Chapter 4: The Trade
“What are you going to do?” he asked. “If you don’t kill me and Kairi, you won’t be able to get your soul back. They’ll keep it forever. How about we steal it from them?”
Akiko hunched her shoulders. “No. Only Axel’s hand can open it. And we cannot smash it. It is resistant to every attack and explosion known. It will not break open.”
“What do we do, then?” he asked.
“I honestly don’t know,” she sighed, clenching her fists. “Everything is hopeless, Riku! Hopeless! You don’t think that I haven’t been spending these eleven countless years trying to figure out how to get away from it all? I’ve analysed everything! There is no way!”
Riku let go of Akiko and went to the stairs. He sat down and dug his head into his hands. “What do we do?” he repeated. All hope was gone.
“Busting our brains, are we?” someone said. Akiko turned around and gasped. “It’s you!” she exclaimed, pointing.
Axel stood at the doorway, smirking. His eyes narrowed, and then he clicked his fingers. He stepped away from the door, letting in six more unknowns. Their hoods shadowed their faces, a forever dark place. Riku swallowed. He had no weapon. Nothing. And with only a dagger, how could Akiko protect herself? Riku could always cast his magic, but it would run out eventually.
“Shell! Protect!” Axel shouted, and protective shields formed over all of the unknowns. Suddenly, one of them shot tiny little ninja stars on Riku. He dodged them all, but how long could he keep it up? Akiko was tackling an unknown, but it pushed her off into a shelf.
A strangely familiar voice came to Riku. “I leave this in your hands. Take care of it well, friend. I will be looking forward to getting it back from you.” The voice embraced him like his own shield. Suddenly, something heavy appeared in his hand. When he looked down, he saw the Keyblade. “Sora,” he smiled.
His whole attention quickly came to the battle again. They were outnumbered, badly. Seven to two? All the time, Axel stood by the door with a small smirk. He enjoyed the suffering of both his own Unknowns and them as well. What kind of man was he? Mockingly, he took out the glass jar that held Akiko’s soul within it and polished it up with a corner of his coat.
While Riku was distracted by Axel’s ignorance, he had left his back completely unprotected and open—a sitting duck. One of the Unknowns had seen that and took its chance. It withdrew a large blade and went in for a direct stab. Riku had not realised until it was too late.
“RIKU!” Akiko called out. An Unknown was tackling her to the ground. She slid from underneath it like a slinky cat and pushed Riku to the side. The blade struck right through her side. With a groan of pain, she landed on the floor. All of the Unknowns stopped fighting. They stood completely still, watching with a feel of content.
Riku could feel tears forming on the brims of his eyes. She was not dead—she was going to live. The wound was not life-inflicting, but if she was left there for a few more hours, she would bleed to death. “Akiko?” he whispered, but no sound came out. His throat was completely dry. He could not speak.
“Akiko, Akiko…” he mouthed silently. It still felt as if HE had been stabbed. Akiko tried her best to sit up. She leaned against her elbow and took out the blade with the other arm.
“This…this blade…it has been dubbed with poison of a mushroom.” She winced, holding her hand tight against the wound. The blood spilled over her fingers.
Riku went on his knees, sitting right next to Akiko. His tears dropped on her cheek.
“Listen to me…Riku.” Akiko placed her hand on his face and slowly drew down it. “Get out of here.”
He had not quite heard her well. Get out? Why? He wanted to kill the Unknowns—tear off their heads and watch their blood pour around their necks. “What?”
“You and I both know that we cannot defeat them. Not even with the Keyblade.” Akiko stopped and coughed, coming out with it a small pool of blood. But despite this, she still continued to speak. “I will perform my very last duty…as your friend.”
Riku nodded. He knew what she was about to do. But he did not move.
Akiko hesitantly stood up. Blood trickled down her chin and neck; she was slightly crouching over her side wound. She yelled in a loud voice, “YOU DESTROY HAPPINESS FOR THE LAST TIME!!!” A large explosion sounded. That was it. She had did what she had to do.
Self-Destruct.
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There you go! Happy? I dont like this chapter. its sad. and its short too. do not fear, this is not the last chapter. the final chapter will presumably come tomorrow.