InuYasha Fan Fiction / Outlaw Star Fan Fiction / Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Hearts II: A New Realm ❯ Aftermath and a Sprite ( Chapter 18 )

Materia's eyes slowly opened to a blurry Riku. He was asleep against the wall near the door. She reached out to see if she could reach him, but stopped when she saw the bandages on her wrists (A/N: Death's whip cut both her wrists and an area down her throat and part of her chest.). She sat up and curiously unwrapped them. Much to her horror, there were bloodstains on the underside of the bandages and there were two red scars on her wrists. Materia shook silently for moment before letting out a blood-curdling shriek. Everyone shot awake and rushed to her side.

"Materia!" Goofy cried, "What's wrong?!?!"

"Materia's arms!!!!" she wailed, holding her hands out to show them the scars.

"Oh, little one." Kaede cooed, "Ye will be okay."

"But.. but." she sniffled, "Inuyasha!"

"Osuwarinii-san is just fine." Sora said, smiling.

"No!" Materia shook her head, "Inuyasha!"

"Are you okay?" Riku sat beside her, "It's not like you to call someone by their name." (A/N: he means without anything at the end.)

"Materia call Inuyasha Inuyasha because he no like Materia. Just like Death and Despair, they no like Materia."

"Who said I didn't like you, you brat?" Inuyasha snorted.

"Maybe because you tried to give her to the enemy last night?!" Riku growled.

"Eh..."

"Inuyasha wanted to give Materia to bad people. Is Materia bad?"

"Of course not!" Sango protested.

"Then..."

"Inuyasha's just a fool." Miroku replied. He patted the little girl on the head as she made a soft squeak.

Materia didn't speak to Inuyasha the rest of the day. In fact, she didn't talk to anyone. The girl wandered off into the forest by herself, followed ever-so closely behind by Inuyasha-gumi and Sora-tachi. She found a pond and sat by it, talking to the fish in the water. Materia wove the tale of her life, from the day she met Rikunii-san to the point she was at now. Her perspective of the world was slowly changing as her words became more sophisticated. At one point she saw everyone as nice people, but now she could differentiate between those who meant her and her friends harm and those who didn't. Materia was really growing into a real person.

"Thank you for listening to me, Mr. Fishies." Materia giggled and went back to the dojo, following behind a speeding Inu and Sora-gumi.

***

That night, Materia couldn't get to bed.

"Rikunii-san?"

"What?"

"Tell Materia a story." Riku sighed heavily and crawled over to her side, "A story about a pretty princess."

"Well... let's see...

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, a king and queen had a daughter.

"Was she a princess?"

"Uh... yes, she was, Materia."

"Was she pretty?"

"Yes, when she grew to be about our age."

"Did she have a pretty name?" Riku rolled his eyes.

"Yes... it was..."

"Was it Materia?"

"Yeah... Princess Materia, but Princess Materia was under a terrible curse."

"Uh-oh."

"Yep, on Materia's 1st birthday, her fairy godmothers granted her beauty, intelligence, and the ability to love anyone she came across. But there was one godmother who was jealous of Materia and cursed her. On Materia's 15th birthday, she would prick herself on a needle and fall into a deep sleep that would last for 50 years. During that time, however, Materia would retain her god-given beauty."

"Why?"

"That's how suspended animation works, asks Inuyasha... Anyways, the only way to break the spell would be to receive a kiss from her one true love. Which would be impossible in her dormant state, by the way. So to prevent this curse from realizing itself, the king and queen ordered that every sewing machine in the castle be destroyed and that it was against the law to have needles within the castle.

"So the years passed and Princess Materia grew to be one of the most loved person in all the land. Every prince from miles around wanted to marry her and although she loved all of them, she truly did not care for them. On her 15th birthday, Materia was wandering around the castle when she came across an old lady who was sewing together her birthday dress."

"Oh, no!" Materia whimpered as she pulled her blanket over her face.

"The old lady was a new employee to the castle and had not heard of the needle law, nor had she ever seen the Princess. 'Oh, my dear child, will you hold my needle and thread while I make sure the seam is straight on the sleeves?' the old lady asked. Princess Materia nodded and held the materials. It took the old woman a while to make sure her seams were straight and Materia became bored of waiting. After a while, she began to play with the needle and ended up dropping it. As she knelt down, the old lady became the evil godmother and pushed Materia. The scared princess threw her hands down to catch herself..." Riku slammed his hands on the floor, "And pricked herself on the needle still on the ground."

Materia's eyes started to water, "Mean old witch!"

"Yes. The king and queen found their daughter right before she passed out. The old woman had disappeared by then. Materia's mom and dad begged for help from the nice godmothers and they put the entire kingdom to sleep."

"Why?"

"So that they would not have to suffer without Materia."

"Oh."

"50 years passed and the kingdom had not changed, besides the thorn barrier that had grown around it. Now that the time of the curse was up, a handsome and brave prince came to land's rescue."

"Was the prince's name Riku?"

"Uh..." Riku blushed as Materia fidgeted with anticipation beneath her sheets (A/N: by this point, only Materia's hair and eyes are visible above her blanket), "Sure, why not?"

"Yaye!"

"So, the handsome and brave Prince Riku cut down the thorns around the kingdom and raced to the castle-"

"Was he on a horse?"

"Yes."

"Did the horse have a name?"

"Yes, Materia. It was Stanley. Anyways, Prince Riku climbed to the tallest room in the tallest tower where the still young Princess Materia laid in silent slumber behind the ghostly blue veil of her bed's canopy. He gently pulled back the curtains and sighed upon looking at Materia's elegant figur-... facade."

"What?"

"Face. Riku leaned over the young princess..." Riku acted out the last of the story by leaning over Materia and kissing her blanket (in the general area of her mouth :D), "And the spell on the castle was broken..."

"Yaye." Materia tried to yell, but yawned instead, "Materia liked that story."

"Good... now go to bed." Riku crawled back to his place against the wall.

"Rikunii-san?"

"What?"

"Did Princess Materia and Prince Riku get married?"

"Yes."

"Did they have kids?"

"Yes."

"Rikunii-san?"

"What?"

"W ill you be my prince?"

"We'll see, Materia."

"Rikunii-san?"

"What?"

"What happened to the other princes that tried to save Materia?"

"They fell into a plot hole."

*~*Fin*~*

Iris: *licks Riku*

Riku: O.x;;;

Materia: Does Rikunii-san taste good?

Iris: Yes... he tastes like a lemon :D.