Fanfiction ► KH:TFF... The Sequel...
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Wow, I didn't know that 
Complicated villain love is cute, but it's so very hard to write D:
<3
Complicated villain love is cute, but it's so very hard to write D:
<3
Wow, I didn't know that
Complicated villain love is cute, but it's so very hard to write D:
<3
Either way, it's the best piece of villain love I've ever read in my life. No, I'm not exaggerating, the few books I've read that incorporate are way cheesier than this. My own attempts have crashed and burned (so bad that you haven't seen the results...) Keep up the good work!
Perfect how long will it be before people become crazy and/or nuts in the future?
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*flattered. completely.*
You really think so? n.n; Thanks! That's very sweet. I bet yours were great, you're an awesome writer, giuocob! <3
Lol, KK. Could be sometime soon, mebbeh? :3
Chapter will be up tonight, mm'kay?
<3 <3
snowdog said:
My God...how do you DO that?
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Lol n.n
I write them in advance. I don't just throw them out here XD
This one is graphic towards the end, people. But it's only a sentence or two >.O
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Riku gave a polite wave to the innkeeper as he passed, before pacing back down the hallway. It was strange… he felt just like his regular self again. For a moment, he even forgot the state he woke up in. Whatever Clover had done to him, it had worked incredibly well. He felt as if he could take on the world. Glancing at the time, he saw he’d been gone for twenty minutes.
“It only felt like a couple of minutes…” he thought to himself, surprised he’d been away for so long. But, as he walked, he could hear warm laughter - and, recognising Sora’s chuckle, he knew that Ikawa was still around.
“Hey Riku!” Ikawa grinned, slapping a large hand upon his bare shoulder as he stood in the doorway. Riku glared to himself at this unwanted attention, before looking back up with a friendly smile. “How was your walk?”
Looking around, Riku was pleased to see them all still sat around in that same room - even Imari, who waved at him gently as he returned. He repressed a relieved breath, happy to see that she was doing fine. It would make the journey a lot easier if she could handle being around Ikawa. Sora waved, too, gesturing for him to sit back down.
“It was fine,” he replied, making his way over to the bed. He sat down upon a messy blanket, crossing his legs and leaning back on his arms. “I didn’t go too far.” His expression fell as he caught sight of Imari‘s loving gaze, feeling her warm hand upon his knee. “But I have some news.”
“What is it?” the King asked - slightly apprehensive, as Riku certainly did not sound optimistic. Sora thought the same, bracing himself for a negative response.
“I saw Lillie out there,” he explained, running one of his hands through his glossy silver locks. Kairi smiled happily, tilting her head.
“How is she?” she smiled. “You think she’ll come back to see us, just like Clover?” Riku shrugged gently, prompting her smile to fade, her eyes slightly saddened by the thought of this.
“She said that they were busy looking for another member,” he explained, feeling his stomach sink as Imari curled her arm around his. She smiled as he looked to her, gently moving his hair from his blank face. His turquoise eyes lost hers as she gazed back at him. “She says it’s Meiji.”
Imari moved back a little, startled. The others looked on silently, knowing that this would be especially hard for her. Riku sighed. In an instant, she’d gone from the sweet, cheerful girl they loved - to a withdrawn, shrunken girl, seeming forlorn at this bombshell.
“Don’t worry, Imari,” Sora said, trying to help. “We won’t let him near you and Taiko.” The King nodded, walking towards her. He looked up at her on the bed with a warm beam.
“We can handle him,” he smiled. “Ya got nothing to worry about.” Ikawa just watched with a blank expression.
“Thank you,” she nodded softly, looking to Riku for comfort. “Everything will be okay, right?”
Riku nodded silently, but suddenly decided to give her a response.
“Yeah,” he smiled, ignoring the thought of the moment they’d meet. He had to tell a white lie, just to make her happy - although, chances were, when they met, he would not hold back. “Of course.”
Reassured, Imari gave a smile, although looking at her feet.
“How are you feeling, Riku?” a voice suddenly asked. Riku looked up to see Sora’s cheerful face. He wanted to blurt out his feelings of hatred at that moment, but knew better of it.
“Fine,” he smiled, “other than my face, I feel great. Walking was no problem, either.” King Mickey nodded.
“Perhaps we could leave sooner, then,” he suggested amiably. “What would you say, Ikawa?” Ikawa nodded, eyes fixed on Riku the whole time.
“Not a problem,” he smiled, folding his huge arms. “I can start leadin’ you guys whenever ya need me. But, the quicker we get goin’, the better.”
“We can leave whenever then,” Sora commented. “It’s not like we need to stay here.”
~*~*~*~*~
Following Riku’s insistence, they made preparations to leave as soon as possible. Granted, these preparations were merely packing bags, but there was still the overwhelming sense of undertaking a great task. It was scary to think where they were headed, but, although each member of their group felt this way, none spoke a work of this. It was thought of as a bad omen. Riku took the time to give the innkeeper a message for Clover; letting her know that they’d left, and where they were headed - along with, of course, his own personal thanks for healing him, and taking such good care of him. He was unhappy about not being able to see her himself, but knew that she would understand.
Sora was assisting Ikawa with packing - Riku refused to do so - so that he would not be left without his own supplies. They were in Sora’s room, the sunlight streaming through the glass, becoming watery as it hit the furniture. It was a warm afternoon. Kairi was elsewhere, probably in the bathroom, enjoying hot running water while she still had the luxury.
“So as we go further on, is it all the same as it has been so far?” Sora asked, keen to know what would happen as they continued further into this world. Ikawa nodded, shoving some medical supplies into a bag.
“Exactly the same,” he explained. “But to get to the portal, we gotta go deeper underground.” Sora raised an eyebrow, sitting on the bed now that he was finished.
“What do you mean?” he said, feeling slightly sheepish. He ruffled the hair at the back of his neck.
“Imagine that…” he tried to think of an idea to convey this. It was difficult to explain simply. “Okay. Imagine that the world has three levels.” Sora nodded, visualising this. “The crust would be the first level. Since we’re under the crust, we’re on the second level. And beneath the second level, there’s the - ”
“Third level,” Sora interrupted with a grin. “I get it now.” Ikawa smiled, relieved. “But how do we get to it?”
“There’s…” Ikawa began, but stopped. He scratched his head. “If I remember right, there’s a slope to get from the crust down here, right?”
“Yeah,” Sora nodded. “But the ground’s covered in water, how do we - ”
“There’s not a slope down,” Ikawa interrupted this time. “There’s a clearing, where the land slopes up into a small hill. Right at the top is this… I dunno, it’s kinda like a well… but at the same time, a little bigger than the hole of a well. You need to climb down into the third level.”
“Okay,” Sora said, trying to keep this in mind. But then, a thought struck him. “Wait, what about Riku and Imari?” Ikawa shrugged.
“What about ‘em?” he said.
“With the baby,” Sora continued, “how are they gonna get down there?” Ikawa nodded, realising just what Sora meant now. His face was lined with thought, cut fingers rubbing his stubbly chin.
“Good question,” he mused, thinking this over. “They can’t do it holdin’ a baby.” He looked to Sora with a blank expression. “Don’t they have anything to carry him with?” Sora shrugged.
“Not that I know of,” he said. “I guess if push comes to shove… they can put him into a bag.” Ikawa frowned.
“He’s a baby, Sora,” he pointed out. Sora shook his hands, embarrassed at his ambiguity.
“That’s not what I meant,” he blushed. “I mean, Riku has a backpack. He could… I don’t know, perhaps put it onto his front, with Taiko just inside it. Not zipped up or anything, of course. Just until they’ve climbed down.” Ikawa nodded, seeing Sora’s idea now.
“I get it,” he said. He laughed. “I can’t wait ‘til you suggest that to Riku.” Sora shook his head with a smile.
“He’ll be fine with it,” he said, “it’s not like there’s any alternative, as much as we’d like one.” Ikawa nodded, giving a shrug as he zipped his bag up.
“If you say so,” he said softly. He looked to the doorway, hearing approaching footsteps.
It was King Mickey, Donald and Goofy, all seeming ready to go.
“Good afternoon,” the King smiled, still in warm spirits. “All done yet?” Sora shook his head, giving them all a smile.
“Nope,” he said. Then he corrected himself, patting the bag at his side. “Well, me and Ikawa are.” Ikawa nodded, too, running a rand loosely in his shock of blue hair. “Kairi’s still in the bathroom, but I packed for both of us. Riku and Imari still aren’t done.”
“I’ll go get ‘em,” Donald said, seeming grumpy as ever about something or other. He was probably frustrated that they could not get going straight away. He waddled off, knocking on their door loudly. The King blushed, turning to Ikawa.
“Thank you for helping us,” he smiled. “Are you sure you’re okay with going back there? They would be pretty angry to hear that you left them to join us.” Ikawa smiled confidently, shaking his head.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, an air of arrogance in his voice. “I can’t wait to see the look on their faces.” Sora chuckled to himself at this, before the King continued.
“Oh, and I have a question,” he said. “If there are no towns, where can we sleep?”
“Remember them branches that go just over the water?” he said, peering to the window to see if any were there. Sadly, there were none to illustrate his point. The King nodded anyway. “There’s a lot more of them along the way, and they get bigger - so do the trees - so there’s plenty of room to sleep on ‘em.”
“Don’t sound too comfy,” Goofy commented, arms at his sides. Ikawa laughed.
“I wouldn’t know,” he bellowed. “I never slept on ‘em. Never had the chance.”
At that moment, Donald was back, bringing along Imari and Riku. They greeted the others the instant they arrived. Riku seemed to be fairly placid, he’d calmed down quite a bit in the time spent packing. He had a large backpack slung over one shoulder; but, seeing as Kairi was not around - and so, they would not be leaving just yet - he let it drop to his side. Imari stood with him, holding the baby in her arms, wrapped up in a gentle blue bundle. He was obviously sleeping. She, too, seemed content, despite the risk of facing Meiji out there.
Soon enough, Kairi returned, hair soaked as she left a dribbled trail wherever she went. Now, it was time to go. They had to make up for lost time.
They had left the town, and soon, were wandering through the forest again. The varied trees stood blue in the mirrored waters, grasses shivering in the breeze. Ikawa led the way, naturally, with the others following along behind in small groups. They were making great time. Riku was coping incredibly well, much to their advantage. Everything was going according to plan.
~*~*~*~*~
“You saw Mikado?” Kali asked, crystal eyes wide with a mix of both bewilderment and shock. She rested her chin upon her curled, red-clawed hand, eager to hear Loki’s story.
“That is correct,” Loki mumbled in response, his own, bloodstained fingers fumbling in his hair, ripping his ponytail out. His hair fell to his shoulders, down his back, and he shook it in frustration, running his hands through it to groom himself. He thundered back to his chair at the head of the table, breathing a deep breath as he calmed himself down.
For a moment, his dark eyes narrowed, catching sight of Audax’s bloody corpse. He’d been beaten into a pulp after such a comment - and, being so weak, he stood no chance of even defending himself from Loki’s brutal onslaught. Worse, still, was the fact that Loki did not stop, even after he’d killed the man. He continued pounding away with heavy fists, blood spilling from the lifeless body. Now, he lay there, soaked in his own blood, limbs unattached, face unrecognisable, his body a soft mass of pulverised muscle. Unfortunately, unlike most of the other members, he had not become a Heartless yet - and so, he left a corpse to be cleaned up.
“Someone had better clean that up,” Kali commented, twirling her fingers in her bright blonde hair. She felt surges of nausea just looking at Audax. She looked to Loki, letting her arms drop to her sides. “Want us to do it?” Loki shook his head, twining his fingers together so that he could rest his chin on them.
“No,” he said quietly. “Have one of the lower members do it. Might scare them to see the state of him.” He smirked at the thought of the screams. Orexein nodded, with a grin. This was the only time he was pleased to be blind - he would never have to see someone who’d suffered at Loki’s hands. Not that he hated the violence - he loved a good battle - but, it was said to be gut-wrenching to look upon one of these poor, mutilated souls, once they‘d been in Loki‘s hands.
“So what happened in this dream?” Orexein asked, moving closer to the table. “Did he speak, or…” He mumbled this second part.
“I saw him,” Loki said, holding his head in his hands. He felt his chest throb with anguish. “With my eyes. And he spoke with me, and I spoke with him…” He let his arms drop to the table, grunting a sigh. “It was more of… a vision.” He looked to Kali with an intent stare. “I felt as though I was there, on Square-One.”
“That brings back memories,” Kali purred to herself, before giving a response. “Was it a flashback, or something?” Loki shook his head, trying to blank out the particular moment she was thinking of. Kali was thinking of the moment he’d arrived there, the moment where they’d had the hideous task of telling him that Mikado was gone.
“No,” he said, convinced. “It was a vision, he spoke to me, I spoke to him, he was giving me advice…”
“Advice?” Orexein repeated, softly questioning him. He let his arms fall to his sides, swathed in the thick, flared sleeves of his cloak. Loki nodded, eyes examining the portrait of Mikado before him. He was smiling back.
“Mikado told me not to underestimate the Keybearer,” Loki murmured, in a trance as he gazed at the painted face. “He told me that I had to shape up, as it were.” Kali nodded; this did sound like her old leader. He frowned to himself, eyes narrowing as he remembered Mikado’s words. “We all have to work harder.” Orexein nodded, folding his arms to hide his quivering hands. He needed a cigarette.
“Not a problem,” he said, taking a deep breath. Kali looked to Orexein, smirking with his tremors, before looking to Loki.
“We can do that,” she agreed. “Did he say anything else? You did not sleep long, to my understanding.” Loki shook his head.
“Not really,” he mumbled. “He said I must strike fear into the members’ - obviously, the more inexperienced - hearts. I’ll strike a few of them down to keep them on their toes.” Orexein nodded - this was Loki all over.
“I’m sure you’ll hate that,” he smirked sarcastically, prompting a weak smile from this unusually pensive man.
Orexein fumbled in his pockets, his fingers finding a lighter, and the precious packet of his cigarettes. He could not have one here - Loki would certainly not allow smoking inside; for some reason, he was particular about the scent of smoke. The popular theory was that it simply reminded him of Square-One. Not even Orexein was allowed to smoke indoors, which was why he spent so much time outside, alone.
“Might be an opportunity to vent some frustration,” Kali commented, folding her arms over her chest. “Seeing what you did to Audax, it looks like after a while, you continued out of pleasure.” Loki nodded silently.
“Think of it as stress release,” he murmured, lowering his gaze to the tabletop. “Some people smoke.” He looked to Orexein with a smirk. “I choose to release it physically. That, and there was no way I’d let him get away with such a comment.” His fingers tapped against the wooden surface. Kali peered at his eyes - he looked awful.
“Want us to leave?” she asked, trying to sound gentle. It wasn’t in her nature to be so caring. “You’re clearly exhausted.”
Loki thought for a moment, then nodded, rubbing his brow with curled fingers.
“Yes,” he replied solemnly. Orexein breathed a sigh - he thought he’d never get to leave. As much as he was interested in the matter at hand, he desperately needed his cigarette. Loki was right - he was much more dependent than ever thought before.
“Alright,” he said, hands leaving his pockets. “We’ll arrange for someone to collect Audax.”
“What remains of him, anyway,” Kali commented, wincing as she looked at him.
I’ll be honest, I hate having split-chapters like this… Y’know, one half of the good guys, one half of the bad? Other people are awesome at them, but I don’t think I write them well at all.
But I didn’t have enough to fill a chapter of good, or a chapter of bad, and I didn’t want to post something half-assed, so… lol.
And don’t smoke, kids. >.>;
<3 <3
I write them in advance. I don't just throw them out here XD
This one is graphic towards the end, people. But it's only a sentence or two >.O
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Riku gave a polite wave to the innkeeper as he passed, before pacing back down the hallway. It was strange… he felt just like his regular self again. For a moment, he even forgot the state he woke up in. Whatever Clover had done to him, it had worked incredibly well. He felt as if he could take on the world. Glancing at the time, he saw he’d been gone for twenty minutes.
“It only felt like a couple of minutes…” he thought to himself, surprised he’d been away for so long. But, as he walked, he could hear warm laughter - and, recognising Sora’s chuckle, he knew that Ikawa was still around.
“Hey Riku!” Ikawa grinned, slapping a large hand upon his bare shoulder as he stood in the doorway. Riku glared to himself at this unwanted attention, before looking back up with a friendly smile. “How was your walk?”
Looking around, Riku was pleased to see them all still sat around in that same room - even Imari, who waved at him gently as he returned. He repressed a relieved breath, happy to see that she was doing fine. It would make the journey a lot easier if she could handle being around Ikawa. Sora waved, too, gesturing for him to sit back down.
“It was fine,” he replied, making his way over to the bed. He sat down upon a messy blanket, crossing his legs and leaning back on his arms. “I didn’t go too far.” His expression fell as he caught sight of Imari‘s loving gaze, feeling her warm hand upon his knee. “But I have some news.”
“What is it?” the King asked - slightly apprehensive, as Riku certainly did not sound optimistic. Sora thought the same, bracing himself for a negative response.
“I saw Lillie out there,” he explained, running one of his hands through his glossy silver locks. Kairi smiled happily, tilting her head.
“How is she?” she smiled. “You think she’ll come back to see us, just like Clover?” Riku shrugged gently, prompting her smile to fade, her eyes slightly saddened by the thought of this.
“She said that they were busy looking for another member,” he explained, feeling his stomach sink as Imari curled her arm around his. She smiled as he looked to her, gently moving his hair from his blank face. His turquoise eyes lost hers as she gazed back at him. “She says it’s Meiji.”
Imari moved back a little, startled. The others looked on silently, knowing that this would be especially hard for her. Riku sighed. In an instant, she’d gone from the sweet, cheerful girl they loved - to a withdrawn, shrunken girl, seeming forlorn at this bombshell.
“Don’t worry, Imari,” Sora said, trying to help. “We won’t let him near you and Taiko.” The King nodded, walking towards her. He looked up at her on the bed with a warm beam.
“We can handle him,” he smiled. “Ya got nothing to worry about.” Ikawa just watched with a blank expression.
“Thank you,” she nodded softly, looking to Riku for comfort. “Everything will be okay, right?”
Riku nodded silently, but suddenly decided to give her a response.
“Yeah,” he smiled, ignoring the thought of the moment they’d meet. He had to tell a white lie, just to make her happy - although, chances were, when they met, he would not hold back. “Of course.”
Reassured, Imari gave a smile, although looking at her feet.
“How are you feeling, Riku?” a voice suddenly asked. Riku looked up to see Sora’s cheerful face. He wanted to blurt out his feelings of hatred at that moment, but knew better of it.
“Fine,” he smiled, “other than my face, I feel great. Walking was no problem, either.” King Mickey nodded.
“Perhaps we could leave sooner, then,” he suggested amiably. “What would you say, Ikawa?” Ikawa nodded, eyes fixed on Riku the whole time.
“Not a problem,” he smiled, folding his huge arms. “I can start leadin’ you guys whenever ya need me. But, the quicker we get goin’, the better.”
“We can leave whenever then,” Sora commented. “It’s not like we need to stay here.”
~*~*~*~*~
Following Riku’s insistence, they made preparations to leave as soon as possible. Granted, these preparations were merely packing bags, but there was still the overwhelming sense of undertaking a great task. It was scary to think where they were headed, but, although each member of their group felt this way, none spoke a work of this. It was thought of as a bad omen. Riku took the time to give the innkeeper a message for Clover; letting her know that they’d left, and where they were headed - along with, of course, his own personal thanks for healing him, and taking such good care of him. He was unhappy about not being able to see her himself, but knew that she would understand.
Sora was assisting Ikawa with packing - Riku refused to do so - so that he would not be left without his own supplies. They were in Sora’s room, the sunlight streaming through the glass, becoming watery as it hit the furniture. It was a warm afternoon. Kairi was elsewhere, probably in the bathroom, enjoying hot running water while she still had the luxury.
“So as we go further on, is it all the same as it has been so far?” Sora asked, keen to know what would happen as they continued further into this world. Ikawa nodded, shoving some medical supplies into a bag.
“Exactly the same,” he explained. “But to get to the portal, we gotta go deeper underground.” Sora raised an eyebrow, sitting on the bed now that he was finished.
“What do you mean?” he said, feeling slightly sheepish. He ruffled the hair at the back of his neck.
“Imagine that…” he tried to think of an idea to convey this. It was difficult to explain simply. “Okay. Imagine that the world has three levels.” Sora nodded, visualising this. “The crust would be the first level. Since we’re under the crust, we’re on the second level. And beneath the second level, there’s the - ”
“Third level,” Sora interrupted with a grin. “I get it now.” Ikawa smiled, relieved. “But how do we get to it?”
“There’s…” Ikawa began, but stopped. He scratched his head. “If I remember right, there’s a slope to get from the crust down here, right?”
“Yeah,” Sora nodded. “But the ground’s covered in water, how do we - ”
“There’s not a slope down,” Ikawa interrupted this time. “There’s a clearing, where the land slopes up into a small hill. Right at the top is this… I dunno, it’s kinda like a well… but at the same time, a little bigger than the hole of a well. You need to climb down into the third level.”
“Okay,” Sora said, trying to keep this in mind. But then, a thought struck him. “Wait, what about Riku and Imari?” Ikawa shrugged.
“What about ‘em?” he said.
“With the baby,” Sora continued, “how are they gonna get down there?” Ikawa nodded, realising just what Sora meant now. His face was lined with thought, cut fingers rubbing his stubbly chin.
“Good question,” he mused, thinking this over. “They can’t do it holdin’ a baby.” He looked to Sora with a blank expression. “Don’t they have anything to carry him with?” Sora shrugged.
“Not that I know of,” he said. “I guess if push comes to shove… they can put him into a bag.” Ikawa frowned.
“He’s a baby, Sora,” he pointed out. Sora shook his hands, embarrassed at his ambiguity.
“That’s not what I meant,” he blushed. “I mean, Riku has a backpack. He could… I don’t know, perhaps put it onto his front, with Taiko just inside it. Not zipped up or anything, of course. Just until they’ve climbed down.” Ikawa nodded, seeing Sora’s idea now.
“I get it,” he said. He laughed. “I can’t wait ‘til you suggest that to Riku.” Sora shook his head with a smile.
“He’ll be fine with it,” he said, “it’s not like there’s any alternative, as much as we’d like one.” Ikawa nodded, giving a shrug as he zipped his bag up.
“If you say so,” he said softly. He looked to the doorway, hearing approaching footsteps.
It was King Mickey, Donald and Goofy, all seeming ready to go.
“Good afternoon,” the King smiled, still in warm spirits. “All done yet?” Sora shook his head, giving them all a smile.
“Nope,” he said. Then he corrected himself, patting the bag at his side. “Well, me and Ikawa are.” Ikawa nodded, too, running a rand loosely in his shock of blue hair. “Kairi’s still in the bathroom, but I packed for both of us. Riku and Imari still aren’t done.”
“I’ll go get ‘em,” Donald said, seeming grumpy as ever about something or other. He was probably frustrated that they could not get going straight away. He waddled off, knocking on their door loudly. The King blushed, turning to Ikawa.
“Thank you for helping us,” he smiled. “Are you sure you’re okay with going back there? They would be pretty angry to hear that you left them to join us.” Ikawa smiled confidently, shaking his head.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, an air of arrogance in his voice. “I can’t wait to see the look on their faces.” Sora chuckled to himself at this, before the King continued.
“Oh, and I have a question,” he said. “If there are no towns, where can we sleep?”
“Remember them branches that go just over the water?” he said, peering to the window to see if any were there. Sadly, there were none to illustrate his point. The King nodded anyway. “There’s a lot more of them along the way, and they get bigger - so do the trees - so there’s plenty of room to sleep on ‘em.”
“Don’t sound too comfy,” Goofy commented, arms at his sides. Ikawa laughed.
“I wouldn’t know,” he bellowed. “I never slept on ‘em. Never had the chance.”
At that moment, Donald was back, bringing along Imari and Riku. They greeted the others the instant they arrived. Riku seemed to be fairly placid, he’d calmed down quite a bit in the time spent packing. He had a large backpack slung over one shoulder; but, seeing as Kairi was not around - and so, they would not be leaving just yet - he let it drop to his side. Imari stood with him, holding the baby in her arms, wrapped up in a gentle blue bundle. He was obviously sleeping. She, too, seemed content, despite the risk of facing Meiji out there.
Soon enough, Kairi returned, hair soaked as she left a dribbled trail wherever she went. Now, it was time to go. They had to make up for lost time.
They had left the town, and soon, were wandering through the forest again. The varied trees stood blue in the mirrored waters, grasses shivering in the breeze. Ikawa led the way, naturally, with the others following along behind in small groups. They were making great time. Riku was coping incredibly well, much to their advantage. Everything was going according to plan.
~*~*~*~*~
“You saw Mikado?” Kali asked, crystal eyes wide with a mix of both bewilderment and shock. She rested her chin upon her curled, red-clawed hand, eager to hear Loki’s story.
“That is correct,” Loki mumbled in response, his own, bloodstained fingers fumbling in his hair, ripping his ponytail out. His hair fell to his shoulders, down his back, and he shook it in frustration, running his hands through it to groom himself. He thundered back to his chair at the head of the table, breathing a deep breath as he calmed himself down.
For a moment, his dark eyes narrowed, catching sight of Audax’s bloody corpse. He’d been beaten into a pulp after such a comment - and, being so weak, he stood no chance of even defending himself from Loki’s brutal onslaught. Worse, still, was the fact that Loki did not stop, even after he’d killed the man. He continued pounding away with heavy fists, blood spilling from the lifeless body. Now, he lay there, soaked in his own blood, limbs unattached, face unrecognisable, his body a soft mass of pulverised muscle. Unfortunately, unlike most of the other members, he had not become a Heartless yet - and so, he left a corpse to be cleaned up.
“Someone had better clean that up,” Kali commented, twirling her fingers in her bright blonde hair. She felt surges of nausea just looking at Audax. She looked to Loki, letting her arms drop to her sides. “Want us to do it?” Loki shook his head, twining his fingers together so that he could rest his chin on them.
“No,” he said quietly. “Have one of the lower members do it. Might scare them to see the state of him.” He smirked at the thought of the screams. Orexein nodded, with a grin. This was the only time he was pleased to be blind - he would never have to see someone who’d suffered at Loki’s hands. Not that he hated the violence - he loved a good battle - but, it was said to be gut-wrenching to look upon one of these poor, mutilated souls, once they‘d been in Loki‘s hands.
“So what happened in this dream?” Orexein asked, moving closer to the table. “Did he speak, or…” He mumbled this second part.
“I saw him,” Loki said, holding his head in his hands. He felt his chest throb with anguish. “With my eyes. And he spoke with me, and I spoke with him…” He let his arms drop to the table, grunting a sigh. “It was more of… a vision.” He looked to Kali with an intent stare. “I felt as though I was there, on Square-One.”
“That brings back memories,” Kali purred to herself, before giving a response. “Was it a flashback, or something?” Loki shook his head, trying to blank out the particular moment she was thinking of. Kali was thinking of the moment he’d arrived there, the moment where they’d had the hideous task of telling him that Mikado was gone.
“No,” he said, convinced. “It was a vision, he spoke to me, I spoke to him, he was giving me advice…”
“Advice?” Orexein repeated, softly questioning him. He let his arms fall to his sides, swathed in the thick, flared sleeves of his cloak. Loki nodded, eyes examining the portrait of Mikado before him. He was smiling back.
“Mikado told me not to underestimate the Keybearer,” Loki murmured, in a trance as he gazed at the painted face. “He told me that I had to shape up, as it were.” Kali nodded; this did sound like her old leader. He frowned to himself, eyes narrowing as he remembered Mikado’s words. “We all have to work harder.” Orexein nodded, folding his arms to hide his quivering hands. He needed a cigarette.
“Not a problem,” he said, taking a deep breath. Kali looked to Orexein, smirking with his tremors, before looking to Loki.
“We can do that,” she agreed. “Did he say anything else? You did not sleep long, to my understanding.” Loki shook his head.
“Not really,” he mumbled. “He said I must strike fear into the members’ - obviously, the more inexperienced - hearts. I’ll strike a few of them down to keep them on their toes.” Orexein nodded - this was Loki all over.
“I’m sure you’ll hate that,” he smirked sarcastically, prompting a weak smile from this unusually pensive man.
Orexein fumbled in his pockets, his fingers finding a lighter, and the precious packet of his cigarettes. He could not have one here - Loki would certainly not allow smoking inside; for some reason, he was particular about the scent of smoke. The popular theory was that it simply reminded him of Square-One. Not even Orexein was allowed to smoke indoors, which was why he spent so much time outside, alone.
“Might be an opportunity to vent some frustration,” Kali commented, folding her arms over her chest. “Seeing what you did to Audax, it looks like after a while, you continued out of pleasure.” Loki nodded silently.
“Think of it as stress release,” he murmured, lowering his gaze to the tabletop. “Some people smoke.” He looked to Orexein with a smirk. “I choose to release it physically. That, and there was no way I’d let him get away with such a comment.” His fingers tapped against the wooden surface. Kali peered at his eyes - he looked awful.
“Want us to leave?” she asked, trying to sound gentle. It wasn’t in her nature to be so caring. “You’re clearly exhausted.”
Loki thought for a moment, then nodded, rubbing his brow with curled fingers.
“Yes,” he replied solemnly. Orexein breathed a sigh - he thought he’d never get to leave. As much as he was interested in the matter at hand, he desperately needed his cigarette. Loki was right - he was much more dependent than ever thought before.
“Alright,” he said, hands leaving his pockets. “We’ll arrange for someone to collect Audax.”
“What remains of him, anyway,” Kali commented, wincing as she looked at him.
I’ll be honest, I hate having split-chapters like this… Y’know, one half of the good guys, one half of the bad? Other people are awesome at them, but I don’t think I write them well at all.
But I didn’t have enough to fill a chapter of good, or a chapter of bad, and I didn’t want to post something half-assed, so… lol.
And don’t smoke, kids. >.>;
<3 <3
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I'm sorry D: Thanks! XD
Hey, you already have Mikado, do you need them as a set or something? Though, I guess Loki would cry or something if I took him away... ;-;
<3 <3
Hey, you already have Mikado, do you need them as a set or something? Though, I guess Loki would cry or something if I took him away... ;-;
<3 <3
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*noticing your location*
Zomg. I feel so flattered!
*pets Loki*
<3
Zomg. I feel so flattered!
*pets Loki*
<3
No, no, no. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the way you're writing these chapters. Honest, they're just as good as any other such examples I've seen.
Now, the violence was just a big piece of bulls-
No, no, I was just kidding! I mean it, please, let go of my hair! Auuuuugh-
giuocob joined Audux's bloody corpse on the floor.
But seriously, keep doing everything you're doing. It's all really, really good.
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Yay! They are off! I can't wait to see what Meji is up to.
Awsome update!
Awsome update!
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XD Aww, giuocob, you made my day with that :3 Made me smile. Thanks so much <3
Thanks Wolf. You'll see what Meiji's up to soon enough ^.^ Tee-hee! The next chapter is almost finished...
<3 <3
-shudder- Livi no like violence. D:
Awesome chappeh! ^-^; Poor Taiko has to use a backpack as transportation. xD
Awesome chappeh! ^-^; Poor Taiko has to use a backpack as transportation. xD
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I'm sorry *glomps* I'll fit some fluff in somewhere to make up for it ^.^
Thanks a lot! Lol, I know :3
<3
Thanks a lot! Lol, I know :3
<3
Yey! Ty Snow. <33
*bumps* >.>
*bumps* >.>
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I know, sorry about the inactivity. I swear, it shall be up by tomorrow.
It's A-Level time, peoples, and I have a ton of work to be doing, as well as studying. However, I'd also like to make the point that I AM NOT ABANDONING THE FIC!
I promise I will not forget the fic. I'm writing it between schoolwork, so I apologise for delays between chapters. <3 <3
It's A-Level time, peoples, and I have a ton of work to be doing, as well as studying. However, I'd also like to make the point that I AM NOT ABANDONING THE FIC!
I promise I will not forget the fic. I'm writing it between schoolwork, so I apologise for delays between chapters. <3 <3
No, don't apologize. You're not allowed to feel sorry about posting late chapters until you beat out my record 44 day dormancy.
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Lol, okay! Thanks giuocob! <3
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