Fanfiction ► KH:TFF... The Sequel...
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Man.... who knows how long that'll be... I'll die of boredom.
D:
I can't think of anything else to say so um.. I WUV YOU SNOW! <3
I can't think of anything else to say so um.. I WUV YOU SNOW! <3
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2006
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Apologies everyone <3
I should elaborate. Essentially - for all you non-UK readers - A-Levels are very, very important exams. They're qualifications I need to get into university, m'kay? So, they're something I really need to focus on. A lot of work needs to go into them - studying and such - but to make matters worse, I have a whole ton of Art work to be doing. Our teachers left it until this week to tell us we have another week to complete our entire art project - which is a huge final piece that no-one has even started.
Plus, I have a lot of those - ahem - 'issues' I've been dealing with. And that ain't making things any easier.
But enough blabbering. Long story short - I have a lot of work to be doing, and so TFF has to be squeezed in wherever I can manage; which, sometimes, might not be very often.
Once this week is over, and next week is over, then everything will be back to normal.
Again, I'm really sorry about this - I feel guilty about it >.>; Hope you can forgive me!
Chapter Sixty
It was beginning to get dark. The light that streamed down from above was beginning to fade with each fleeting second, the chirping of crickets sounding the onset of twilight; and, increasingly, nightfall. The waters became cool with darkness, the breeze and the warm sunlight gone for another day. The singing of birds stopped, and the buzzing of insects seemed to increase. The hovering glow of fireflies danced over the calm water, darting in and out of the tufted grasses.
The peace was disturbed, the water swathing gently with movement. Ikawa appeared from the looming trees, striding along, tall and strong as followed by the rest of his quirky group. He enjoyed being in command, leading them towards the portal, towards their destiny. They were about to stop for the night, as soon as they could find a suitable spot.
Ikawa had been right about the increasing size of the trees; they were huge, disappearing into the vast shadows that lay high overhead. Bigger still were the branches; twining together over the water to create strange - yet, stable - natural platforms, perfect for weary travellers to rest upon. Gesturing forward as Kairi laid her eyes upon them, she excitedly waded over to inspect them closer.
Reaching them, she noticed that they were big enough for them all to sleep on. She also noticed that the twined branches seemed to dip at the centre, providing a sort of nook in which they could rest without fear of falling into the water. It could almost be described as a cradle. Her light fingers wandered the smooth, azure bark, and it occurred to her that sleeping on one of these could, possibly, be a pleasant - if, perhaps, a once in a lifetime - experience.
“Are we going to rest here?” Riku asked, the baby held tightly in his arms. Ikawa looked to him with a grin.
“Where else do you see to rest, huh?” he said, gesturing to the watery ground. “If you wanna sleep there, be my guest!”
The others laughed at the joke, but Riku did not. He did not respond, simply made his way over to sit down. Still keeping the baby in one, secure arm, he removed his backpack, placing it on the twined branches, before eventually digging out the material of their tent. It would serve as a fine grounding for them all - after all, the new tent Queen Minnie had provided was huge - while they slept. Kairi busied herself trying to help him spread it over the branches.
“Will we be okay sleeping out here?” Kairi asked, gently laying the strong, waterproof material over the branches. “It won’t be dangerous or anything?” Ikawa shook his head.
“Nah,” he dismissed her fears, giving a flicked gesture with an outstretched hand. “The most we have to worry ‘bout is the members showin’ up. But it’s nothing Sora can’t handle.” He looked to Sora with a confident grin. “Ain’t that right, kid?”
Sora smiled, giving the man a nod before joining Riku and Kairi. Donald and Goofy assisted too, while Imari took the baby from Riku. Soon, it was secure, ready for them to rest. Surprisingly, there was quite a lot of room there to sleep on. It was much darker now, the shadows seemed to be closing in, and many of the blue trees could not be seen, left to lurk in the darkness. The brightest light came from fireflies, which seemed to have taken a liking to the little group, hovering about as they rested, some occasionally landing upon their things.
Soon enough, it was time to sleep, and so they tried to get comfortable for the night. The King was the first to fall asleep. It did not take long for Donald and Goofy to get to sleep, and Kairi soon followed. Imari fell asleep soon after, so Riku, Ikawa, and Sora were left awake.
“What’s the matter, Riku?” Ikawa whispered, his grin glimmering in the darkness. “Scared?”
“No,” Riku frowned, holding Taiko tightly. He thought it would have been best if he let the baby sleep in his arms. “Should I be, Ikawa?” His tone was nothing short of suspicious - and, perhaps, accusing. Sora looked to him with a frown.
“Don’t say it like that, Riku,” he said softly, sounding concerned. He heard Ikawa suppress a snigger, but snorts of it escaped.
“Of course you shouldn’t,” Ikawa replied. “Not with everyone around you.”
Riku did not reply, simply sighed as he made himself comfortable - well, as comfortable as possible - on the branches. He leaned back, with Taiko nestled in his arm. It was to be a long night. He had to remain rigid, as both the baby, and Imari were using him to keep comfy. She rested her head on his thigh, arm draped over his knee. Sighing, he closed his eyes, hoping for some sleep before they left.
~*~*~*~*~
Sadly, it was not to be. Hours had passed, and Riku still lay there in darkness. Awake. He could not even toss, or turn. Everyone else seemed to be asleep - from what he could hear, anyway. He could barely see Imari, or Taiko. Were it not for their touch, he’d be paranoid about where they were. Feeling a quiver of anxiety at this thought, his free hand dropped to his legs, letting his fretful fingers run through her messy, dark curls. Sighing, relieved, he retained his feelings of frustration.
All was silent, other than the soft breathing in the darkness, alongside the soft swath of the waters below. It was fairly soothing, but simply not enough to calm his fraught mind. Then, all of a sudden, was a particularly loud snore, one he was not familiar with. After the initial shock, it occurred to Riku that this was Ikawa.
“He bugs me even when he’s asleep,” Riku thought to himself, lying back after the momentary fear. “I wish he’d shut up.”
Riku hadn’t felt this way about anyone in a long time. Along with learning to cope with his anger, he developed a new-found patience with others, even those that particularly irritated him. But Ikawa seemed to be too much for him to handle. All day, as they’d traversed through the forest, he had barely spoken a word - simply because he was worried to offend the man. Ikawa was overly bold, even to the point of brashness at times, and kept making brutish jokes; which, irritatingly, the others seemed to find hilarious. Even worse was that, more often than not, Riku was the butt of these jibes. His anger bubbled up inside with each of Ikawa’s words, and Riku was doing his very best to bottle up the frustration. He knew that if he dared to speak out, the others would just dismiss him, tell him to be quiet, or ask him to stop being so overly sensitive.
With each of Ikawa’s words, however, not only did Riku’s anger build, but his suspicion grew with each word, too. The whole situation they’d found themselves in was bizarre, to say the least. Riku was doubtful of the man. After all, not only had he tried to kidnap his baby, he’d then come crawling back - after a beating, no less - asking to help them. It was not right. As much as he’d desperately tried to accept the situation, Riku couldn’t help thinking that Ikawa had his own agenda. What it was, he was not sure of. But he was determined to find out, one way or another.
“It’s weird he came to us after he was beaten up,” he thought, feeling Taiko move a little in his arm. He smiled, deviating from the original thought. “Must be dreaming. Lucky little guy.” He then went back to the thought of Ikawa. “Maybe he’s just out for revenge. From what we’ve heard of Loki, this change in alliance would drive him crazy. Maybe that‘s what Ikawa wants.” With his free hand, he rubbed his tired eyes.
Revenge was a likely cause for Ikawa‘s arrival, Riku thought. It was plausible, after all. Ikawa was so arrogant that his ego would suffer more than his body after such a pummelling - and, naturally, a man like him would automatically think of revenge against Loki as an excellent idea.
“Explains why they’d kidnap him,” Riku thought to himself, covering his mouth as he yawned. Oh, how he wanted to rest. “If one of them was around to see him apologise to us, then it’s perfectly understandable. They‘d be pretty mad at him.” There was another long, snorted snore. Riku narrowed his eyes. “And it explains why he’s being such an ass around me. All he needed me to do was let him come, that’s all. Now that he’s with us - and he has Sora on his side - he has no need for pleasantries.”
It seemed that Riku was playing the victim.
“He’s just using Sora,” he continued the trail of thought, “just as a shield. He’s using us all to get back to Deorca Obscuros. Then, when he can face off the others again, he can let Sora do the fighting for him.” He breathed a heavy sigh, thinking of the moment Ikawa would face Loki.
“Still,” he thought, eyes widening as he thought further, “maybe this is some kind of setup.”
Naturally, Riku was suspicious, but he was taking it to further lengths, simply because he could not sleep.
“Maybe Ikawa’s ‘helping’ is just a way to get us to Deorca Obscuros,” he mused, “maybe we’re being led into a trap.” He didn’t like the thought of this, his mouth curving deeper into a scowl. “We know how twisted those guys are… I sure as hell wouldn‘t put it past them.”
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious Riku became of this idea being true. Perhaps Ikawa’s apology was to lull them into a false sense of security. For all they knew, Ikawa was simply leading them to Loki, under the guise of assistance. This would explain him suddenly appearing to ‘help’ them, and his sudden change of heart - if he even had one, that is.
“That would explain the suddenness of his reappearance,” Riku thought, “not to mention why he’s so apologetic, and eager to lead us to the portal[/I.]” But then, his theory hit a snag. “Wait… then why was he so beaten up when he came to us? And why would he be kidnapped again?”
It made sense, to a point, but from hereon, all Riku could do was assume. And assumptions certainly weren’t the basis for a good argument, so he thought.
Wait. A good argument?
“Do I really want him to get kicked out?” he thought, eyes wide. The thought had pounced upon his mind. “Did I just think that?”
He shook off the thought, feeling his heart beginning to pound. Of course he didn’t feel that way; he was merely speculating. Quickly reverting back to the snag in his idea, he mulled over it further.
“I guess,” he thought, trying to stick to this line of thought alone, “when it comes down to it, I guess they’d be willing to beat him up a little to get what they want. They’d use him as a means to an end.” He narrowed his eyes.
Would a man with an ego such as Ikawa’s really let himself get beaten up for the sake of finding Sora - and bringing him to Deorca Obscuros? Riku doubted it very much.
“Then again, if this Loki guy is as bad as they say…” he thought, rubbing his chin, “then none of them would dare to go against his word. If he’s getting revenge for what Sora did to Mikado, then he wouldn’t be fazed at kicking Ikawa around to get what he wants.” He curled his silver hair behind his cool ear. “And I suppose that would explain the kidnapping.”
Perhaps Furturn was aware that Loki would - quite literally - destroy him if he did not comply with the orders. Plus, there was always the possibility that Ikawa knew there would be a ‘kidnapping’, and so awaited Furturn’s arrival at the inn.
“They knew Sora would come running,” Riku thought, “if this is true, Furturn was simply asking to be killed. Either Loki did something serious to make him do this, or he was plain crazy.” Shrugging, he yawned again. “Something like a kidnapping would lessen suspicion of Ikawa, too… if they pretended to want to punish him for changing alliance, then it would make the idea of a setup less obvious.”
He sighed, hearing his own breath reverberate in the darkness. But… wait, what was that noise? Staying quiet as possible, he listened intently as he awaited a repetition of the noise.
“It was nothing, Riku,” he told himself, knowing he was in a fairly fragile state of mind, with all this suspicion. It was just his mind playing tricks. “You really need some sleep.”
Listening to the voice within his mind, he lay back, taking a contented breath as he snuggled down into the branches, Taiko in his arms, and Imari grasping his legs. For a few moments, he began to settle - even dozing off for a minute or two.
But he was brought back as he heard the sound again, jumping up with a few mumbled words.
“W-what was that?” he mumbled, his tone sharp, despite the dullness of his overall voice. Hearing someone stir nearby, he sat quietly, every hair on his body standing on end. Okay, so he was afraid.
“Is someone there?” he asked, hiding his fearfulness.
“What in the hell are ya talkin’ about, Riku?” the voice hissed back. It was Ikawa, unfortunately. “I knew you was afraid. Just shut up and go to sleep. Some of us were happy ‘til you woke us.”
“I thought I heard something,” Riku whispered back - surprised that Sora had not awoken - the darkness masking his scowl. “I’m not kidding, I heard it twice.”
“Well, I sure as hell didn’t,” he replied, angry yet quiet. “Quit your talkin’ and get back to sleep.”
“I wasn’t asleep in the first place,” Riku hissed. “Look, Ikawa, I’m not kidding around here, just listen for a second, will you?”
Ikawa breathed a final, frustrated sigh, then everything went silent again. A minute passed, and nothing unusual was heard.
“Nope, nothing,” he scowled, “you’re such a wuss.” Riku heard the sound of him lying back down, pulling a blanket over himself. “Try not to get too scared. But wake me if you need me, okay?” His tone was so patronising that Riku wanted to leap the others and punch him.
Riku lay back, too, wondering if Ikawa was right. They were in a forest, after all, so it was likely that there would be some animals around to create noises in the distance. Lying back, with a blanket over him, he eventually drifted off to sleep.
More hours passed. Thankfully, Riku slept through them all, even with Ikawa’s snoring. Taiko did not stir either, not waking for anything at all. Dawn was about to break, and the soft, yet weak glimmers of the morning sun were breaking through from above, creating a soft, pale glow above them. It was not enough to light the darkness of the forest, but now, shapes could be made out beneath the trees, dark forms in the shadows. Birds were emerging from their nests, readying themselves for the dawn, knowing that the night would not last much longer.
Riku woke at this point, eyes looking up into the strange sight above. While the sight just before his eyes was incredibly dark, there was a faint glow behind the branches of the trees. It was strange, to see the light breaking through the darkness. Judging the time, he guessed it would be around forty-five minutes until the morning came. Unfortunately, he felt wide awake. Listening carefully, he knew the others were still asleep. Breathing a silent sigh, he remained lying down, head resting on a pillow they’d packed with them. It was small, but comfortable.
“Wonder if we’ll reach the portal today,” he mused, forgetting the suspicious thoughts of the previous night. He felt his stomach beginning to growl. “Man, I’m starving.”
Still holding Taiko, with Imari lying across his lap, he tried to ease up. Fumbling around in his own backpack - keeping quiet as possible, of course - he found a small amount of food.
Beginning to eat it, he found himself thinking of irrelevant things, such as the thought of breakfast back at home. There, it would be some fruit, and a drink. Here, it was whatever he could scrape together. He sighed, continuing to eat.
There it was again. The noise of the previous night. Now, with his mind unclouded by exhaustion, he could make it out.
It was the swathing of water, along with heavy footsteps. Whoever was walking was incredibly tall, as each footstep resulted in a separate, definite plop. Perhaps Clover had followed them. Riku hoped so. But, as he listened, he made out a dull murmur. His eyes narrowed. This wasn’t Clover. It was two, deep, clearly male voices, whispering something to one another - and they were approaching.
“Sora!” Riku hissed, alarm in his voice. “Sora!”
But, Sora slept soundly, not waking as Riku called his name. Beginning to worry, Riku was sitting up sharp now. He’d reach forward to find Sora in the darkness, but probably could not reach far enough. Worse still, he heard Ikawa grunt a response.
“Riku?” he growled. “Is that you complainin’ again?”
“I’m not complaining,” he said in response, alarm quivering in his voice. “There’s someone coming, okay?”
There was a brief silence.
“You’re right,” Ikawa said reluctantly. “Stay quiet, they may just pass.”
Riku faced a dilemma. Did he stay silent, and hope that the two men were locals? Or did he go with his first instinct, and wake Sora? For all they knew, they could have been members.
Still… the previous members had been solitary combatants - every single one of them. So, in this case - as much as it angered him - he followed Ikawa’s advice, staying quiet. He closed his eyes tightly, hoping that the footsteps would pass.
But they grew closer, still, and he began to panic. Frantically fumbling around in his belongings, his quivering hand found the hilt of his sword. He was not prepared to take chances. Silently, he moved to a crouching position, lying Taiko in Imari’s arms. She did not wake, and neither did he. She simply - and, inexplicably - took him into her arms, cradling him. It must have been a motherly instinct.
It was not as strong as Riku’s instinct, crouching there as he removed the scabbard, tossing it to one side without a sound. Holding the hilt with two hands, he knew that the people were right at their sides. Taking a leap into the unknown, he stupidly launched himself from the branches, into the water.
Swinging his sword wildly, he heard shouting - both familiar and unfamiliar - before there was a sudden burst of light.
Sora was sat up on the branches, eyes squinting in the transition. But, as Riku looked back, Sora’s eyes widened - prompting him to turn back around.
“Meiji,” Riku growled, standing in the water, sword held forward in a tight grasp. His eyes wandered the second form. “Ryu?”
“You’d better believe it,” Ryu growled, ponytail swaying gently as he removed his sword from his side. Meiji suddenly stopped him, with a cold smirk. Imari shot up, eyes wide as she looked to Meiji in horror.
“I shall deal with him,” Meiji smiled, glaring at Riku.
“What do you two want?” Riku asked, eyes narrowed so deeply that they were cold, blue slits. This was all happening so fast. Imari thrust the baby into Kairi’s arms, leaping off the branch to stand at Riku’s side.
“I want my revenge,” Meiji growled. Ryu backed off silently.
Lol, lots of speculation. I thought Riku’s frustration with Ikawa didn’t get enough explanation, I thought he was just coming across as huffy, which was a bit unfair. Maybe I could be Riku’s psychiatrist, seeing as he’s so paranoid these days n_n
Off-topic - kinda - but there were so many italics in there D: I had to put the [ I ] code things in there as I went along.
<3 <3
I should elaborate. Essentially - for all you non-UK readers - A-Levels are very, very important exams. They're qualifications I need to get into university, m'kay? So, they're something I really need to focus on. A lot of work needs to go into them - studying and such - but to make matters worse, I have a whole ton of Art work to be doing. Our teachers left it until this week to tell us we have another week to complete our entire art project - which is a huge final piece that no-one has even started.
Plus, I have a lot of those - ahem - 'issues' I've been dealing with. And that ain't making things any easier.
But enough blabbering. Long story short - I have a lot of work to be doing, and so TFF has to be squeezed in wherever I can manage; which, sometimes, might not be very often.
Once this week is over, and next week is over, then everything will be back to normal.
Again, I'm really sorry about this - I feel guilty about it >.>; Hope you can forgive me!
Chapter Sixty
It was beginning to get dark. The light that streamed down from above was beginning to fade with each fleeting second, the chirping of crickets sounding the onset of twilight; and, increasingly, nightfall. The waters became cool with darkness, the breeze and the warm sunlight gone for another day. The singing of birds stopped, and the buzzing of insects seemed to increase. The hovering glow of fireflies danced over the calm water, darting in and out of the tufted grasses.
The peace was disturbed, the water swathing gently with movement. Ikawa appeared from the looming trees, striding along, tall and strong as followed by the rest of his quirky group. He enjoyed being in command, leading them towards the portal, towards their destiny. They were about to stop for the night, as soon as they could find a suitable spot.
Ikawa had been right about the increasing size of the trees; they were huge, disappearing into the vast shadows that lay high overhead. Bigger still were the branches; twining together over the water to create strange - yet, stable - natural platforms, perfect for weary travellers to rest upon. Gesturing forward as Kairi laid her eyes upon them, she excitedly waded over to inspect them closer.
Reaching them, she noticed that they were big enough for them all to sleep on. She also noticed that the twined branches seemed to dip at the centre, providing a sort of nook in which they could rest without fear of falling into the water. It could almost be described as a cradle. Her light fingers wandered the smooth, azure bark, and it occurred to her that sleeping on one of these could, possibly, be a pleasant - if, perhaps, a once in a lifetime - experience.
“Are we going to rest here?” Riku asked, the baby held tightly in his arms. Ikawa looked to him with a grin.
“Where else do you see to rest, huh?” he said, gesturing to the watery ground. “If you wanna sleep there, be my guest!”
The others laughed at the joke, but Riku did not. He did not respond, simply made his way over to sit down. Still keeping the baby in one, secure arm, he removed his backpack, placing it on the twined branches, before eventually digging out the material of their tent. It would serve as a fine grounding for them all - after all, the new tent Queen Minnie had provided was huge - while they slept. Kairi busied herself trying to help him spread it over the branches.
“Will we be okay sleeping out here?” Kairi asked, gently laying the strong, waterproof material over the branches. “It won’t be dangerous or anything?” Ikawa shook his head.
“Nah,” he dismissed her fears, giving a flicked gesture with an outstretched hand. “The most we have to worry ‘bout is the members showin’ up. But it’s nothing Sora can’t handle.” He looked to Sora with a confident grin. “Ain’t that right, kid?”
Sora smiled, giving the man a nod before joining Riku and Kairi. Donald and Goofy assisted too, while Imari took the baby from Riku. Soon, it was secure, ready for them to rest. Surprisingly, there was quite a lot of room there to sleep on. It was much darker now, the shadows seemed to be closing in, and many of the blue trees could not be seen, left to lurk in the darkness. The brightest light came from fireflies, which seemed to have taken a liking to the little group, hovering about as they rested, some occasionally landing upon their things.
Soon enough, it was time to sleep, and so they tried to get comfortable for the night. The King was the first to fall asleep. It did not take long for Donald and Goofy to get to sleep, and Kairi soon followed. Imari fell asleep soon after, so Riku, Ikawa, and Sora were left awake.
“What’s the matter, Riku?” Ikawa whispered, his grin glimmering in the darkness. “Scared?”
“No,” Riku frowned, holding Taiko tightly. He thought it would have been best if he let the baby sleep in his arms. “Should I be, Ikawa?” His tone was nothing short of suspicious - and, perhaps, accusing. Sora looked to him with a frown.
“Don’t say it like that, Riku,” he said softly, sounding concerned. He heard Ikawa suppress a snigger, but snorts of it escaped.
“Of course you shouldn’t,” Ikawa replied. “Not with everyone around you.”
Riku did not reply, simply sighed as he made himself comfortable - well, as comfortable as possible - on the branches. He leaned back, with Taiko nestled in his arm. It was to be a long night. He had to remain rigid, as both the baby, and Imari were using him to keep comfy. She rested her head on his thigh, arm draped over his knee. Sighing, he closed his eyes, hoping for some sleep before they left.
~*~*~*~*~
Sadly, it was not to be. Hours had passed, and Riku still lay there in darkness. Awake. He could not even toss, or turn. Everyone else seemed to be asleep - from what he could hear, anyway. He could barely see Imari, or Taiko. Were it not for their touch, he’d be paranoid about where they were. Feeling a quiver of anxiety at this thought, his free hand dropped to his legs, letting his fretful fingers run through her messy, dark curls. Sighing, relieved, he retained his feelings of frustration.
All was silent, other than the soft breathing in the darkness, alongside the soft swath of the waters below. It was fairly soothing, but simply not enough to calm his fraught mind. Then, all of a sudden, was a particularly loud snore, one he was not familiar with. After the initial shock, it occurred to Riku that this was Ikawa.
“He bugs me even when he’s asleep,” Riku thought to himself, lying back after the momentary fear. “I wish he’d shut up.”
Riku hadn’t felt this way about anyone in a long time. Along with learning to cope with his anger, he developed a new-found patience with others, even those that particularly irritated him. But Ikawa seemed to be too much for him to handle. All day, as they’d traversed through the forest, he had barely spoken a word - simply because he was worried to offend the man. Ikawa was overly bold, even to the point of brashness at times, and kept making brutish jokes; which, irritatingly, the others seemed to find hilarious. Even worse was that, more often than not, Riku was the butt of these jibes. His anger bubbled up inside with each of Ikawa’s words, and Riku was doing his very best to bottle up the frustration. He knew that if he dared to speak out, the others would just dismiss him, tell him to be quiet, or ask him to stop being so overly sensitive.
With each of Ikawa’s words, however, not only did Riku’s anger build, but his suspicion grew with each word, too. The whole situation they’d found themselves in was bizarre, to say the least. Riku was doubtful of the man. After all, not only had he tried to kidnap his baby, he’d then come crawling back - after a beating, no less - asking to help them. It was not right. As much as he’d desperately tried to accept the situation, Riku couldn’t help thinking that Ikawa had his own agenda. What it was, he was not sure of. But he was determined to find out, one way or another.
“It’s weird he came to us after he was beaten up,” he thought, feeling Taiko move a little in his arm. He smiled, deviating from the original thought. “Must be dreaming. Lucky little guy.” He then went back to the thought of Ikawa. “Maybe he’s just out for revenge. From what we’ve heard of Loki, this change in alliance would drive him crazy. Maybe that‘s what Ikawa wants.” With his free hand, he rubbed his tired eyes.
Revenge was a likely cause for Ikawa‘s arrival, Riku thought. It was plausible, after all. Ikawa was so arrogant that his ego would suffer more than his body after such a pummelling - and, naturally, a man like him would automatically think of revenge against Loki as an excellent idea.
“Explains why they’d kidnap him,” Riku thought to himself, covering his mouth as he yawned. Oh, how he wanted to rest. “If one of them was around to see him apologise to us, then it’s perfectly understandable. They‘d be pretty mad at him.” There was another long, snorted snore. Riku narrowed his eyes. “And it explains why he’s being such an ass around me. All he needed me to do was let him come, that’s all. Now that he’s with us - and he has Sora on his side - he has no need for pleasantries.”
It seemed that Riku was playing the victim.
“He’s just using Sora,” he continued the trail of thought, “just as a shield. He’s using us all to get back to Deorca Obscuros. Then, when he can face off the others again, he can let Sora do the fighting for him.” He breathed a heavy sigh, thinking of the moment Ikawa would face Loki.
“Still,” he thought, eyes widening as he thought further, “maybe this is some kind of setup.”
Naturally, Riku was suspicious, but he was taking it to further lengths, simply because he could not sleep.
“Maybe Ikawa’s ‘helping’ is just a way to get us to Deorca Obscuros,” he mused, “maybe we’re being led into a trap.” He didn’t like the thought of this, his mouth curving deeper into a scowl. “We know how twisted those guys are… I sure as hell wouldn‘t put it past them.”
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious Riku became of this idea being true. Perhaps Ikawa’s apology was to lull them into a false sense of security. For all they knew, Ikawa was simply leading them to Loki, under the guise of assistance. This would explain him suddenly appearing to ‘help’ them, and his sudden change of heart - if he even had one, that is.
“That would explain the suddenness of his reappearance,” Riku thought, “not to mention why he’s so apologetic, and eager to lead us to the portal[/I.]” But then, his theory hit a snag. “Wait… then why was he so beaten up when he came to us? And why would he be kidnapped again?”
It made sense, to a point, but from hereon, all Riku could do was assume. And assumptions certainly weren’t the basis for a good argument, so he thought.
Wait. A good argument?
“Do I really want him to get kicked out?” he thought, eyes wide. The thought had pounced upon his mind. “Did I just think that?”
He shook off the thought, feeling his heart beginning to pound. Of course he didn’t feel that way; he was merely speculating. Quickly reverting back to the snag in his idea, he mulled over it further.
“I guess,” he thought, trying to stick to this line of thought alone, “when it comes down to it, I guess they’d be willing to beat him up a little to get what they want. They’d use him as a means to an end.” He narrowed his eyes.
Would a man with an ego such as Ikawa’s really let himself get beaten up for the sake of finding Sora - and bringing him to Deorca Obscuros? Riku doubted it very much.
“Then again, if this Loki guy is as bad as they say…” he thought, rubbing his chin, “then none of them would dare to go against his word. If he’s getting revenge for what Sora did to Mikado, then he wouldn’t be fazed at kicking Ikawa around to get what he wants.” He curled his silver hair behind his cool ear. “And I suppose that would explain the kidnapping.”
Perhaps Furturn was aware that Loki would - quite literally - destroy him if he did not comply with the orders. Plus, there was always the possibility that Ikawa knew there would be a ‘kidnapping’, and so awaited Furturn’s arrival at the inn.
“They knew Sora would come running,” Riku thought, “if this is true, Furturn was simply asking to be killed. Either Loki did something serious to make him do this, or he was plain crazy.” Shrugging, he yawned again. “Something like a kidnapping would lessen suspicion of Ikawa, too… if they pretended to want to punish him for changing alliance, then it would make the idea of a setup less obvious.”
He sighed, hearing his own breath reverberate in the darkness. But… wait, what was that noise? Staying quiet as possible, he listened intently as he awaited a repetition of the noise.
“It was nothing, Riku,” he told himself, knowing he was in a fairly fragile state of mind, with all this suspicion. It was just his mind playing tricks. “You really need some sleep.”
Listening to the voice within his mind, he lay back, taking a contented breath as he snuggled down into the branches, Taiko in his arms, and Imari grasping his legs. For a few moments, he began to settle - even dozing off for a minute or two.
But he was brought back as he heard the sound again, jumping up with a few mumbled words.
“W-what was that?” he mumbled, his tone sharp, despite the dullness of his overall voice. Hearing someone stir nearby, he sat quietly, every hair on his body standing on end. Okay, so he was afraid.
“Is someone there?” he asked, hiding his fearfulness.
“What in the hell are ya talkin’ about, Riku?” the voice hissed back. It was Ikawa, unfortunately. “I knew you was afraid. Just shut up and go to sleep. Some of us were happy ‘til you woke us.”
“I thought I heard something,” Riku whispered back - surprised that Sora had not awoken - the darkness masking his scowl. “I’m not kidding, I heard it twice.”
“Well, I sure as hell didn’t,” he replied, angry yet quiet. “Quit your talkin’ and get back to sleep.”
“I wasn’t asleep in the first place,” Riku hissed. “Look, Ikawa, I’m not kidding around here, just listen for a second, will you?”
Ikawa breathed a final, frustrated sigh, then everything went silent again. A minute passed, and nothing unusual was heard.
“Nope, nothing,” he scowled, “you’re such a wuss.” Riku heard the sound of him lying back down, pulling a blanket over himself. “Try not to get too scared. But wake me if you need me, okay?” His tone was so patronising that Riku wanted to leap the others and punch him.
Riku lay back, too, wondering if Ikawa was right. They were in a forest, after all, so it was likely that there would be some animals around to create noises in the distance. Lying back, with a blanket over him, he eventually drifted off to sleep.
More hours passed. Thankfully, Riku slept through them all, even with Ikawa’s snoring. Taiko did not stir either, not waking for anything at all. Dawn was about to break, and the soft, yet weak glimmers of the morning sun were breaking through from above, creating a soft, pale glow above them. It was not enough to light the darkness of the forest, but now, shapes could be made out beneath the trees, dark forms in the shadows. Birds were emerging from their nests, readying themselves for the dawn, knowing that the night would not last much longer.
Riku woke at this point, eyes looking up into the strange sight above. While the sight just before his eyes was incredibly dark, there was a faint glow behind the branches of the trees. It was strange, to see the light breaking through the darkness. Judging the time, he guessed it would be around forty-five minutes until the morning came. Unfortunately, he felt wide awake. Listening carefully, he knew the others were still asleep. Breathing a silent sigh, he remained lying down, head resting on a pillow they’d packed with them. It was small, but comfortable.
“Wonder if we’ll reach the portal today,” he mused, forgetting the suspicious thoughts of the previous night. He felt his stomach beginning to growl. “Man, I’m starving.”
Still holding Taiko, with Imari lying across his lap, he tried to ease up. Fumbling around in his own backpack - keeping quiet as possible, of course - he found a small amount of food.
Beginning to eat it, he found himself thinking of irrelevant things, such as the thought of breakfast back at home. There, it would be some fruit, and a drink. Here, it was whatever he could scrape together. He sighed, continuing to eat.
There it was again. The noise of the previous night. Now, with his mind unclouded by exhaustion, he could make it out.
It was the swathing of water, along with heavy footsteps. Whoever was walking was incredibly tall, as each footstep resulted in a separate, definite plop. Perhaps Clover had followed them. Riku hoped so. But, as he listened, he made out a dull murmur. His eyes narrowed. This wasn’t Clover. It was two, deep, clearly male voices, whispering something to one another - and they were approaching.
“Sora!” Riku hissed, alarm in his voice. “Sora!”
But, Sora slept soundly, not waking as Riku called his name. Beginning to worry, Riku was sitting up sharp now. He’d reach forward to find Sora in the darkness, but probably could not reach far enough. Worse still, he heard Ikawa grunt a response.
“Riku?” he growled. “Is that you complainin’ again?”
“I’m not complaining,” he said in response, alarm quivering in his voice. “There’s someone coming, okay?”
There was a brief silence.
“You’re right,” Ikawa said reluctantly. “Stay quiet, they may just pass.”
Riku faced a dilemma. Did he stay silent, and hope that the two men were locals? Or did he go with his first instinct, and wake Sora? For all they knew, they could have been members.
Still… the previous members had been solitary combatants - every single one of them. So, in this case - as much as it angered him - he followed Ikawa’s advice, staying quiet. He closed his eyes tightly, hoping that the footsteps would pass.
But they grew closer, still, and he began to panic. Frantically fumbling around in his belongings, his quivering hand found the hilt of his sword. He was not prepared to take chances. Silently, he moved to a crouching position, lying Taiko in Imari’s arms. She did not wake, and neither did he. She simply - and, inexplicably - took him into her arms, cradling him. It must have been a motherly instinct.
It was not as strong as Riku’s instinct, crouching there as he removed the scabbard, tossing it to one side without a sound. Holding the hilt with two hands, he knew that the people were right at their sides. Taking a leap into the unknown, he stupidly launched himself from the branches, into the water.
Swinging his sword wildly, he heard shouting - both familiar and unfamiliar - before there was a sudden burst of light.
Sora was sat up on the branches, eyes squinting in the transition. But, as Riku looked back, Sora’s eyes widened - prompting him to turn back around.
“Meiji,” Riku growled, standing in the water, sword held forward in a tight grasp. His eyes wandered the second form. “Ryu?”
“You’d better believe it,” Ryu growled, ponytail swaying gently as he removed his sword from his side. Meiji suddenly stopped him, with a cold smirk. Imari shot up, eyes wide as she looked to Meiji in horror.
“I shall deal with him,” Meiji smiled, glaring at Riku.
“What do you two want?” Riku asked, eyes narrowed so deeply that they were cold, blue slits. This was all happening so fast. Imari thrust the baby into Kairi’s arms, leaping off the branch to stand at Riku’s side.
“I want my revenge,” Meiji growled. Ryu backed off silently.
Lol, lots of speculation. I thought Riku’s frustration with Ikawa didn’t get enough explanation, I thought he was just coming across as huffy, which was a bit unfair. Maybe I could be Riku’s psychiatrist, seeing as he’s so paranoid these days n_n
Off-topic - kinda - but there were so many italics in there D: I had to put the [ I ] code things in there as I went along.
<3 <3
Wait a moment...you're here, writing chapters for this, when you've got college entry exams coming up? You really shouldn't be writing these during such a week. All of us can easily wait a few days. There's absolutely no reason whatsoever you should be feeling guilty about ANYTHING.
Oh yeah...really, really nice chapter. They're finally facing off Meiji...
Oh yeah...really, really nice chapter. They're finally facing off Meiji...
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Not entry exams, as such. They aren't until this time next year, but the exams I do now go towards it.
Lol, I'm only allowed on KHI once I've studied for a few hours. Consider it the resting time XD
Thanks a lot <3 I'm glad you understand, giuocob! <3
Lol, I'm only allowed on KHI once I've studied for a few hours. Consider it the resting time XD
Thanks a lot <3 I'm glad you understand, giuocob! <3
Interesting...Did the chicken come before the egg? That question baffles me, well that was a good one so keep it up Snow, your writing is great and I hope I could write like that ;_;
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Thanks ^.^ Takes a lot of practise XD
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<3
No. From an evolutionary standpoint, the chicken evolved from many older species gradually over thousands and thousands of year. However, there must have been a single individual that could first be classified as a chicken at some very specific point in time. In this case, all the DNA necessary for creating the chicken would have been in the embryo inside the egg, so the 'chicken egg' came before the 'chicken'.
...Never mind. (Use this as study material, snowdog :thumbsup: )
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I would, but I don't do science XD
Any English Lit-related stuff shall do ^.^ Lol. Or Philosophy!
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Any English Lit-related stuff shall do ^.^ Lol. Or Philosophy!
<3 <3
Oooo, Snowy-chan, you are so great <33333333333 I loved it! And It makes me wonder if Riku is just being paranoid or if Ikawa really is evil... Hmmm
Want more! And I am cheering for you on your exams! 'GO SNOWY! GO SNOWY! *hoo hoo horrah!*
Want more! And I am cheering for you on your exams! 'GO SNOWY! GO SNOWY! *hoo hoo horrah!*
Aww poor Snow. Dx We'll wait as long as it takes. <3
lol poor Riku and his insomnia, he has complicated thoughts too. x.x
GASP TEH CLIFFIES STRIKE AGAIN. -dash-
lol poor Riku and his insomnia, he has complicated thoughts too. x.x
GASP TEH CLIFFIES STRIKE AGAIN. -dash-
Perfect Chapter like always Snow.
...........And has anyone seen my new Amv made for Kingdom Hearts?
...........And has anyone seen my new Amv made for Kingdom Hearts?
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Meji?! YESH! (One of) the battles I've been waiting for!
Awsome update!
Awsome update!
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*thanks everyone for the support*
Yep, I've been studying since I got in from school
But it's KHI time now. <3
Yesh Kya, it's meant to make you paranoid ~.^ Thanks a lot! <3
Thanks Oathy! And I'm sorry for the cliffy/complicatedness... I just didn't want Riku to seem overly mean, I thought I'd been pretty bad at getting his emotions across.
Thanks KK!
I know, Wolf! <3 I've been looking forward to writing it! Thanks <3
Okay, I should get the chapter done tonight, expect it to be posted tomorrow! (I don't study after KHI, it's too late. But not too late for writing. XD)
<3
Yep, I've been studying since I got in from school
But it's KHI time now. <3Yesh Kya, it's meant to make you paranoid ~.^ Thanks a lot! <3
Thanks Oathy! And I'm sorry for the cliffy/complicatedness... I just didn't want Riku to seem overly mean, I thought I'd been pretty bad at getting his emotions across.
Thanks KK!
I know, Wolf! <3 I've been looking forward to writing it! Thanks <3
Okay, I should get the chapter done tonight, expect it to be posted tomorrow! (I don't study after KHI, it's too late. But not too late for writing. XD)
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Lol at Axel's sig how could people assume your a guy if you have a sig of Axel saying that he's sexy o_0 weird and aww Snow I don't have the time to practise writing when I'm busying ploting to obliterate all human life it's impossible
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^ You'd be surprised, KW. I had a girly, fluffy Sora x Kairi sig, yet people still called me a guy >.>; Weird, I guess.
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<3
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Aww, thanks Kya. Although, my good friend Deeman is a pretty darn nice guy. <3
Aww, I know ;-; And I miss Loki too XD
Sorry, chapter's delayed. I had less time than I thought last night O.O
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Aww, I know ;-; And I miss Loki too XD
Sorry, chapter's delayed. I had less time than I thought last night O.O
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>.> *bumps*
Sup.
Yeah, I dun understand why people would think that guys have some fangirl-ish obsession over KH male characters. -__-;;
Sup.
Yeah, I dun understand why people would think that guys have some fangirl-ish obsession over KH male characters. -__-;;
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