Don’t be starting this again you two…†Tia warned them.

R i k u ​

‘They’re everywhere!’ I thought to myself as I pulled out my Keyblade for the, who-the-hell-knows-how-many times. It was really starting to get on my nerves. I brought my weapon down on one of the Heartless. It disappeared from my view, and noticed that three more took its place.

The only thing that processed in my mind were Pureblood Heartless, they were far stronger than the artificial Heartless, which meant that something stronger was controlling, probably that thing that escaped deeper into the abandoned island.

“Sora!†my mind snapped back into reality as I saw Sora disappear from my sight.
This place was dark as night, but I could faintly see within the shadows, but not as much as I once did. I could hear Kairi, she was pretty close by, and Tia was reciting an incantation for our health, or whatever she was trying to chant out, somehow it gave me some relief in my heart.

“Right here!†Sora said. I heard something collided with his Keyblade. “We need some light!†Donald was firing his Fira spells and Goofy was trying his best not to throw his weapon across the room.

I felt the breath of a Heartless by my arm, and I froze, it stopped breathing and I moved back a bit. Kairi yelled out a Fire spell and the area was lit for a small moment in time as the ball of fire collided with a thick body of Pureblood Heartless.
Jack Sparrow and Barbossa seemed like they had no problem fighting against them, but there some points where the two of them got to cocky. I felt something going for my leg, and I jumped back, it was really starting to get annoying all right, and I was having enough of it all.

“Get. Away!†I yelled in-between slashes from my weapon, the Heartless were listening, as more of its comrades were starting to fall down. Pureblood Heartless listen to those who are stronger, but I think that’s only with other Heartless, but they do fear the Keyblade, so I guess that makes sense.

Something dug its claws onto my back, and an icy cold sensation swept down my back as I felt as though the claws were freezing. I reached behind furiously and flung the thing down onto to ground. It hissed, and it came back up again, I think, I heard something flap so it probably had wings.

I heard Goofy smack something close by me, and I think it was that Heartless, and Donald performed another Fira spell, and I thanked both of them.

“I see an opening!†Jack called out. I could hear him close by.

At last after finally kicking a couple of Heartless to the side, I could see the light at the end of the area. Tia was ahead of us, she had no problem finding her way through the dark, and she let her sixth sense lead the way. We all were out of breath, panting a bit trying to get our muscles to relax once more. Everyone still had their weapons out just in case they decided to ambush us.

“I hope that’s all of them…†Kairi said panting more than the rest of us. Her magic was beginning to take its toll.

That girl Amaterasu, the one with the wicked Keyblade, she was right, Kairi did lack in strength and magic would end up being a double-edged sword for her. Tia recited Healing Wind, and our health came back. I was feeling woozy from when that Heartless dug its claws into me, the pain was going away, but I felt that blood was still soaking through my shirt.

Donald carried some of those strength enhancers and gave some to Kairi, because she really needed it, and Goofy gave me some of the defense enhancers.

“Are you okay?†Sora asked, his blue eyes holding his emotion of concern in them. I nodded to him and he still didn’t believe me. “Are you sure? You’re still bleeding…â€

“At least it’s not that serious anymore…†I said smiling a bit, leaning against my Keyblade for support. “I’m just a bit tired…â€

“We all are…†Sparrow said as Tia checked Sparrow’s arm for a moment. She frowned and Sparrow laughed a bit as she placed her hand on his arm, and with a gentle blue glow the flesh that was cut on his arm started to rapidly close back together.

“What’s your compass say, Jack?†Barbossa said as Jack pulled out his second prized possession.

“Hold on…†he handed it to Tia and the voodoo priestess pointed to what she believed was north. “It says, that way…†Jack Sparrow pointed to whatever direction that compass pointed.

“Are you sure that’s the right way?†Donald asked trying to catch up with Jack.

“It’s never failed me once…†Jack said feeling confident.

“Tia, you know where it is?†Goofy asked looking at the voodoo priestess, and she nodded. Somehow Goofy felt that the compass was right.

We followed the bewitched compass, the further we went into the area the narrower the path became, and we all ended up squeezing together, I unfortunately got stuck, more like sandwiched in-between Tia and Jack Sparrow, I know any other female would’ve loved to be in my position, well sort of anyway.

“Riku, I’ll traded places with you next time, savvy?†Jack said, and yet I wish he could understand the meaning of personal hygiene.

Deeper in the area…​

“This thing is huge!†the younger sibling cried out. A messy of spiky orange hair was visible from the sibling as he ran down the opposite path of the area. He was wearing baggy shorts and a light blue shirt.

“Ammi is fighting that thing!†the other twin called out. Both Moegami and Kazegami had laid their eyes to the battle that was still ensuing with their young sister and the gargantuan Heartless.

Yomigami was the first to make a mad dash to the area. Of course since this was an island all there was, was in fact, sand, and the Shadow Hound known as Chico picked up the scent of his owner’s sibling within a second.

The others went behind their big brother, with their own Keyblades, ready to lend a hand to their sibling if she did in fact need it. ‘Please, I’m praying don’t let her die…’ Yomigami prayed in his mind over and over again as he ran down the area,
finally seeing the shore.

He could see that there was a Heartless that was roughly the size of a Behemoth, or rather probably close to one of the Pureblood Heartless called Darkside, that was the first Heartless to touch the ground of Destiny Islands, and the others worlds that were first touched by the evil darkness.

Amaterasu pulled out her second Keyblade, to block the enormous fist of the Heartless, and a small crater formed in the sand as the impact was very strong. She was breaking a sweat yet, but the Heartless was very persistent.
Yomigami was going to jump in when Tachigami pulled her male twin back. She shook her head, and at that point Yomigami would’ve just cussed her out because he felt helpless watching his sister fight that Heartless.

“But…I…†Yomigami tried to pull his arm away from his twin.
Amaterasu did a two step move she had learned when she was younger, and it kept the Heartless confused for a moment. She took the chance to run up its arm and she raced frantically and with her wicked looking Keyblade struck the enemy dead on, but as it was falling backward, it managed to grab her with his other hand.

She cried out as she could feel her bones slowly crack as the Heartless finally landed with a thud on the ground. She was trying to wriggle out, just so that she could just escape with a broken shoulder, but it wasn’t working.

This Heartless’ name was called ‘Deadly Detonation’ due to the fact that once it was destroyed that the victor had about 30 seconds to escape from the area, since it would most likely explode.

To everyone’s surprise however the Heartless stood up, still holding the girl in its grasp. The wicked Keyblade was pined in-between the eyes and it picked it off with some ease. Yomigami couldn’t stand it anymore and he rushed forward, pulling out his own Keyblade. He watched his sister Keyblade fall to the floor, and her strength was running out from the pain, since she didn’t call it back to her.
Amaterasu turned her head slightly in pain as she heard her name being called out. Yomigami, Tachigami, and the others were speeding up with their weapons. Multiple Firaga spells were targeted on the hand that held their sister.

With that Amaterasu was free of the grasp, but she felt that she could no longer respire that well, feeling woozy from moving so much, and as she made her decent to the sand her eyes caught one small glimpse of silver hair.

‘So close… Yet so far away, Riku please don’t be angry with me…’ she thought to herself before she ended up in her big brother’s arms. Sora and the others had arrived to the area, hearing Amaterasu cry out in pain.

‘What the?! They’re here?!’ it was the same thing Riku and Kairi were thinking when they say the familiar boy and girl. Sora’s group advanced forward and noticed that one of the other group’s members was down. There was a pain in Riku’s shoulder and he twitched slightly groaning for a moment.

Riku rushed forward with his Keyblade the Way to Dawn and Sora with his version of Oblivion. Kairi ran forward with her own Keyblade, while Donald went with his Save the Queen staff and Goofy with his Save the King shield.

Barbossa and Jack stayed behind for a moment playing rock, paper, and scissors to determine who would still the glory of running down first. The voodoo priestess beat the two pirates to it, preparing another incantation.

Tia noticed that the fallen girl was the sun goddess, Amaterasu, and her children, the children were in fact the siblings, though the names of the children stemmed back from ancient folklore. ‘She’ll wake up in a few moments if it is in fact the same girl from decades ago…’ Tia thought as she drew up a complicated symbol in the sand, for someone reason the thought was second nature, for a carbon copy.

“It’s Sun Goddess!†Jack said brandishing his weapon.

“Her?!†Riku and Kairi asked looking back at the captain.

The Heartless became enraged having more people gang up on it, and the siblings were more than happy to fight along side them, but with what Riku and Kairi had told the others, the siblings had made enemies pretty fast.

“Riku…!†Sora cried out the Heartless was bringing its arm around, and Riku was in his path. Donald would’ve tried to caste Stop spell but it would’ve been too late. The abandoned Keyblade that was on the ground no longer was underneath the Heartless’ feet.

At that moment Riku braced himself just hoping that he could face the pain quickly, but he felt something in front of him, and the girl sighed in relief, looking back a moment to face Riku. She smiled slightly, and pushed back the Heartless’ arm, keeping it away from Riku at any cost.

“What are…?†Riku felt the pain come back into his heart, and it was beating slowly, as if it was trying to be in synch with something.

“You can thank me later…†she said jumping onto the Heartless’ arm and continued what she had started.

He noticed the older brother and he mimicked the same action as his sister, both of them were tag-teaming the Heartless, and Sora wanted to do the same. Jack and Barbossa took the rear while Donald and Goofy covered Kairi; since her offense left her open now. The siblings took turns casting spells at the Heartless feet, to get it to fall faster.

Donald threw his staff as it was burning with flames, blocking a n attack that was coming towards Sora, and Goofy threw his shield to parry alongside it.
Riku tossed Sora into the air, and Amaterasu was within reach to pull him along and she did, throwing him straight ahead towards the Heartless’ head, and Sora braced himself as he could feel his blade push through the dark massed creature.

‘Down for the count…’ Amaterasu thought as her brother sliced through its left arm. She looked back and noticed the voodoo priestess, a feeling of nostalgia swept through her mind as she gently landed on the ground.

Tia Dalma muttered a silent prayer and the Heartless was enveloped in a black mist, to keep it from exploding, it simply started to fade away like the other Pureblood Heartless would.

Amaterasu sighed, and looked back at Riku feeling a sense of joy knowing that she had saved him, but she knew Riku was thinking the complete opposite. She didn’t blame him, if she had been in his shoes she probably would’ve been thinking the same thing.

A m a t e r a s u​

‘Riku, I’m so glad I could protect you, but you’re getting slow! Geez, I’m not going to be saving your behind 24/7, and neither can your friends, you seriously would’ve gotten a concussion or something…I’m glad you’re doing all right though…’ I thought looking at the turquoise eyed teen. I had missed the sight of silver hair for quite some time.

“Sun Goddess!†I turned around looking at Captain Jack Sparrow. The last time I paid a visit to this world I was probably about 15, that was about two decades ago. I, like Tia Dalma, don’t age that fast, thanks to something that happened a long time ago.

He’d grown up so much, but I can see why Tia treats him like a child still, he still does act like a child at some points. Captain Barbossa, he joined Sparrow’s crew as first mate while he had run way from home.

I noticed the look on Goofy’s face, and if he’d recognized my Keyblade, and my appearance then this meeting would turn rather sour and confusing. Lucky I just heard him say I looked awfully familiar and I sighed in relief. I have a though that something else was going to come since the other Chasers probably would’ve caught scent of this whole fight.

The Pureblood Heartless was strong, which was my own fault for trying to collect the darkness that was stored in the heart of this world. The energy, I can’t forget holding that in my hands just thinking about all the memories it held within it.
Jack Sparrow had caught sight of me and Heartless seeped out from the shadows to protect the ball of darkness, I was in charge of them, but they quickly turned on me when a previous chaser member found me.

“Well, well, well…†my heart began to race. ‘That voice… I know that voice…’ I thought to myself withdrawing both of my Keyblades. “Come on now little one, you won’t look at me right away?â€

“Get away from here, Lucifer!†Tachigami called out summoning her Keyblade. It was a black and green coated blade. It looked like an abstract version of Kingdom Key. “You have no right being here!â€

Lucifer Soble, a low ranking Chaser but since we lost our position he’s higher than us, but only because of the system. He wore a black shirt with matching black pants, and apparently he had taken off his soldier armor, since he had his black coat on top of his clothing. Along his pants were noticeable red seams and black boots, he had short blonde hair with an earring on his left ear.

“Last time I check Tachigami… You no longer have any business here, or anywhere else for that matter, you’re all banished, remember?!†he said pulling out a black and white Keyblade. “I’m giving you guys three seconds…â€

“Go fu-†I wanted to yell it out to him, but Yomigami placed his hand over my mouth.

“One…â€

“Get lost Lucifer, go running to Gabriel…†Moegami said holding his Keyblade ready.

“Two…†Lucifer said starting to lose his patience with the younger sibling.

“Would someone care to explain as to what is going on?!†it was none other than Jack as he fired his pistol to grab our attention for the moment.

That was by far the worse thing someone could ever do to Lucifer, make him explain himself, we would rather die by his Keyblade then hear him go on and on and on, he loved to talk, and maybe Jack could be the fellow we need to distract Lucifer while we roshambow him in the nuts or something, it’s a pretty fun game, well my brothers like playing that anway…

Only the deity’s know what kind of person decided that kicking a guy in his sack was a fun way to entertain themselves that they made a game out of it. I’d really love to meet the fellow who invented this.

“They’re ex-Chasers, and I’m a Chaser…†Lucifer said trying to explain it to Jack and the others. “It’s a hard concept…â€

“I bet it is lad…†Jack said making simple gesture that got Lucifer upset.

“I’m not crazy!†Lucifer said pointing his blade close to Jack’s neck.

“I beg to differ!†I shouted out finally letting Yomigami to let me go. “What the hell are you doing here? You don’t like this place…†I said standing up to face him.

“You finally decide to speak, little experiment…†Lucifer said I could feel his gloved hand gently touch my cheek. “Heh, you still haven’t changed a bit…†I felt his hand squish my cheeks together. “Little, little girl…â€

“Go fush yoshelf…†I said trying to make the words audible to him.

“Let go of the lass…†I heard Jack’s pistol click, it was aimed for the back of Lucifer’s head.

I pulled away from Lucifer, and brought one Keyblade close to the middle of his eyes, and he gulped slightly, he wasn’t much of fighter, he was just all talk. I how I resisted roshambowing him, it was very tempting, and how I wanted him to fall, so I could put him out of his misery, but I can’t, which is horrible to my whole being…

“I won’t fight you today…†Lucifer said reappearing behind me as I felt his arms around my neck. “Aw, reminds me of the good old days…â€

“Yeah well ****ing creep, keep your hands off of my sister!†Gekigami said bring Lucifer downth a kick to the back. “That’s sick you freak!†Geki yelled at him, this time he was mad, which probably was a bad thing for Lucifer

Lucifer coughed up some sand, and the others, meaning Sora and the gang just stared feeling confused about the whole thing, well Tia the voodoo priestess knew what was going on.

Lucifer got up and faced me with his weapon, and I pulled out my other blade, slashing one side down and the other to the side. Lucifer blocked them, but he barely had anytime. ‘Come on Riku, if you can hear this from your heart, help me out…’ I wanted him to hear what my heart wanted to badly, but maybe I was asking too much already. At that point Riku stepped forward with the familiar looking Keyblade.

“I’m going to be the one that gets her, not you Lucifer…†Riku said standing next to me with his weapon drawn.

“Don’t go killing the lass just yet… I want to see her fight once more…†Jack said hoping to get another glimpse of my fighting skills he did like watching me fight as a kid. And from what Tia told me earlier before he fancied someone who could fight almost as well, her name was Elizabeth, so I guess he just liked me for my sword work, and because I remind him of Elizabeth when it came to fighting, oh the joy, well not really but you get the point…

Sora stood next to Riku, he probably thought that he owed us since I saved Riku for that small moment in time, which is a good thing, because Lucifer is horrible against 3-on-1 battles.

 

This was confusing in some places. Wouldn't Riku reconize Selma( the other name is harder to type)?

 

I had a feeling it was going to be confusing, but Selma and her siblings change their appearance physically, and Riku hasn't seen her in a while, he doesn't know how she puts her hair, or if she's changed in personality. He only knows Amaterasu as the girl with the wicked Keyblade, like he said before he thought her knew her only because of the skin color.

Confusion comes back in full circle... -__-;;; It clears up though.

Chapter Ten: Innocente

This battle ended very quickly, since Lucifer couldn’t even manage to keep up with one person, let alone three of them. Lucifer dodged one coming attack, while Riku and Sora took the chance one attacking coming from the air, and one from the ground.

The Chaser fell backwards, and Amaterasu dashed forward, seeming as though she levitated due to the speed. Her elbow collided with Lucifer’s back, and he cried out in pain, it did hurt as bad as it appeared. If there was one person the girl with the name of the sun goddess didn’t like, at that point it was Lucifer.

“Hey, what’s the deal?†he called out to her.

Amaterasu was 15 years old at that point, and she stuck her tongue out at him. She replied saying that this was not his concern, and well it apparently ticked off the blond Chaser.

“Neo’s our subject, not a friend!†he called out trying to reach the young Chaser. “Hey, you can’t go messing up our plans, we’ve worked to hard for this! Amaterasu!â€

Neo, that was his nickname the Chasers had given him, and it seemed to fit a bit, but Amaterasu started to grow a conscious during the whole procedure, and it was starting to hinder the plans the Chasers, including the ones she herself had worked to hard for.

If anything, the heart was to blame for the young Amaterasu’s action. It was something she wished she could never feel, and that was love for a friend. She had grown attached to the subject, like as if he were a family member, but that wasn’t seen all too well in the eyes of the Chasers.

“I know that…!†she called out looking at Lucifer.

“Then throw your heart away, stop making it worse!â€

“You still mad because of what I said…?†Lucifer asked, tasting the sand once again.

Lucifer had placed a barrier that kept anything in it, trapped, and anything outside had no way to penetrate it. The barrier would break down once the battle was over, which meant either he won, or he paid with his life. Lucifer knew that somewhere in his own heart he was going to pay it with his life, either even if he won, he’d die at the hands of others, or simply he was defeated which meant he paid with his price.

“I can’t kill you…†the girl with the ironic name said, holding her Keyblade mere inches away from his throat. Both Riku and Sora were taken aback by her actions, believing her to be some kind of cold killer, but obviously they thought wrong.

“Thinking with your heart was what got you into trouble… Remember?†Lucifer said unable to move his body, Sora had injured his right leg, while Riku, with his attack, dislocated his left shoulder.

“If you don’t finish me now Gabriel will… I don’t want to die by his hands…†Lucifer said.

Riku looked back at Sora, his own heart was telling him, in one way or another, the same thing Amaterasu’s heart was telling her. ‘It’d be better if he was destroyed right now, than prolong it… But, it doesn’t feel right…’ Riku thought to himself, feeling Amaterasu’s pleading eyes on him.

“Sora…†she spoke out to the young Keyblade wielder. “Can you open the lock in his heart?†she asked him, no, rather she pleaded with him.

“Open, his heart?†Sora asked flabbergasted.

“Release it…†she said, still pinning Lucifer down on the ground.

“Why-†Sora held his tongue as he noticed that Amaterasu just sighed in little annoyance.

“It’ll be better to do it like that, than actually kill him…†she said as Lucifer closed his eyes for a moment. “He’s gone through to much already…â€

“You always did have pity on all of us… Mother…†Lucifer said.

In folklore Amaterasu was considered to be the sun goddess, and mother of all since she provided warmth and light, it was something motherly.

“Just do it, kid!†Lucifer was practically begging him. “I can’t stand being in this kind of pain, heck I’d rather die than go back with my *** handed to me!†pride was speaking for him, in truth he wanted to die to preserve his pride, it was something that not even Amaterasu could understand, for she had no pride at all.

Sora walked forward, and everyone was watching from behind the barrier. He pulled out Kingdom Key and placed the blade over Lucifer’s beating heart. Sora closed his eyes and the tip of his weapon was beginning to emit a white cleansing light, it was the first time Sora ever unlocked a person’s heart.

The soon to be defeated Chaser closed his eyes welcoming the light, and Amaterasu looked away. A piece of her heart felt like it was crumbling, she had harbored some dislike to the blond man, but she saw as to why he did the things he had to do.

‘You didn’t want me to get hurt, but I did anyway no matter how careful I had been that day. You were a big brother to me when I couldn’t find Yomigami…’ for a moment she could feel tears swell up around her eyes.

“Ammi…†Lucifer said smiling warmly as the light pierced his heart. “Don’t cry, it’s better this way… The light’s warm, just like the sun…†those were his last words when the light dissolved away from the Keyblade. His whole body began to glow, unable to take the gigantic amount that coursed through his body.

Riku watched as the Chasers body began to break away into little white orbs. For a moment he could see butterfly wings on the orbs as the fluttered about. He looked at Amaterasu as she outstretched her hand to an orb that hovered near her.

For a moment Riku thought back to a point in time when his mother hand done the same hand movement. When Riku came back to reality he could see it now. ‘She treats them like her children… Even if she is the youngest, she cares for them on a high emotional level, no matter of what happened in the past… I wonder if the real Amaterasu would do that…?’ he looked at Amaterasu, and noticed she gave a sad smile when the little orb flew away.

The barrier came crashing down, like a howling wind. Riku could hear his name being called out and he turned around. Sora was standing near Amaterasu, and somehow he felt sympathy for her.

“You have a heart?†Sora asked her in a gentle whisper.

“I’m human… all Chasers’ have hearts, because we’re human.†She said looking at Sora, as his eyes grew wide in realization.

He had defeated another person, one with a real heart, it wasn’t a Heartless or a Nobody, but a human, one with a heart. How her phrase shattered his heart, and that’s when he felt tears of anger fill his eyes.

A human life was taken, and nothing was gained except one less member in the Chasers. Crying wouldn’t bring back that human life, but Sora wanted to cry.

From the shock his heart felt, he wanted to puke, knowing he took someone’s life away so quickly. Had it been a Nobody or a Heartless it probably would’ve been different, but this was a human.

“You knew I would do it, wouldn’t you?†he asked her angrily as he fell on his knees, the sand started to kick up with the wind around the area. “Why did you tell me he was human?!â€

The others turned around and looked at Sora and the ex-Chaser. Amaterasu knelt down to face Sora, who was not crying a bit. She wanted to cry with him, knowing what she had done to the poor boy, it was something no one wanted to experience, the fact that you took a human life away.

“Cry all you want, Sora…†she said stroking his spiky brown hair. “It’s okay…â€

“But why? Answer me…†he said begging her.

“He wanted it…†she said looking back at the others, they were coming forward. “I know you’re mad at me, I mean I would be too if I was in your shoes…†she said hoping to give the boy some peace of mind. “Go ahead and loathe me if you want, you have every right too…â€

“Crying won’t bring that guy back… You were his friend weren’t you?†Sora asked her, looking at her through his teary eyes.

“I was…†she said recalling a happier time she shared with Lucifer. “But that’s in the past for right now… He would’ve been happier this way.â€

“How would you know?â€

“Would your mother want you to die a painful death, or just fall into the warmth of the light?â€

R I K U​

I can still look back on that day as if it were just yesterday, but that was one month ago. Sora still had some doubts about something, but he still did what he believed was right. We ran into another Chaser, she called herself Lene. She was defeated by Kairi and myself, while Sora was fighting off a Heartless that was in the area.

Donald and Goofy had left since the King had sent an urgent letter. Sora told the two of them that the King needed them and that he had to be protected.

‘Riku, how have you been? I hope you’re not hurt or anything… I don’t know how to say this but, as I’m typing this out the Heartless have been conquering numerous worlds, and I know you’re aware of that. I’m in Traverse Town… They took Destiny Islands a month ago… At least now it’ll take a day for our txt mssg to get across…’

That was all that her text message said, and my heart sank a bit. There was no joy, I couldn’t feel it in any of the words she had sent out, and I wanted to go to her, but I can’t, not right now…

“Riku, just go…†Sora said. “I’ll be fine, besides we unlocked the light from Port Royal and from the Pride Lands. We have a little vacation time, so why not just go?â€

“Are you sure?†I asked him, he hadn’t been his cheerful usual self since we came back from Port Royal. I asked him why, but he didn’t answer, I’m not sure even Kairi knew.

“You need to see her. She’s missed you, no doubt…†Sora said grinning slightly. “Tell her I said hi, okay?â€

“Yeah…†I said patting Sora on the shoulder as I got up from my chair.

That’s how I ended up here in Traverse Town now, it was still the same as always, it got really dark at night, just like it was two years ago. More people inhabited this world, seeing as how the Darkness was still being its unrest-less self. Since we were both in the same area I decided to text her.

‘I’m in the Third District, by the fountain…’

I sat down by the fountain; it was the only place that people rarely went to, the Third District. There weren’t any homes, just an abandoned house and a fountain, with a door, that once had a magician living on the other side of it. I heard the door open from the First District area, but to my disappointment it wasn’t her.

People were coming and going through the area, and of course it was a Saturday. As she had once said Saturdays were for couples, I still remember that day. I smiled slightly to myself not really caring if people thought I was crazy.

I popped in the headphones from her mp3 player. I still carried it with me. I promised her that I would give it back to her.

My cell moved as it received a message from someone. I jumped slightly and picked it up, scanning trough the messages.

‘Riku, hey I’ve been standing over here for a couple of minutes, look up…’

I looked up and noticed someone waving, it was her. My heart was beating pretty fast, and the pain in my heart came back again, I thought it had left me. It was hurting just as bad as when I first met that Amaterasu girl…

“Riku!†Selma said happily hugging me with all her might. She kissed my cheek and hugged me again. I couldn’t breathe as she continued to hug me so hard. “Sorry!†she said apologizing as I almost fell backwards from the lack of oxygen.

“I…Missed you,†it was the only thing I could tell her before I held her tight.

Current Scene​

Riku held on tight to her burying his head in her chest, just like a scared child would. For now, she would be called Selma, just for his sake and only his. Selma sighed happily, embracing him.

‘This is real…’ she thought to herself closing her eyes as she placed her chin gently on his head. ‘I’m glad it’s real…’ What seemed like ages, they finally parted from their hug. Riku noticed that Selma had some tears in her eyes, but she quickly rubbed them off.

“How… How have you been?†she asked shyly, just like the first time they met.

“I’ve been all right,†the boy with silver hair said. He stood up, stretching his legs for a moment. Selma sat down by the edge of the fountain looking at the young boy for a moment smiling.

It did pain her to tell him her real name, but it was probably the best thing she could do for now. If she did tell him her real name it would pain him badly, causing his heart to shatter the same way it had happened to Sora.

She didn’t dwell on that for right now, what she cared most about was seeing Riku, and that’s why she came to the Third District. Riku smiled slightly and outstretched his hand to her. It brought back a good memory when Selma had been living on the island.

“How’s mom?†Riku asked walking hand in hand with her.

“She’s fine…†Selma said remembering Riku’s mother. She was living in one of the nearby hotels. “She’s misses you…â€

“Same here…†Riku said as the two of them walked to the Second District. He pulled out her little mp3 player and felt proud of himself. “I’ve been keeping it safe, like I promised.†She in turn closed his palm, telling him to keep it a bit longer.

Selma’s eyes lit up slightly as she felt a sigh of relief come over her knowing the familiar item was safe. She gave him a big smile, and Riku felt his cheeks get a bit red. He loved watching her smile like that, it made his heart calm down a bit.

“I’ve been keeping my promise too,†she said taking his hand and pointing to where his mother was at. “Your mother and I have been sharing a room in that hotel.†It was close to an area where hats and shoes were sold. “She’s out though, visiting one of the neighbors that came with us.â€

Everything was silent to them as they walked around just enjoying each other’s company. Riku wanted to hold her longer, just like that day he told her that he was leaving, but he didn’t want to ruin anything.

Time and distance had somehow formed a gap in-between each other, and it was hurting both of them emotionally. ‘She needs me…’ Riku thought looking at her, she was talking about a good area where they could eat. ‘And I need her… But I can’t take her away from her family. It’s selfish of me, but I need her…’

“Riku…†Selma tried to snap her friend out of his daze.

Riku blinked slightly as Selma placed a hand on his forehead. He felt embarrassed for dozing off like that and he apologized.

“Are you sure you’re okay?†she asked sitting him down on a bench. “How come Sora and Kairi aren’t with you?â€

“Sora’s spending some time with Kairi, so…†he said smiling. “You get the idea…â€

“Those two make a good couple…†she said breathing in the crisp night air. “Are you hungry? I know a good place that sells some awesome coffee-cake, and…†she started to ramble on again.

Riku let her grab his hand, and she led the way this time. They went deeper into the First District area and Selma found the area she was looking for and hurried Riku along. The silver haired teen smiled and followed her the whole way, not once protesting.

“Here…†he offered to pull out a chair. Selma decided it was better to sit outside the coffee shop.

K a i r i​

“Sora, how are you feeling?†I asked looking at him feeling a bit worried.He sat up and gave me his trademark smile, but I knew he was still feeling a bit of regret. I told him it wasn’t his fault, but I don’t know if he’s listening or not.

“I’m feeling better…†he said sating next to me this time. When he said that, I could feel that somehow I knew he was telling the truth this time.

“I’m glad Riku went to go visit her…†I told Sora watching him rest his head on my shoulder. “He deserves to have a good time.â€

“We all do…†Sora said pinching my cheek slightly. He kissed my cheek softly, it was still something that could make me blush madly.

“It’s not your fault Sora…†I told him holding his hand, he had taken off his outfit and wore some tan shorts and a white shirt.

“It still feels like it…†he said squeezing my hand for a moment. “But I know it’s not… But I can’t help it… I mean I…†I sighed quietly and placed a hand on his mouth. I shook my head slightly and he relaxed his jaw.

“It’s still bugging you, what she asked you?â€

“Just a little bit…†he said looking back at me. His eyes were mixed with confusion and sadness. I kissed him slightly on the cheek, and he smiled for a moment. “Let’s go walk around, maybe that’ll help…â€

I stood up, but before I could even sigh I felt something lightly brush against my lips. I could feel my face grow hot with embarrassment. Sora’s eyes looked back at me, he was smiling, letting his worry slip away.

“Sora…†I managed to whisper out. I could feel my voice crack with awkwardness.

I could hear him laugh, and he shook his head. He grabbed my hand and led me outside. My first kiss, it was something so gentle, and I didn’t even see it coming…

R i k u​

I watched her talk on a bit more before she sipped her cup of coffee. She was addicted to coffee, from what I remember that she told, her mother had once given her ‘café con leche’ which was milk and coffee in English. From then on she fell in love with the caffeinated liquid.

I bit into the coffee-cake she bought, and she frowned slightly as I took the chance to bite it in front of her. She got me back by sipping the contents from my milkshake, and I pouted at her slightly.

“Since when do you pout?†she asked, and for some reason her tone of voice reminded me of something a mother would say to her child.

“…Uh…†it was hard trying to answer her that question. Instead I stuffed my mouth with my milkshake.

“You know, I hope one day I find someone…†at that point I started to listen attentively. “I mean…†she was embarrassed to go on now. “Take Sora and Kairi for example, I want to be able to find someone like that…â€

‘I wonder how Sora and Kairi are doing…’ I thought to myself before looking back at Selma. She sipped her coffee again and sighed slightly. It was around 11 o’clock at night now, but you couldn’t tell because the night got dark around 5 o’clock.

“What about you Riku, you think you’ll find someone like that?†and at that point I couldn’t help but spit out the last drop of my milkshake.

A m a t e r a s u ​

I watched Riku spit out his milkshake a bit when I asked him, apparently I embarrassed him, but why? He cleared his throat and sighed for a moment.

“Well… do you?†I asked.

“Yeah…†he nodded, almost afraid to answer now.

“That’s good…†I said smiling at him.

“What about you?†he asked taking another piece of my coffee cake. “You think you’ll find one like that?â€

“Of course…†I said slapping his hand slightly as he tried to take another piece of the pastry.

“Just a matter of waiting, that’s all…â€

I wanted to pour my whole heart to him, just tell him everything, who I was, what I was. It would’ve made me feel so much better. What was the point in having a friend like this, if I couldn’t tell him my secret?

I suppose I don’t want to make a bigger gap, so I won’t do anything. Still with time and distance, there was already a gap there, and I’d just make it worse if I confessed everything.

“ Selma…â€

I sighed for a moment and felt Riku tug on my hand a bit. I looked up and noticed that he was standing up already. He asked me if I was all right, and I nodded. ‘I don’t want to shatter your heart Riku, because I know you wouldn’t do that to me,’ I thought to myself, letting Riku pull me up.

“Come on…†he was taking me back to the Second District.

There were lanterns and festival items around this time of night. A carnival of some sort was going to be held here, but I just didn’t know when. I know that my brothers and sister would like it, and Riku’s mom. I wish at some points Mom was here to see stuff like that, but she’s in a better place having more fun than I could possibly ever imagine.

“They say the carnival’s coming next week,†Riku said bringing me back to reality.

“Really?†I asked, feeling a bit dazed now. “Riku…†my heart was beginning to race. “There’s something I need to tell you…â€

Current scene…​

Amaterasu felt something caught in her throat, but she shook it off and tried to finish what she started, but it was no use.

“Never mind…†she said sighing in defeat, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Hey, Selma?†Riku asked her something. “Have you ever heard of the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu?â€

“Yeah…†she said feeling a smile creep up on her. “Why?â€

How she wished to give him her real name, and yet he didn’t know he had said her true name. Once again there was a pain in her heart. She could feel her heart wept as she kept the truth from him.

“There’s an ex-Chaser by that name…â€

“Really?†she asked. “Is she pretty?â€

“…†Riku didn’t really now how to answer it. “She looks a bit like you…†he said, rubbing the back of his head. “But she’s… I don’t know I don’t feel like she’s good or she’s bad…â€

It was then and there Riku told her everything that had happened up to this point in time. He spoke of Amaterasu and how she had fought with Kairi. He spoke of his adventure to the Pride Lands, and turning into a lion cub. He spoke of going to Isla Cruces, and getting sandwiched in-between a voodoo priestess and a pirate that didn’t have a general understanding of personal hygiene.

He told her about how Lucifer had appeared, and what Sora had to do to get rid of him. He noticed that she looked down when he spoke about Amaterasu, somehow in his heart he had a feeling something was going on.

“ Selma…?†he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“That’s not my name…†she whispered. Her eyes began to produce tears. “I… My name… It’s…†the tears finally began to come down. “My… name it’s… Amaterasu…â€

A m a t e r a s u ​

What was I thinking right then and there, well absolutely nothing. My mind went blank and I didn’t know what to say or how to say it, but as I did say it, my heart started a twist around a bit, and I knew that was why I started to cry.

I know how Riku feels now, because I’m ashamed of myself as well, I didn’t want him to ever know about who I really was, but… I wish I told him sooner.

“If you want, go ahead and finish me off…†I said forcing his Keyblade to appear over head. “I don’t blame you if you’re mad…â€

“ Selma…†he was still in shock, or he was upset, it was probably both.

“Don’t call me that…†I said feeling angry at myself.

“How… but why…?â€

“I understand if you don’t want to see, maybe it’s better this way…†I looked away from him, and his Keyblade fell with a heavy thud.

“Are you insane?!†he raised his voice at me for a moment. “What is the matter with you…?â€

“That’s just it!†I yelled at him, feeling more tears stream down my face. “I can’t sleep well at night knowing that I’m lying to you! Or when I’d see you, I knew I couldn’t run up to hug you, or tell you hi or anything like that. I’ve had to watch you in the shadows…â€

“I’ve been risking my *** trying to protect you… only to find out we’re cleaning up the messes you make…†he said trying to calm himself down. “You…!â€

“This is why I didn’t want to tell you…†I said breaking down now. “I was wrong to tell you, I thought you were my friend, I though that we could tell each other something without judging the other… I guess I was wrong…â€

There was another jab in my heart, and I placed a hand over it, it was starting to annoy me more and more. Riku’s expression was that of hurt, but still he didn’t walk away from me, but he stayed and talked, I’m really surprised, then again he is my friend, but I’m not so sure about that now.

“S… Amaterasu…†he said my real name this time. “I think this little meeting is over…â€

“Before you leave, Riku…†I noticed he had withdrawn his Keyblade. “Tell Sora it’s not his fault…†but all I felt were his arms wrapped around me, and I could hear him crying. He was mad at me, but he still hugged me, and I didn’t know what to do this time. I cried with him.

“Then come with us…†he wanted me to go, I could tell by the wavering tone in his voice. “Please…â€

“I… I can’t…†I told him feeling him push me away. “I wish it were that simple Riku, I really do…â€

“What’s stopping you?â€

“The people I love get hurt…†I told him looking away slightly. I wiped the tears from my eyes. “It’s because of them… I love you guys too much to watch you get hurt…â€

“You’re hurting us at the same time…†he said, and I felt my eyes widen.

It was true, what I thought was protection was in fact hurting them as well, it protected me and my family, but not my friends, so I had failed right there. He placed his hands on my cheeks, and I could still feel some tears fall. I winced in embarrassment and looked away.

“You’re too kind to me Riku…†I told him. “Other people would’ve left right after I told them…â€

“I’m not like other people…†he said trying hard to smile. “I’m still a bit mad at you, but not to the point where I’d leave you crying alone…†he leaned in, and I pushed him away.

“No… Riku, I can’t…†I told him placing a finger on his lip. “I can’t… It’s better if you leave for right now…â€

Truth be told as much as I did want his comfort, I couldn’t. My heart, as I felt it, was still too fragile, still mending wounds from over thirty years ago. I shook my head slightly and he stopped in his tracks. He did at least respect me, but how I wished I could hold him close.

“Why would I leave you?!†he said grasping his hand in mine.

“Because of what I’ve done…†I said knowing that he was still angry with me. I could feel it in my heart. “I don’t deserve to be your friend… I don’t deserve to have a special place in your heart… I wanted this day to be like old times, but it can’t because of time and distance! I wanted to be able to laugh a lot today, but the weight of my own sins came to me when I hugged you, when I held your hand…†I knew I was crying again.

“Then let me help you…†he was begging me. “I want to help you…â€

R i k u ​

I don’t understand what happened, but it feels like I’m in a dream or something. I know who she is, but somehow it hasn’t caught up to me yet, but I know it will and when it does, it’s not going to be all that wonderful. I want to hold her and tell her everything’s going to be all right, but I know she’s afraid.

‘Truth be told, I care too much for you,’ I thought to myself as I looked at her.

“Amaterasu…†it seemed really weird coming out from my mouth. I leaned in again, and this time she hugged me. I kissed her cheek softly, it was a bit salty, but I mean she did cry after all.

Just mere seconds away from sharing my first kiss with her, but she stopped me. Again she told me she couldn’t, and I felt like I had done something wrong. She’s probably doing it to keep me safe, but I want to protect her more than anything right now, that’s something that I know I’m sure of right now.

Tonight, I wanted to let her cry, and I would hold her close telling her everything would be all right, and that we could work it out. Yet somehow I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy, our friendship would mostly likely end soon, and I was afraid of losing her.

“They’ll come after you…†she said whispering into my ear. “I don’t want you getting hurt. Lucifer was nothing compared to them…â€

“Lucifer couldn’t fight…â€

“True…†she said. “But if I had been in his shoes I would’ve rather died that way than die by Gabriel’s hands…â€

She kissed my cheek, and she let her lips linger on there for a second longer, and I could feel my face start to blush. At least I made her smile. But I had a feeling I wasn’t going to be seeing her for a long time.

“Ammi…†I whispered to her, just pushing back some strands of hair away from her face. I kissed her on the forehead and she gave me a sad smile. That was the last time I saw her as she retreated into a dark portal, and for that moment this whole thing caught up to me.

I fell back onto a nearby bench, and I could feel anger and confusion and sadness rage in me. For once the first person I shared a paopu fruit with had left me alone. I know why I didn’t get that angry with her, it’s because of a thing called love.

“I wish you knew how much I loved you Amaterasu…â€

That wd and still do love her, and not a million fights could make me hate her, never… Her and I we’re alike. Each one of us has their own reason for doing what they had to do. Her family, it’s very important to her, and I’m fighting to protect her, my friends, and also my mother.

The Clock Tower​

A blond spiky haired man looked at the crying girl and sighed heavily. He just placed a hand on her head and patted her gently as a way of comforting. He looked back down and noticed the silver haired teenager.

“He must care for you a lot…†he said. Amaterasu just stared at the man with the Chocobo like hair, she pouted for a moment.

“Cloud, you have someone who cares so much for you, why don’t you just go to her already?â€

“Amaterasu, I don’t want to hurt her…â€

Cloud Strife a man from another world made his way to Traverse Town believing he had no other place to go to, so that was why he did in fact reside here. A young woman by the name of Tifa had been unsuccessful in finding him, since this world had fallen into darkness about a week ago, and Amaterasu and her siblings had found a way to bring this fallen world back.

“But you are, Aerith has been waiting for you for almost a year now, she saw you last year, and you didn’t even stay that long! She knows deep in her heart that you can see the light that’s guiding you home, why aren’t you following it?!â€

“I’m trying to protect her… I don’t want her to get hurt by my return, what if she doesn’t even want to see me anymore?†it was at that point even a mother would scowl their children for thinking like that.

“She planted a paopu tree for your return…†she sighed heavily for a moment taking a mother like role this time. “You said so yourself once… When Radian Garden was getting destroyed, do you remember what you said?†Amaterasu asked wiping her tears away.

“I would never get to see her smile, or get angry, or get mad, or even laugh…â€

“She doesn’t get to see you laugh, or smile, or cry, or even get angry!†she was obviously losing her temper with him, any mother would when their child didn’t listen.

“You know that’s not very mother like…â€

“If I was your mother, I’d tell you to go and visit her…†she said. “Now go Cloud… Please you know she's waiting for you..."

"I'm not one to say much on this subject..." he said looking back down at the scene below them, "But it'd be nice if you took your advice once in a while..."